The art of saying nothing: Harris and Walz gave their first interview as the presidential ticket

Kamala Harris finally broke her silence. After 39 days without answering a single question from the press, she sat down for a joint interview with her running mate, Tim Walz. The Democratic duo chose CNN reporter Dana Bash of CNN to provide their first interview of the campaign, which was previously taped in Georgia.

The interview, which, according to Frank Luntz's measurements, lasted a total of 26 minutes and 38 seconds, did a lot of talking even before it aired. The network itself published some clips as a preview, which generated more controversy than anything else. It turns out that CNN also provided the press with some transcripts of Harris' words, but some phrases did not match what she had actually said.

For example, the vice president did not rule out the idea of adding to her eventual cabinet someone who "was" a Republican, while the transcript sent by CNN changed the phrase to "someone who is a Republican." The case generated a stir on social media and soon went viral.

As for the content of the interview, Harris did not criticize the Biden-Harris administration, pointed against Donald Trump and did not fare well when detailing the plan for her eventual government.

Kamala Harris' interview with CNN

After introductions, Bash asked Harris what she would do on the first day of her presidency, to which she responded: "Implement my plan." Without giving much more detail, she talked about "strengthening the middle class," "investing in families," and "bringing down real estate costs."

"When I look at the aspirations, the goals, the ambitions of the American people, I think people are looking for a new way forward," she added. She then affirmed that she will pursue an "economy of opportunity."

At the same time, she anticipated that she would expand the child tax credits and that she would grant credits so that young people could access their first home.

Harris didn't take twenty seconds to name Donald Trump, whom she described as someone who divides the nation.

Why didn't she do it sooner?

When Bash reminded her that it was cheaper to buy a house during the Trump administration, the Democrat blamed the Coronavirus first, claiming that her first task was to "rebuild America."

She used the same argument when asked by the interviewer why she did not already push everything she proposes for an eventual presidency, considering she has been part of the government for more than three years. "First we had to recover from the Coronavirus crisis," Harris repeated.

As for the overall performance of the Biden-Harris administration, she assured that both have done a "good job."

"My values didn't change"

As for her various position changes, for example, on hydraulic fracturing (fracking), the Green New Deal and not treating illegal immigrants as criminals, Harris defended herself by saying that her values didn't really change.

"Dana, I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed. You mentioned the Green New Deal. I have always believed, and I've worked on it, that the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent matter to which we should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time. We did that with the Inflation Reduction Act," she replied.

"We have set goals for the United States of America and, by extension, the globe, around when we should meet certain standards for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as an example. That value has not changed. My value around what we need to do to secure our border. That value has not changed," she added.

Harris blamed Republicans for border crisis

Harris was appointed by President Biden in 2021 to be responsible for the southern border. This appointment ultimately reduced her popularity among citizens to 28%, the lowest for a vice president since records began.

The Democrat first retracted her earlier statements, in which she had said illegal immigrants should not be treated as criminals. "I think there should be consequences, we have laws that must be followed and enforced. I would enforce our laws," she noted.

As for her role at the helm of border management, she said her actions led to some gains in reducing immigration from Central America. However, she blamed Republicans for not voting for the bill the White House negotiated with Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma.

"Donald Trump heard about this bill. And because he believes it wouldn't have helped him politically, he told his people in Congress not to introduce it. He killed the bill," she expressed.

Harris was unrepentant about her remarks on Joe Biden's health status

Given that President Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July after the image he gave in the presidential debate, Bash asked Harris if she regretted what she told citizens about Biden over the past four years. "No, not at all," Harris replied.

"He is so smart and loyal to the American people. I have spent hours and hours with him, be it in the oval office or in the situation room. He has the intelligence, the commitment, the judgment and disposition that I think the American people deserves in their president," she continued.

In turn, she argued that the Biden-Harris administration would age well in the history books.

Tim Walz was unapologetic about lying about his military record

Bash briefly referred to Walz during the interview, and one of those times was to ask him about his false claims about having been in the war and about the fertilization treatment he used with his wife to have children.

On the first of the issues, he responded as follows, "I said we were talking about — in this case, of school shootings, the idea of carrying these weapons of war. And my wife, she says my grammar’s not always correct."

On his erroneous comments about the fertilization treatment he used with his wife, he defended himself by pointing out that his students and former colleagues have come out to back him up. "I talked about our infertility problems, because it's hell, and families know that. And I talked about the treatments we had available to us to have those precious children," he added.

Harris committed to Israel and declined to comment on the race

Back to Harris, the vice president remarked that she supported Israel's right to defend itself but that her main goal would be to reach an agreement that would allow for a cease-fire and the return of hostages still held by the Hamas terrorist group.

At the same time, she refused to respond to Trump's remarks regarding Harris' race. When Bash queried her on the matter, the vice president merely asked to move on to the next question.