
WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said in an interview on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” that aired Monday that she believes Congress will work with her to implement economic and tax policies if elected.
She also criticized Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for refusing to participate in a news interview, but noted that voters interested in his goals for the country should simply listen to one of his rallies.
“You’ll hear conversations about himself and all his personal grievances, but you won’t hear any information about you, the listener,” Harris said. “You won’t hear him trying to unite the country or find common ground. And that’s why I believe with all my soul and heart that Americans are ready to turn the page.”
Harris reinforced her support for Ukraine during the interview, saying she would not sit down for bilateral talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin about the conflict.
“Ukraine must have a say in Ukraine’s future,” Harris said, although she declined to say whether her administration would support Ukraine’s inclusion in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Harris argued that if Trump had been president when Russia invaded Ukraine, “Putin would be sitting in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, right now.”
“He says, ‘Oh, he can end it on day one.’ Do you know what it is? It’s about surrender,” Harris said of Trump.
Trump and immigration
Harris focused on Trump in many of her responses to questions about immigration and border security, criticizing him for working behind the scenes to defeat bipartisan legislation that took months to negotiate.
She also repeatedly pointed out that Congress is responsible for writing laws regulating immigration policy, and wondered why lawmakers did not approve the bill sent by President Joe Biden in the first days of his administration.
Harris said she believes Americans will vote for her over Trump, in part, because they want a president who won’t make statements about immigrants the way Trump regularly makes during the campaign.
“I believe the American people want a leader who will not try to divide us and humiliate us,” Harris said. “I believe the American people realize that the true measure of a leader’s strength is not in who you defeat, but in who you lift up.”
Harris expressed confidence that members of Congress will work with her if elected president to implement some of her major policy proposals, including expanding the child tax credit and establishing a tax credit for first-time homebuyers.
She said paying for these proposals could be achieved by “ensuring that the richest among us who can afford it pay their fair share of taxes.”
“It’s not fair that teachers, nurses and firefighters pay a higher tax rate than billionaires and major corporations, and I intend to make it fair,” she said.
She said that when Harris talks to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, many of them understand her comments about the tax code.
“There are many leaders in Congress who understand and know that the Trump tax cuts have blown up our federal deficit,” Harris said. “None of us, least of all me, can afford to be shortsighted when it comes to how we think about strengthening the U.S. economy.”
Harris provided more details during the interview about gun ownership, revealing that she owned a Glock and had fired it at shooting ranges.
“I have a Glock and have had it for a long time,” Harris said. “And I mean, look, Bill, I have a background in law enforcement. And you’re welcome.”