America ready to 'turn the page' on Trump: Kamala Harris
In her first major television interview of her presidential campaign, the 59-year-old US Vice President, who will face Trump in the November 5 elections, said the American people are ready for a "new way forward"
PTI
-
Kamala Harris
Washington, 30 Aug
The American people are ready to
"turn the page" on Donald Trump, Kamala Harris has said, asserting
that her Republican challenger is pushing an agenda which "divides"
the country and "diminishes the character" of its people.
In her first major television
interview of her presidential campaign, the 59-year-old US Vice President, who
will face Trump in the November 5 elections, said the American people are ready
for a "new way forward".
"I think sadly in the last
decade, we have had in the former president someone who has really been pushing
an agenda and an environment that is about diminishing the character and the
strength of who we are as Americans — really dividing our nation," Harris,
in a joint interview with her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, told
CNN. "And I think people are ready to turn the page on that," Harris,
the Democratic Party's candidate, said.
"The American people are ready
for a new way forward. Our former president has pushed an agenda that
diminishes the character and strength of who we are as Americans, and divides
our nation. People are ready to turn the page," she said in a post on X,
linking an interview snippet.
Harris, who is of Indian and
African heritage, also refused to engage in Trump's identity politics during
the interview. She eluded questions about Trump's claims over her racial
identity, calling those a part of the “same old tired playbook”.
Last month, Trump questioned
Harris’ racial identity at the National Association of Black Journalists
conference in Chicago, suggesting she had previously identified as South Asian
but “happened to turn Black” for political purposes.
Her refusal to comment aligned with
her campaign’s strategy to avoid leaning into identity politics following
Trump’s remarks, CNN reported.
Responding to a question about a
previous debate on the decriminalisation of US borders, she said, "I
believe there should be consequence. We have laws that have to be followed and
enforced that address and deal with people who cross our border illegally. And
there should be consequence."
Harris added that she is the
"only person" in the presidential race who has "prosecuted
transnational criminal organisations who traffic in guns, drugs, and human
beings". "I’m the only person in this race who actually served a
border state as attorney general to enforce our laws. And I would enforce our
laws as president going forward. I recognise the problem," she said.
Calling the border issue a
"very significant" immigration issue to the American people and the
security of the US, she said a border security bill was crafted under the
administration of her boss -- incumbent President Joe Biden.
She said that Trump killed the bill
that would have put 1,500 additional agents at the border as it "would not
have helped him politically".
Speaking about Biden, she said that
serving with him for almost four years was "one of the greatest honours of
my career". "He has the intelligence, the commitment and the judgment
– disposition that I think the American people rightly deserve in their
president," she said.
Last month, Biden dropped out of
the presidential race, saying it was in "the best interest" of the
Democratic Party and the country to withdraw from the race. He endorsed Harris
to be the nominee of the party. Harris also said she would name a Republican to
serve in her Cabinet if elected.
Leave a Reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *