America ready to turn from Donald Trump: Kamala Harris

Vice-President reaches out to centrist voters in her first interview since her dramatic entry into November’s presidential election.

Tim Walz and Kamala Harris on their CNN interview that was broadcast on Thursday night. Picture: Photo: Will Lanzoni/CNN/WSJ

Kamala Harris declared on Thursday night 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 nominee 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,” Ms 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 Mr 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 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.

“I think it’s important to have people at the table when some of the most important decisions are being made that have different views, different experiences,” she said. “And I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my cabinet who was a Republican.”

Mr Trump branded the interview “BORING!!!” in a post on social media. The Republican former president called Ms 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.

Ms 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 Mr Trump’s right-wing message – Ms 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,” Ms Harris said.

On another hot-button topic on the US political landscape, Ms Harris urged a ceasefire in Gaza, but told CNN that she would not change President Joe Biden’s policies for key US ally Israel, including deliveries of weaponry.

“No, we have to get a deal done,” she said, adding that she was “unwavering” in her support for Israel but that “far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed”.

Republicans had criticised Ms Harris for not giving any interviews since Mr Biden abruptly dropped out, following mounting concerns over his health and age at 81. She has enjoyed a honeymoon period with surging polls and record fundraising, but has also faced scrutiny for keeping many of her policies vague as she pulls her campaign together at record speed.

Ms Harris has also been cautious with the media since a widely panned interview on migration in 2021, but she offered a measured performance on CNN on Thursday. She gave the interview while on a campaign bus tour of Georgia, one of the seven battleground states that are expected to decide the November 5 election.

A number of polls out on Thursday showed Ms Harris ahead of Mr Trump, if only marginally, with several finding increased support for Ms Harris in battleground states.

Mr Trump has been hitting the campaign trail hard in recent days, after a period where the 78-year-old former president appeared to struggle to find his footing against a new, younger, female candidate.

Speaking at the event in Potterville, Michigan, Mr Trump targeted Ms Harris on her immigration policy shifts, saying: “Where has she been for 3½ years?”

Ms Harris and Mr Trump are set to face off in their pivotal first debate on September 10, in Philadelphia.

AFP