WASHINGTON — In a combative interview with Fox News, Kamala Harris said in the most emphatic terms to date that, if she wins the election, she would pursue an independent presidency that wouldn’t be a repeat of President Joe Biden’s nearly four years in office.
“My presidency would not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency,” Harris told interviewer Bret Baier, an anchor with Fox News. “And like every new president that comes to office, I will bring my life experiences and professional experiences” to the job. “I represent a new generation of leadership.”
Harris faced criticism over her recent interview on ABC’s “The View,” in which she couldn’t identify any policy differences she has had with Biden since she has been his vice president.
Given Biden’s unpopularity in public opinion polls, Harris’ answer drew criticism that her presidency tenure would be merely a Biden sequel. NBC News reported that Harris’ campaign was looking for a chance for her to put more space between the two of them. On Tuesday, Biden appeared to give her his blessing to do so, saying she would “cut her own path” as president.
Harris took the rare step of appearing on the conservative network in hope of appealing to Republican and independent voters who don’t normally tune into the more mainstream news sources. In a race with Republican Donald Trump that is too close to call, Harris is looking to make a case to voters who aren’t part of the Democratic coalition but who aren’t sold on four more years of Trump.
The interview was possibly the most contentious of Harris’ campaign: Both she and Baier had something to prove. Fox News’ conservative viewership wanted to see a hard-hitting interview, while Harris needed to look strong and show the level of authority that Americans expect of a commander in chief.
The two frequently talked over and past each other, as Baier sought to pin her down on issues including the border, the economy and any misgivings she might have about Biden’s fitness for office.
Harris held her ground and insisted that she be allowed to finish her sentences, while Baier pressed for short, clear answers that would let him cover maximum ground.
“I’m in the middle of responding to the point you’re raising, and I’d like to finish,” Harris said as she parried one of his questions about immigration.
Brian Fallon, Harris’ campaign communication director, praised her handling of the interview.
“I think there’s a good number of independents and Haley-style Republicans who are very open to voting for VP Harris, and that’s why we are open to doing events with Republicans and on Fox News,” Fallon told reporters traveling with her, referring to GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
“We feel like we definitely achieved what we set out to achieve, in the sense that she was able to reach an audience that has probably been not exposed to the arguments that she’s been making on the trail, and she also got to show her toughness in standing tall against a hostile interviewer,” he said.
Harris became the nominee after Biden dropped out of the race amid sluggish poll numbers and concerns among Democrats that, at 81, he was showing signs of infirmity that made him unelectable.
Biden’s frailties had been an issue for years, but they drew renewed attention after a dismal debate performance against Trump in June.
Baier pressed Harris about whether she had noticed that Biden was diminished.
She countered by saying Biden has been up to the job and quickly pivoted to Trump, casting him as the one who can’t meet the demands of the presidency.
“Joe Biden is not on the ballot,” she said. “Trump is.”
She cited former Trump senior officials who have said he’s unfit to serve as president. “I think the American people have concerns about Donald Trump,” she said.
Baier sought to elicit answers about what Trump has sought to make the overriding campaign issue: border security. He mentioned crimes that have been committed by illegal immigrants on the Biden-Harris administration’s watch.
While she voiced sympathy for victims and conceded the immigration system is broken, Harris said Congress worked out a bipartisan bill aimed at strengthening border security that Trump derailed through his influence with GOP lawmakers.
She also blamed Congress for failing to pass a comprehensive immigration bill that Biden announced on the first day of his presidency in 2021, which would was aimed at both clamping down on illegal immigration and offering a path to citizenship for the millions of people living in the country illegally.
Polls indicate that voters see Harris as an agent of change.
“You’ve been vice president for 3½ years,” Baier said “What are you turning the page from?”
Harris mentioned Trump, who has either run for president or served in the job steadily since 2015.
She said she wanted to move past “the decade in which we’ve been burned from the kind of rhetoric that Donald Trump” has used to “divide our country and have Americans literally point fingers at each other.”
If Trump is so flawed, why do so many Americans support his candidacy? Baier asked. Does she believe voters are dumb?
“I’ve never said that,” Harris said. Turning back to Trump, she said, “He’s the one who tends to demean and belittle the American people.”
She mentioned Trump’s repeated mention of “the enemy within” that lurks in the U.S. and voiced concern that he would use the U.S. military to deal with such nebulous threats.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
