With Vice President Harris in the battleground state of Pennsylvania this week ahead of her debate with former President Donald Trump, Fox News Digital decided to ask Pittsburgh residents where they think VP Harris stands on key issues.
Harris has come under fire recently for appearing to be equivocal on issues such as taxes, particularly repealing the tipping policy after Trump made similar promises on the campaign trail, and for insisting she will secure the southern border.
And last week, Harris' campaign confirmed to Fox News that she had changed her position on several immigration-related policies, including decriminalizing illegal border crossings and closing detention centers.
Richard Walker of Pittsburgh said he believes Harris is in favor of permitting fracking in places like Pennsylvania while other states, such as New York, currently have blanket moratoriums on it.
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Pittsburgh's Tyrone Murray speaks to Fox News Digital (Fox News Digital)
As for her position on nationalizing health insurance, Walker said he hadn't heard her position but said health insurance should be more affordable than it is now.
Asked if he was the best candidate to bring down soaring prices of food and other goods, Walker said he would be, but added that prices had been rising since before he and President Joe Biden took office.
Walker offered a similar view on the border crisis, saying Harris is trying to secure the border but believes it's a long-standing problem.
He told Fox News Digital he didn't know whether Harris would win in her home state, calling it a “50-50” chance, but suggested there was a good chance she could win next week's debate.
“I hope so,” he said.
On Penn Avenue, Tyron Murray, sporting a classic green-and-white Randall Cunningham jersey, joked that he might not look like a typical Pittsburgher in that attire.
But he's from the Steel City and said he believes Harris will win the state election in November.
“I think women are going to take the lead,” he said. “I think that's the difference in her victory. [votes] period.”
The border issue has been a long-running crisis, and Harris seems to agree with Walker that she is making an effort.
Harris has made key changes to her positions on the border and illegal immigration, promising a pragmatic approach on the campaign trail.
Pittsburgh's Richard Walker speaks to Fox News Digital (Fox News Digital)
As for the prices of consumer goods and whether Harris would help lower them, he said, “They're not going to go up any more.”
“Everything has gone up since the virus hit. It made no difference who the president was.”
He also pointed to the economic and regional importance of American natural gas and urged Harris to support the expansion of fracking.
Ron, who declined to give his last name as he waited for a bus downtown, said he believes Harris supports securing the southern border.
Regarding fracking, Ron said he believes Harris is in favor of fracking but supports limitations and regulations on it.
Regarding the debates, he said Harris isn't good at public speaking, but she has a good chance of winning the debate and the election.
“I think she's better than the other candidates,” he said.
Meanwhile, Vijay Kumar, also of Pittsburgh, said he sees her as more committed to renewable energy than fracking and drilling for fossil fuels.
Kumar said there was “always room for improvement” when it came to border security, but he believed Harris had “asked people to follow the rules” when it came to immigration into the US.
“I think she's doing a good job. If you ask me if there's anything else I can do, the answer is definitely yes.”
Speaking to Fox News Digital at the Drury Plaza Hotel near William Penn Place, Anita said she believes Harris supports border security and has declared she will win both the November debate and the Penn State election.
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Kim, from Pennsylvania, speaks to Fox News Digital (Fox News Digital)
“I think she'll do well. [at the debate]added Nancy, who was walking nearby with her friend Lavonte.
When asked what he thought of Harris' position on the border, LaBonte instead blamed Congress for blocking a compromise border bill recently introduced by Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Kyrsten Sinema (R-Ariz.).
“They're using this as a political ball,” he said. “Congress needs to come together and pass a bill to fix this… You see what Trump has done.”
President Trump has been accused of lobbying against the bill.
Local resident Charlie Cain said he expected Harris to win, calling next week's debate a battle of “prosecutors versus criminals.”
He added that he believes he is the right person to bring down food and home price inflation, but said “we can do a better job” with border security.
Fox News' Bill Melugin and Adam Shaw contributed to this report..
