WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Vice President Kamala Harris engaged in a combative interview with Fox 撸奶社区 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鈥� interview marked her first foray onto the network, which is popular with conservative viewers, as she looked to broaden her 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.鈥�
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鈥檛 made by Biden that she would have done differently, Harris asserted, 鈥淢y presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden鈥檚 presidency.鈥�
Harris did not offer specifics, but said, 鈥淟ike every new president that comes into office, I will bring my life experiences, and my professional experiences and fresh and new ideas.鈥�
Asked to clarify her assertion that she wants to 鈥渢urn the page,鈥� though Democrats currently hold the White House, Harris said she is running on 鈥渢urning the page from the last decade in which we have been burdened with the kind of rhetoric coming from Donald Trump.鈥�
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.
鈥淚 am so sorry for her loss, sincerely,鈥� 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.
鈥淭hat was five years ago and I am very clear that I will follow the law,鈥� 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.
Of Trump, she said, 鈥淧eople are exhausted with someone who professes to be a leader and who spends full time demeaning and engaging in personal grievances." She added, "He鈥檚 not stable."
She also sought to focus Fox viewers on Trump's talk of "the enemy within鈥� 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, 鈥淛oe Biden is not on the ballot and Donald Trump is.鈥�
Trump's campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Harris was 鈥渁ngry, defensive, and once again abdicated any responsibility for the problems Americans are facing.鈥� She added that if "Kamala can鈥檛 handle the pressure of an interview with Fox 撸奶社区, she certainly can鈥檛 handle the pressure of being president of the United States.鈥�
Pushing back against Baier's line of questioning, Harris at one point said, 鈥淚 would like if we could have a conversation that is grounded in a full assessment of the facts.鈥�
Harris campaign spokesperson Brian Fallon said her team felt she 鈥渁chieved what we set out to achieve" with the 鈥淪pecial Report鈥� host. 鈥淪he was able to reach an audience that has probably been not exposed to the arguments she鈥檚 been making on the trail and she also got to show her toughness in standing tall against a hostile interviewer,鈥� he said.
Referring to former Trump challenger Nikki Haley, Fallon said, 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a good number of independents and Haley-style Republicans who are very open to voting for Vice President Harris and that鈥檚 why we are open to doing events with Republicans and on Fox 撸奶社区."
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AP writer Will Weissert contributed.
Zeke Miller, The Associated Press
