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Tim Walz and Kamala Harris with Dana Bash
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz sat for their first interview with CNN. Here's what they said.
LGBTQ+ issues didn’t come up in Kamala Harris and Tim Walz’s interview with CNN’s Dana Bash Thursday evening, but a lot of other things did. Here are five key takeaways from the interview, their first since becoming the Democratic presidential and vice-presidential nominees.
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“Day one, it’s gonna be about one, implementing my plan for what I call an opportunity economy,” she said. “I’ve already laid out a number of proposals in that regard, which include what we’re gonna do to bring down the cost of everyday goods, what we’re gonna do to invest in America’s small businesses, what we’re gonna do to invest in families.
“For example, extending the child tax credit to $6,000 for families for the first year of their child’s life to help them buy a car seat, to help them buy baby clothes, a crib. There’s the work that we’re gonna do that is about investing in the American family around affordable housing, a big issue in our country right now. So there are a number of things on day one.”
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“I want to get some clarity on where you stand on some key policy issues,” Bash said. “Energy is a big one. In — when you were in Congress, you supported the Green New Deal. And in 2019 you said, quote, ‘There is no question I’m in favor of banning fracking.’ Fracking, as you know, is a pretty big issue, particularly in your must-win state of Pennsylvania.” Harris is no longer in favor of banning fracking, which is shorthand for hydraulic fracturing, a method of extracting oil and natural gas that has been criticized by environmental activists.
Harris replied, “I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020, that I would not ban fracking. As vice president, I did not ban fracking. As president, I will not ban fracking. … My values have not changed. I believe it is very important that we take seriously what we must do to guard against what is a clear crisis in terms of the climate. And to do that, we can do what we have accomplished thus far. … What I have seen is that we can — we can grow and we can increase a thriving clean energy economy without banning fracking.”
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Walz has been accused by Republicans, including vice-presidential nominee JD Vance, of misrepresenting his record as a member of the National Guard. “You said that you carried weapons in war, but you have never deployed actually in a war zone,” Bash said. “A campaign official said that you misspoke. Did you?”
“We were talking about, in this case, this was after a school shooting, the ideas of carrying these weapons of war,” he responded. “And my wife the English teacher told me my grammar’s not always correct. But again, if it’s not this, it’s an attack on my children for showing love for me, or it’s an attack on my dog. I’m not gonna do that, and the one thing I’ll never do is I’ll never demean another member’s service in any way. I never have and I never will.”
He has also said his wife had in vitro fertilization to conceive a child, when in fact it was a different fertility treatment, intrauterine injection. IVF is under threat from opponents of abortion rights, as it usually involves the creation of more embryos than are needed, and those people consider the destruction of the unneeded embryos to be the taking of a human life. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled as much earlier this year, prompting even that conservative state to pass a law protecting IVF.
“I won’t apologize for speaking passionately, whether it’s guns in schools or protection of reproductive rights,” Walz said. “The contrast could not be clearer between what we’re running against. The vice president’s position on this has been clear. And I think most Americans get it if you’ve been through that. I don’t think they’re cutting hairs on IVF or IUI. I think what they’re cutting hairs on is an abortion ban and the ability to be able to deny families the chance to have a beautiful child.”
“I have served with President Biden for almost four years now,” Harris said in response to Bash’s query about regrets. And I’ll tell ya, it’s one of the greatest honors of my career, truly. He cares so deeply about the American people. He is so smart and — and loyal to the American people. And I have spent hours upon hours with him, be it in the Oval Office or the Situation Room. He has the intelligence, the commitment, and the judgment and disposition that I think the American people rightly deserve in their president.”
“I think history is gonna show not only has Joe Biden led an administration that has achieved those extraordinary successes but the character of the man is one that he has been in his life and career, including as a president, quite selfless, and puts the American people first,” she added.
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“I am running because I believe that I am the best person to do this job at this moment for all Americans, regardless of race and gender,” said Harris, who stands to be the first woman — and first woman of color — to be president. She was touched by the photo of one of her grandnieces watching her accept the nomination, however, she said — a photo of a little Black girl with braids. “I was deeply touched by it,” she said. “And you’re right, she’s — it’s the back of her head, and her two little braids, and — and then I’m in the front of the photograph obviously speaking. It’s very humbling. It’s very humbling in many ways.”
As for Trump’s attacks on her, which include accusing her of having just become Black (she is of Jamaican and Indian heritage), she’s not going to spend a lot of time responding. “Same old tired playbook,” she told Bash. “Next question, please.”
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A full transcript of the interview is here.
