Vice President Kamala Harris defended her shifting stance on key policy issues, including energy, in a video preview of her first face-to-face interviews with the media since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee.
“Generally speaking, how should voters view some of the changes that you've made,” CNN host Dana Bash asked Harris in a preview video released late Thursday afternoon. “… Is it because you've had more experience, you've learned more information? Is it because you've been running for president in the Democratic primary? And should voters feel comfortable and confident that what you're saying now is going to be your policy going forward?”
Harris responded that her “values have remained constant throughout my political career.”
“I think the most important and significant thing about my policy views and decisions is that my values have not changed. You mentioned the Green New Deal, but I have always believed and committed to the climate crisis being real and being an urgent issue that requires standards like deadlines to be applied. And I did that with the Inflation Control Act,” Harris replied.
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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19. (Jacek Bocharskiy/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Harris has been criticized by voters, political commentators and the Trump campaign for backtracking on key policies since emerging as the Democratic nominee after President Biden dropped out of the race last month. On fracking, for example, Harris' campaign announced last month that the vice president does not support a ban on fracking. Oil Extraction Technology He has widespread support in battleground states like Pennsylvania.
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But this position is the opposite of what Harris said as a primary candidate at a CNN town hall event in 2019, when she said, “There's no question that I'm in favor of banning fracking.”
Harris has also distanced herself from “Medicare for All” and semi-automatic rifle buyback programs after publicly touting them during her unsuccessful 2020 primary campaign.
“DNC 2024” appears on a scoreboard ahead of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on August 16. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
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“We've set targets for the United States, and indeed the planet, for when we need to achieve certain benchmarks of greenhouse gas emission reductions,” Harris continued in comments to CNN on Thursday.
“For one, the values haven't changed. My values about what we need to do to secure our border haven't changed. I served two terms as California's attorney general, prosecuting violations of U.S. laws regarding the illegal passage of guns, drugs and people across the border, as well as international criminal organizations. My values haven't changed,” she said.
Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are scheduled to appear in an interview with CNN anchor Dana Bash to air Thursday night. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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The network is scheduled to air the full interview with Harris at 9 p.m. Thursday, and Bash told viewers Thursday afternoon that the interview will delve into Harris' policies on the economy, inflation, the environment and tackling immigration issues.
The interview took place at Kim's Cafe, a black-owned restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, a battleground state, where Harris was joined by her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
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Fox News Digital's Mike Lee contributed to this report.
