(MENAFN- Live Mint) Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris defended the Joe Biden administration's approach to illegal immigration during a television interview with Fox News on Wednesday, alleging the lack of progress on border security to Republicans' failure to pass a bill.
“The point is that we have a broken immigration system that needs to be repaired,” Harris pushed back against Baier's interruptions concerning the release of undocumented immigrants into the country, as reported by Reuters.
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In an interview with host Bret Baier on Fox News, Harris also backed President Joe Biden's mental fitness, her experience as his vice president, and her prior support for gender-affirming surgery for transgender inmates, Reuters reported.
The half-hour segment, which aired at 6 PM, outperformed her earlier appearances on CBS News' 60 Minutes and ABC's The View, as well as the 2.9 million viewers who tuned in for Republican rival Donald Trump's town hall.
Harris was asked to justify the administration's initial decision to reverse certain restrictive border policies implemented by Republican rival Donald Trump during his presidency. She also had to respond to a mother who testified in Congress about the loss of her daughter at the hands of an undocumented immigrant.
"I'm so sorry for her loss, but let's talk about what is happening right now," Harris said. She said Trump told Republicans to reject a bipartisan immigration bill early this year because“he preferred to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem.”
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Trump and Republicans have claimed that immigrants are fueling violent crime in the United States, although studies show immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than others, Reuters reported.
Asked about her recent comment that there was“not a thing” she would change about the actions of the Biden administration, Harris said,“Let me be very clear, my presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden's presidency."
She said she would bring in new ideas from Republicans and business leaders to solve housing shortages and expand small businesses.
Trump team calls interview 'train wreck'
Harris was a strong supporter of Biden during the period when he faced increasing scrutiny over his mental fitness following a challenging June debate with Trump, before she withdrew from the race in July. She was asked to defend her previous statements during this interview.
Biden has the“judgment” and“experience” to be president, she said, while questioning Trump's fitness for office.“Joe Biden is not on the ballot, and Donald Trump is,” Harris said.
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She was pressed on her position on using taxpayer funds for gender-affirming surgery for transgender inmates, including those who are undocumented. Trump has spent millions of dollars in ads on the subject in battleground states, Reuters reported.
“I will follow the law,” Harris said, noting that the U.S. Bureau of Prisons provided gender-affirming treatments under Trump. She accused him of“throwing stones when you live in a glass house.”
Within minutes of the interview's end, the Trump campaign released a statement calling it a“train wreck.”
As reported by Reuters, David Urban, a political strategist and past Trump campaign aide, said Harris gave an uneven and subpar performance, avoiding responsibility and making Trump the scapegoat. "Another losing media cycle for the Harris campaign," Urban said.
Democrats said Harris went on unfriendly territory and made it through without any gaffes. Repeated interruptions kept Harris's answers short, they said, preventing the meandering answers that she has been criticized for in the past.
“We feel like we definitely achieved what we set out to achieve," said Brian Fallon, a Harris spokesperson.“She was able to reach an audience that has probably been not exposed to the arguments she's been making on the trail, and she also got to show her toughness in standing tall against a hostile interviewer.”
Before her Fox News interview, Harris pointed out Republican support for her campaign in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state that could influence the election outcome.
In that region, she emphasised Trump's efforts to overturn his election loss four years ago, when he lost the presidency to Biden. Harris argued that Trump's actions were a violation of the US Constitution, warning that he would likely attempt to do so again if given the opportunity.
“He refused to accept the will of the people and the results of a free and fair election. He sent a mob, an armed mob, to the United States Capitol, where they violently assaulted police officers, law enforcement officials and threatened the life of his own vice president,” Harris said.
Over 100 Republicans joined Harris in Bucks County, including Adam Kinzinger, a former congressman and member of the committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by supporters of then-President Trump.
"No matter your party, no matter who you voted for last time, there is a place for you in this campaign," Harris said. She led Trump by a marginal 46% to 43% in a recent Reuters poll.
In the 2020 election, Biden won Bucks County by approximately 17,000 votes, while Hillary Clinton had a narrower victory of fewer than 3,000 votes over Trump in 2016, according to county data. This summer marked a shift, as Republicans surpassed Democrats in voter registrations in Bucks County for the first time in a generation, with Republicans now having about 3,500 more voters than Democrats.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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