NBC News’ Yamiche Alcindor interviewed Vice President Kamala Harris just before her rally at Talking Stick Amphitheater in Phoenix on Thursday afternoon. Read the full transcript:
ALCINDOR: Thank you very much for speaking with me, Madam Vice President. What concerns you most when you think about how close this election is and how important these key swing states are that you need to win?
HARRIS: It’s my responsibility to be everywhere I can to speak directly to voters and talk to them about the issues at stake in this election so that I can earn their vote. So that’s why I’m here today in Arizona, and yesterday I was in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania. And I will be talking to people virtually all over the country – especially in swing states – about the issues that affect them and the contrast between me and Donald Trump.
ALCINDOR: Former first lady Michelle Obama said she stays awake at night wondering why this election is so close. Do you do that? What keeps you awake at night?
HARRIS: What keeps me up at night are the challenges facing the American family and my role and responsibility and my to-do list to address those issues. Whether it’s lowering the cost of groceries, lowering the cost of housing, what we need to do to ensure childcare is affordable for working families, what I’ll do to ensure Medicare covers home care for seniors. Those are the things that keep me going, doing the work that will have a direct impact on the people of America.
And this is again a big contrast between me and Donald Trump. He spends all the time talking about himself, his personal grievances, his list of enemies. On day one, I walk into the Oval Office with my to-do list, which is about helping the American people deal with their challenges and also realize their ambitions and dreams.
ALCINDOR: Former President Donald Trump has said he would be a protector of women whether they like it or not. What do you think about that, and how does that contrast with your views on women and their rights and needs?
HARRIS: Well, I’ll only speak for myself, but also the Americans that I talk to every day in our country, regardless of gender, and that’s the majority of Americans, believe that women are intelligent enough and should have to do. are respected because their agency makes decisions for themselves about what is in their best interests, without their government, especially Donald Trump, telling them what to do.
And his latest comment is just the latest in a series of examples we’ve seen from him, in his words and actions, about he – how he devalues women’s ability to have the choice and the freedom to make decisions about their own interests. body.
ALCINDOR: Former President Trump also rode around in a garbage truck to draw attention to President Biden’s comments about his supporters and their rhetoric. Are you concerned that President Biden’s comments could undermine your own message of wanting to be a president for all Americans?
HARRIS: Well, I’ve discussed how I feel about those comments. First, that the president explained what he meant, but second, I don’t believe, and I’ll speak for myself, that we should ever criticize people based on who they vote for.
But let’s understand again where we stand in this election. On the one hand, you have Donald Trump, who refers to people with the most demeaning words, really trying to deprive them of the dignity they so rightly deserve. He is someone who talks full time about the enemy within. He speaks badly about America. He calls us a garbage can, and he doesn’t understand that most people are exhausted by his rhetoric, exhausted by that approach, exhausted by Donald Trump’s approach of trying to divide our country and make Americans point fingers at each other. . They are done and they are ready to turn the page and accept and receive a new generation of leadership that I offer.
ALCINDOR: While he and his supporters are clinging to that language from President Biden, are you at all concerned that it could undermine your message?
HARRIS: I’m very clear that the main thing the American people want to know in this election is that I have a plan, that we have a plan to lower the cost of living and invest in American families, invest in small businesses, to invest in our economy. I am proud to have the support of leading economists in our country who recognize that I actually have a specific plan and that it will strengthen the American economy. He has very few plans other than giving tax breaks to the richest people, and his plan, whatever it is, will actually weaken our economy.
ALCINDOR: I’ve spoken to Americans from all over the country, from all walks of life, who have been inspired by your story. What is your message to them as they watch your journey, especially the history you are making and could make as the first Black and Indian woman to break this glass ceiling? And even now, of course, writing the history that you’re writing now?
HARRIS: Well, you know, you’ve probably heard me say many times, my mother said to me, “Kamala, you might be the first to do a lot of things; make sure you’re not the last.’ And what I see in the people who come to these kinds of gatherings are young men, young women, people of every age, every background, every race, who are excited about the possibility of a new generation of leadership and leadership. excited about the fact that they have the choice to have a President of the United States who actually sees them, takes them, and wants to do the hard work that goes into improving their lives.
ALCINDOR: Day one, what’s your first executive action?
HARRIS: Well, my first priority, which will probably be the bill package, is about lowering the cost of living. So it’s about housing, it’s about childcare, it’s about what we need to do to tackle food prices. So it is not one package, but a package with a single goal: lowering the cost of living.
ALCINDOR: We have to go, but you’re talking about your mother, and what would you – what do you think your mother would tell you in these last days before the election against Donald Trump?
HARRIS: Go beat him. That’s probably what she would say. Yes, that’s my mother.
ALCINDOR: Okay, I know she gave you a lot of lessons. So thank you very much.
HARRIS: Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you. Good to talk to you.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
