Harris' interview with Fox News is marked by testy exchanges over immigration and more

[October 17, 2024]  By ZEKE MILLER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris engaged in a combative interview with Fox News on Wednesday, sparring with anchor Bret Baier on immigration and shifting policy positions while asserting that if elected, she would not represent a continuation of Joe Biden's presidency.

Harris’ interview marked her first foray onto the network, which is popular with conservative viewers, as she looked to broaden her outreach to GOP-leaning voters with less than three weeks until Election Day. Her nearly 30-minute sit-down with Baier repeatedly grew heated, with the two talking over each other.

When Baier kept talking as Harris tried to respond to his challenges on immigration, Harris said: "May I please finish? ... You have to let me finish, please.”

Harris tried repeatedly to pivot the conversation to attacking Donald Trump. But she also had plenty to say about herself.

A week after saying she couldn’t think of any move made by Biden that she would have done differently, Harris asserted, “My presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency.”

Harris did not offer specifics, but said, “Like every new president that comes into office, I will bring my life experiences, and my professional experiences and fresh and new ideas.”

Asked to clarify her assertion that she wants to “turn the page,” though Democrats currently hold the White House, Harris said she is running on “turning the page from the last decade in which we have been burdened with the kind of rhetoric coming from Donald Trump.”

On immigration, Harris expressed regret over the deaths of women who were killed by people who were detained and then released after crossing into the U.S. illegally during the Biden administration, but she criticized Trump for his role in blocking a bipartisan immigration bill earlier this year that would have boosted border funding.

“I am so sorry for her loss, sincerely,” Harris said after Baier played footage of the mother of Jocelyn Nungaray blaming Biden and Harris for her daughter's death.

Harris indicated she no longer supports decriminalizing crossing the border illegally, as she did in 2019.

“That was five years ago and I am very clear that I will follow the law,” she said. She gave the same answer about proposals to allow those in the U.S. illegally to get driver's licenses and subsidized healthcare.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event at Washington Crossing Historic Park, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Washington Crossing, Pa. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Of Trump, she said, “People are exhausted with someone who professes to be a leader and who spends full time demeaning and engaging in personal grievances." She added, "He’s not stable."

She also sought to focus Fox viewers on Trump's talk of "the enemy within” and threats to punish political rivals.

Baier challenged Harris over her attestations to Biden's mental stamina after his disastrous debate with Trump in June that forced his exit from the 2024 presidential race and her elevation to the top of the ticket. She again defended Biden, but added, “Joe Biden is not on the ballot and Donald Trump is.”

Trump's campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Harris was “angry, defensive, and once again abdicated any responsibility for the problems Americans are facing.” She added that if "Kamala can’t handle the pressure of an interview with Fox News, she certainly can’t handle the pressure of being president of the United States.”

Pushing back against Baier's line of questioning, Harris at one point said, “I would like if we could have a conversation that is grounded in a full assessment of the facts.”

Harris campaign spokesperson Brian Fallon said her team felt she “achieved what we set out to achieve" with the “Special Report” host. “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,” he said.

Referring to former Trump challenger Nikki Haley, Fallon said, “I think there’s a good number of independents and Haley-style Republicans who are very open to voting for Vice President Harris and that’s why we are open to doing events with Republicans and on Fox News."
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AP writer Will Weissert contributed.

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