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By Joe Edwards
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Vice President Kamala Harris sat down with veteran CBS correspondent Bill Whitaker for an interview on 60 Minutes that aired Monday.
With less than a month to go before the election, it was an opportunity for the Democratic presidential nominee to put forward her argument as to why voters should back her over her Republican rival former President Donald Trump.
Harris was quizzed on a range of topics, including the situation in the Middle East, gun ownership, and the economy.
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Here are five key takeaways from the interview.
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Global Conflicts
The Middle East
Whitaker put to Harris that the region was on the brink of an all-out war, following last year's attacks by Hamas and Israel's subsequent military action in Gaza and now Lebanon. He asked Harris what the U.S. could do to "stop this spinning out of control."
"As I said [after October 7] I maintain Israel has a right to defend itself, we would, and how it does so matters," Harris said.
"Far too many Palestinians have been killed. This war has to end," she added.
Whitaker also asked Harris whether the U.S. had a "real close ally" in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"With all due respect the better question is do we have an important alliance between the American People and the Israeli people, and that answer is yes," Harris replied.
The war in Ukraine
The pair also discussed the ongoing war in Ukraine, following Russia's invasion in 2022.
When asked if she would you meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss an end to war, Harris said, "Not bilaterally without Ukraine, no. Ukraine must have a say in the future of Ukraine."
Harris was also asked whether she would support the expansion of NATO to include Ukraine.
"Those are issues we will deal with if and when it arrives at that point. Right now we are supporting Ukraine ability to defend itself against Russia's unprovoked aggression."
She also slammed Trump on the issue, claiming that if he was in power, "Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now."
"He talks about, 'oh he can end it on day one.' You know what that is? It's about surrender."
The Economy
Turning next to the economy, Whitaker said, "there are lots of signs that the economy is doing very well, better than most countries I think, but the American people don't seem to be feeling it.
"Groceries are 25 percent higher, and people are blaming you and [President] Joe Biden for that. Are they wrong?"
Harris responded, "We now have historic low unemployment in America, among all groups of people. We now have an economy that is thriving by all macroeconomic measures."
But Harris acknowledged that prices were still too high. "I know that, and we need to deal with it," she said. Harris said she intended to press Congress to pass a ban on price gouging for food an groceries.
Whitaker pressed Harris on how she intended to pay for her economic plans, which have been estimated by the Committee for Responsible Federal Budget to add around $3.5 trillion to the national debt, whilst Trump's could add $7.5 trillion.
Harris pointed to other economic analyses of her plan, saying that hers would strengthen the economy, and Trump's weaken it.
When pushed again on how exactly she intended to pay her plan, Harris said she was "going to make sure that the richest among us who can afford it pay their fair share in taxes."
Campaign Surprises and Mishaps
Harris advises Tim Walz to choose his words carefully
A later segment of the feature included an interview with Harris' running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Whitaker referenced a past statement made by Walz, where he said he had been in China during the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989.
"I think folks know who I am and I think they know the difference between someone getting a date wrong, rather than a pathological liar like Donald Trump," Walz responded.
Walz went on to tell Whitaker that Harris had advised him to choose his words more carefully.
"She said, 'Tim, you know, you need to be a little more careful on how you say things,' whatever it might be," Walz said.
Harris and Liz Cheney: An unexpected alliance
60 Minutes touched on Harris' October 3 campaign stop in Wisconsin, where she was joined by Republican and staunch Trump critic Liz Cheney in Ripon – the birthplace of the GOP.
Whitaker asked Harris, "Four years ago, if someone told you that you would be campaigning with Liz Cheney, what would you have said to them?"
Harris replied,"That would be great."
When asked a similar question by Whitaker, Cheney said, "I hope that if you said to me four years ago our constitution is going to be under threat and it's going to be crucial for the parties to come together and support [Harris] because she'll defend the rule of law, I know I would have said that's exactly what I'll do."
Gun ownership
Whitaker also quizzed Harris on her gun ownership, which attracted attention after she mentioned it during a September sit-down with Oprah Winfrey.
"That's not the first time I've talked about it," Harris said.
She told Whitaker she had a Glock handgun, which she has owned "for quite some time."
"My background is in law enforcement, so there you go".
When asked if she ever fired it, Harris told Whitaker, "Yes of course I have, at a shooting range. Yes of course I have."
Harris' Position on Prominent Issues
Whitaker put to Harris criticism that "the reason so many voters don't know you is that you have changed your position on so many things", such as fracking, immigration policy, and Medicare for all.
"I believe in building consensus," Harris said.
"We are a diverse people and what the American people want is that we have leaders who can build consensus, where we can figure out compromise and understand it's not a bad thing as long as you don't compromise your values to find common sense solutions, and that has been my approach."
Immigration has been one of the most hotly debated topics ahead of the election. Whitaker asked Harris why her and Biden's administration didn't move sooner to curb it.
"There was a historic flood of undocumented immigrants coming across the border the first three years of your administration. As a matter of fact, arrivals quadrupled from the last year of President Trump," Whitaker said.
When asked if it was a mistake to loosen immigration policies, Harris defended the administration's approach: "It's a long-standing problem. And solutions are at hand. And from day one, literally, we have been offering solutions."
Persisting with the line of questioning, Whitaker asked, "Was it a mistake to kind of allow that flood to happen in the first place?" Harris responded by highlighting recent efforts, "We have cut the flow of illegal immigration by half. We have cut the flow of fentanyl by half. But we need Congress to be able to act to actually fix the problem."
Harris Hits Back at Trump
Trump canceled an opportunity to participate in the broadcast, Whitaker said, although Trump's campaign disputed this, with Trump spokesman Steven Cheung calling it "fake news," the BBC reported.
When asked her opinion on this, Harris said, "If he's not going to give your viewers the ability to have a meaningful, thoughtful conversation with you, then watch his rallies.
"You're going to hear conversations that are about himself and all of his personal grievances. And what you will not hear is anything about you, the listener.
"You will not hear about how he's going to bring the country together, find common ground."
Harris added, "That is why I believe in my soul and heart the American people are ready to turn the page."
Newsweek has contacted the Harris campaign for comment via email outside of standard working hours.
Update, 10/08/2024, 10:06 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update, 10/08/2024, 10:35 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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