WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris, who is casting herself as the candidate of change as she runs against Republican Donald Trump for president, said Friday that she is different from President Joe Biden because she offers “a new generation of leadership.”
In her first solo television interview since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris also criticized the “hate and division that we see from Donald Trump” and said she thinks people are “tired” of his leadership style.
She also said she is a gun owner and doesn’t want to take anyone’s gun away, but she does believe a ban on assault rifles is necessary and consistent with the Second Amendment.
Host Brian Taff of WPVI-TV in Philadelphia asked Harris to describe one or two areas where she stands out from the president.
“Well, I’m clearly not Joe Biden” and “I’m providing a new generation of leadership,” Harris said, adding that things once taken for granted can no longer be overlooked.
“Another plan that I have that is a new approach is to expand the child benefit to $6,000 for young families for the first year of their child’s life, because that is clearly a very critical stage in the development of the child, and so my approach is about new ideas, new policies that are focused on the present moment,” she said. “And to be very honest with you, my focus is very much on what we need to do in the next 10, 20 years to catch up to the 21st century, again, in terms of capacity but also challenges.”
The interview was held in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, where Harris was campaigning on Friday.
Trump, his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, and other Republicans have criticized Harris for largely avoiding media interviews or communicating openly with reporters covering her campaign events. She and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, gave a joint interview to CNN last month. Her campaign recently said she would do more local interviews, and the National Association of Black Journalists announced Friday that some of its members would interview Harris in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Harris used a question about the former president’s appeal and how she would speak to his supporters to criticize Trump and his leadership style.
“I also think I’m right when I say that most Americans want a leader who brings us together as Americans and not someone who claims to be a leader and tries to get us to point fingers at each other,” she said.
The vice president suggested that her support from Republican officials, including former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney, is the result of people being “tired” of Trump.
“I think now, given the hatred and the division that we see with Donald Trump, people are more willing to say, ‘Hey, let’s put country first.’ I think that just makes us stronger and healthier as a country,” she said.
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The vice president, 59, is a former San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general and U.S. senator. She gave a few answers when asked to share one thing she wants people to know about her that they don’t already know.
“It’s probably not that different from anyone watching right now,” she said. “I love my family. One of my favorite things that I haven’t been able to do lately is Sunday family dinner. I love cooking.”
Harris also said that her best friend from kindergarten “is still my best friend.”
