Kamala Harris declared Thursday that Americans are ready to turn the page on Donald Trump as she reached out to centrist voters in her first interview since her dramatic entry into November’s presidential election.
The 59-year-old Democrat insisted on CNN that she would be tough on illegal immigration and support controversial oil and gas fracking — while sticking to her liberal background by pledging a fairer economy.
“I am the best person to do this job,” Harris said in a joint interview with her running mate Tim Walz while on the campaign trail in the swing state of Georgia.
The first female and Black and South Asian vice president described Trump as “diminishing the character and the strength of who we are as Americans, really dividing our nation.”
“I think people are ready to turn the page on that,” she said. “People are ready for a new way forward.
The Democrat also said that she would name a Republican to her cabinet if she wins, in another sign that she is reaching out to wavering middle-of-the-road voters.
Trump branded the interview “BORING!!!” in a post on social media.
The Republican former president called Harris the “greatest flip-flopper” as he addressed a rally in the swing state of Michigan, before mocking her appearance in the interview.
“She didn’t look like a leader to me,” he said later.
Harris rejected criticism that she has shifted positions on politically sensitive issues including fracking, which she once opposed but now supports, and illegal migration over the Mexican border, where she has taken a harder line.
“As president I will not ban fracking,” she said — clearly aiming to settle the controversy in fossil fuel-rich Pennsylvania, one of the vital battleground states in what both candidates admit will be a tight election.
Addressing criticism that she had been too soft on immigration — a core part of Trump’s right-wing message — Harris said that as president she would sign tough legislation.
Her comments appeared designed to court centrist voters worried by immigration and fuel costs. But in a nod to her left-leaning supporters, she insisted that she had not fundamentally shifted.
“My values have not changed,” Harris said.
