Vice President Kamala Harris told Telemundo on Tuesday that she is a “pragmatic capitalist” who wants to support Latino entrepreneurs, countering former President Donald Trump’s efforts to portray her as a Marxist.
“I am a capitalist. I am a pragmatic capitalist,” Harris said during the interview at the vice president’s official residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC. “I believe that in America we need a new generation of leadership that actively works with the private sector to build power. America’s new industries, to build small business owners, to enable us to increase homeownership.”
Republicans have been trying for years to convince Hispanic voters, many of whom fled repressive countries or are descended from people who did, that Democrats are secret socialists or communists.
In his rally speeches and fundraising emails, Trump regularly refers to the vice president as “Comrade Kamala” and a “Marxist” and has shared on social media a fake image of someone resembling Harris speaking at a communist event.
Julio Vaqueiro, a host for the Spanish-language network Telemundo, which shares a parent company with NBC News, asked how Harris defined himself ideologically in light of these attacks.
Harris also made a direct appeal to Latino men’s wallets.
“I am very aware of how this would impact Latino men,” she said of her economic agenda. “I know that Latino men often have a harder time getting access to the big loans from the big banks because of relationships, because of things that are not necessarily based on their qualifications. So I’m focused on what we can do to bring more capital to community banks that understand the community and can make those kinds of loans.”
Men, especially young men of color, have become one of the most contentious demographics this election, as Trump makes unexpected gains among the Democratic-leaning group.
Harris also highlighted her plan to offer a $25,000 down payment to first-time homebuyers, saying that while this will benefit all Americans, “I am also aware of the specific impact on the Latino community.”
Just two weeks before the Nov. 5 election, polls show an extremely close race, with Harris and Trump within margin of error of each other in battleground and national polls.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
