SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) 鈥� on Thursday defended shifting away from some of her more liberal positions in her first major television interview of her presidential campaign, but insisted her 鈥渧alues have not changed鈥� even as she is 鈥渟eeking consensus.鈥�
Sitting with her running mate, , Harris was asked specifically about her reversals on banning fracking and decriminalizing illegal border crossings, positions she took during her last run for president. She confirmed she does not want to ban fracking, an energy extraction process key to the economy of swing-state Pennsylvania, and said there 鈥渟hould be consequence鈥� for people who cross the border without permission.
鈥淚 think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed,鈥� Harris said.
She went on to say: 鈥淚 believe it is important to build consensus. It is important to find a common place of understanding where we can actually solve the problem.鈥�
The interview with came as voters are still trying to learn more about the Democratic ticket in an unusually compressed time frame. just five weeks ago. The interview focused largely on policy, as Harris sought to show that she had adopted more moderate positions on issues that Republicans argue are extreme, while Walz defended past misstatements about his biography.
Harris hadn't done an in-depth interview since she became her party's standard-bearer five weeks ago, though she did sit for several while she was still Biden's running mate.
She said serving with Biden was 鈥渙ne of the greatest honors of my career,鈥� and she recounted the moment he called to tell her he was stepping down and would support her.
"He told me what he had decided to do and ... I asked him, 鈥楢re you sure?鈥� and he said, 鈥榊es,鈥� and that鈥檚 how I learned about it.鈥�
She said she didn鈥檛 ask Biden to endorse her because 鈥渉e was very clear that he was going to endorse me.鈥�
Harris defended the administration鈥檚 record on the southern border and immigration, noting that she was tasked with trying to address the 鈥渞oot causes鈥� in other countries that were driving the border crossings.
鈥淲e have laws that have to be followed and enforced, that address and deal with people who cross our border illegally, and there should be consequences,鈥� Harris said.
Asked about Israel鈥檚 war in Gaza after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, Harris said, 鈥淚 am unequivocal and unwavering in my commitment to Israel鈥檚 defense and its ability to defend itself.鈥� But the vice president also reiterated what she鈥檚 said for months, that civilian deaths are too high amid the Israeli offensive.
She also brushed off Republican Donald Trump鈥檚 questioning of her racial identity after he suggested falsely that she changed how she presents herself for political reasons and Harris, who is of Black and 麻豆传媒AV Asian heritage, said Trump's suggestion was the 鈥渟ame old, tired playbook.鈥�
鈥淣ext question, please," she said.
Trump and Harris are set to debate on Sept. 10. In a post Thursday evening, it appeared Trump was paying close attention to the interview. After the debate was mentioned, he posted, 鈥淚 look so forward to Debating Comrade Kamala Harris and exposing her for the fraud she is.鈥�
Trump went on to say that his Democratic opponent 鈥渉as changed every one of her long held positions, on everything. America will never allow an Election WEAPONIZING MARXIST TO BE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.鈥�
The debate will be the first-ever meeting for Harris and Trump. The opponents had only been in the same space when Harris, as a senator, attended Trump鈥檚 joint addresses to Congress.
During the early parts of the interview, Walz watched quietly and nodded when Harris made her main points. He was later asked about misstatements, starting with how he has described his 24 years of service in the National Guard.
In a 2018 video clip that the Harris-Walz campaign once circulated, Walz spoke out against gun violence and said, 鈥淲e can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at.鈥�
Critics said the comment 鈥渢hat I carried in war鈥� suggested that Walz portrayed himself as someone who spent time in a combat zone. He said Thursday night that he misspoke after a school shooting, adding, 鈥淢y grammar鈥檚 not always correct.鈥�
Asked about statements that appeared to indicate that he and his wife conceived their children with in-vitro fertilization, when they in fact used a different fertility treatment, he said he believes most Americans understood what he meant and pivoted to Republican opposition to abortion rights.
Democrats鈥� enthusiasm about their vote in November has surged over the past few months, according to . About 8 in 10 Democrats now say they are more enthusiastic than usual about voting, compared with 55% in March.
This gives them an enthusiasm edge they did not have earlier this year. Republicans鈥� enthusiasm has increased by much less over the same period, and about two-thirds of Republicans now say they are more enthusiastic than usual about voting.
At a packed arena for a rally Thursday in Savannah, Harris cast her nascent campaign as the underdog and encouraged the crowd to work hard to elect her in November.
鈥淲e鈥檙e here to speak truth and one of the things that we know is that this is going to be a tight race to the end,鈥� she said.
Harris went through a list of Democratic concerns: that Trump will further restrict women鈥檚 rights after he appointed three judges to the U.S. Supreme Court who helped overturn Roe, that he'd repeal the Affordable Care Act, and that given new immunity powers granted presidents by the U.S. Supreme Court, 鈥渋magine Donald Trump with no guardrails.鈥�
in southeastern Georgia. Harris has another campaign blitz on Labor Day with Biden in Detroit and Pittsburgh with the election rapidly approaching. The first mail ballots get sent to voters in just two weeks.
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Long reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Sagar Meghani and Amelia Thomson DeVeaux in Washington contributed to this report.
Zeke Miller And Colleen Long, The Associated Press
