Kamala Harris interview as it happened: Democratic Presidential nominee says she has no regrets saying Biden could run again

The sit-down interview with CNN was an attempt by the Harris campaign to stem the criticism that the vice president is yet to participate in an unscripted media event. So will this prime-time interview with Dana Bash silence her critics?

North American correspondent Farrah Tomazin writes:

In the end, the interview was short and friendly, allowing Harris to do a solid enough job traversing issues such as immigration, the economy, and the war in Gaza – but whether it will be enough to shift the needle in a race that is currently neck and neck is doubtful.

She avoided the major missteps that plagued her ill-fated first presidential bid in 2019 or her early vice presidency, when she occasionally looked unserious or as though she lacked policy depth.

She made the case to “turn the page” on Donald Trump and the division and chaos he sowed, offering a new way forward “fuelled by hope and by optimism”.

And she tried to explain her various policy U-turns, which Republicans have been highlighting for weeks in the hope of casting her as a “phony radical liberal” who lacks conviction.

The real test, however, will come on September 10, when Harris and Trump will face off in the first presidential debate in Philadelphia.

You can read more of Farrah’s analysis of the interview here.

This concludes our live coverage of Kamala Harris’ first prime-time interview as a presidential candidate. Thanks for reading.

The CNN interview was conducted in Georgia, where North American correspondent Farrah Tomazin has been today watching the Kamala Harris campaign, as the vice president made a bold pitch to rural voters in Deep South “Trump Country”.

Harris is casting herself as a president for everyone while barnstorming areas that Democratic nominees have long ignored.

Amid a wave of enthusiasm from left-leaning voters, the US vice president has embarked on a highly targeted strategy to appeal to people beyond the Democratic base in areas that have traditionally been loyal to Republicans.

“My entire career, I’ve only had one client: the people,” the former prosecutor told a rally in the coastal city of Savannah, repeating a line from her nomination acceptance speech.

“I believe it is the highest form of patriotism to fight for the highest ideals of our country. That is how we realise the promise of America.”

You can read more of the report here.

Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally in Savannah, Georgia,Credit: AP

That concludes the interview. Bash tells viewers that Donald Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance have both been given the opportunity to sit down and do a similar interview. CNN has yet to hear back.

Trump meanwhile has given his review on how he saw it via his Truth Social site.

“BORING!!!” he posted only moments after the interview had concluded.

In closing the interview, Harris is asked about the photo of her giving her acceptance speech at last week’s Democrat National Convention as her eight-year-old great-niece Amara looks on.

The photo, captured by New York Times staff photographer Todd Heisler, went viral.

“I am running because I believe that I am the best person to do this job at this moment for all Americans, regardless of race and gender,” Harris said.

“But I did see that photograph, and I was deeply touched by it.

“It’s the back of her head and her two little braids, and then I’m in the front of the photograph, obviously speaking. And it’s very humbling, it’s very humbling in many ways.”

Harris is now detailing the Sunday morning that Joe Biden called to inform her he was not running for re-election.

She said her extended family had been staying with her, they just had pancakes and bacon, and were about to sit down to do some puzzles with her grandnieces when the phone rang and the president told her what he had decided.

“I asked him ‘are you sure?,” she said. “And he said ‘yes’, and that’s how I learned about it.”

Did she ask him for his endorsement?

“He was very clear that he was going to support me,” she said. “My first thought was not about me, to be honest with you. My first thought was about him, to be honest.”

Harris says she has no regrets for backing Joe Biden to run again in November in the days after his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump back in June.

As Democrats panicked if Biden was the right person to run in the 2024 election, Harris defended the president and his capacity to serve another four years.

Asked if she now regretted what she said to the American people, Harris says no.

“Not at all,” she said. ” I have served with President Biden for almost four years now, and I’ll tell you, it’s one of the greatest honours of my career.

“He cares so deeply about the American people. He is so smart and loyal to the American people, and I have spent hours upon hours with him being in the Oval Office or the Situation Room. He has the intelligence, the commitment and the judgment and disposition that I think the American people rightly deserve in their president.

“By contrast, the former president [Trump] has none of that. And so I am so proud to have served as vice president to Joe Biden. And two, I am so proud to be running with Tim Walz for president.”

Walz has faced criticism in recent weeks from Republicans who say he is embellishing his background to appeal to more voters.

For instance, his wife clarified that she did not undergo IVF, as Walz has repeatedly claimed, but that she used other fertility treatments.

Republicans also have slammed him for a 2018 comment he made about having carried weapons in war. (He served in the National Guard for 24 years, but his only wartime deployment was to Italy in 2003, backfilling troops that were deploying to Afghanistan).

“I think people know who I am,” he said when asked if voters could take him at his word. “They know that record. They’ve seen that I’ve taught thousands of students. I’ve been out there, and I won’t apologise for peaking passionately, whether it’s guns in schools or protecting reproductive rights. The contrast could not be clearer between what we’re running against.”

Walz said Republicans will attack him and his record on anything and everything.

“If it’s not this, it’s an attack on my children for showing love for me, or it’s an attack on my dog.”

Immigration and the US-Mexico border are lightning rod topics in the US political debate. But there has not been any major legislative reform in the area since 1986 when the Immigration Reform and Control Act was signed into law.

The act legalised 2.7 million undocumented residents, while outlawing the hiring of undocumented immigrants. In the decades since, the facts on the ground - on both sides of the border - have shifted.

A strong US economy has lured more people, many of whom have planted roots within the US.

Meanwhile, instability in the countries of migrants’ origins has driven more immigration. Global undocumented migrant flows have grown larger, drawing in migrants from as far away as India, China, Vietnam and the Middle East.

While the long-standing economic and political drivers shape the situation on the ground, Democrats and Republicans have been at odds over the best way forward.

The issue is further complicated by the role immigration has as a red flag in political campaigns.

Harris is now being asked about foreign policy and if she would adopt a different policy to that of Joe Biden in trying to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Recent talks aimed at bringing about a ceasefire have stalled. Hamas has said it will release the hostages in return for a lasting cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of high-profile Palestinian prisoners. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he remains committed to destroying the militant group and returning all the captives.

Harris says she is “unwavering in my commitment” that Israel has the right to defend itself but added that far too many innocent Palestinians have now been killed.

“We have to get a deal done,” she said. “This war must end, and we must get a deal that is about getting the hostages out. I’ve met with the families of the American hostages. Let’s get the hostages out. Let’s get the ceasefire done. But no change of policy in terms of arms and so forth.”

Bash says that people may be surprised to know that Harris has never met Trump or interacted with him in any way. That will change on September 10 (September 11 AEST) when the two are set to debate.

Asked about Trump’s claims that she recently “turned black” for political purposes, Harris replied.

“Same old, tired playbook. Next question, please.”

And that seems to be all we are hearing from Harris’ on her thoughts on Donald Trump.