The interviews of the presidential candidates on the program 60 minutes They are almost as rooted in the American electoral tradition as the debates, since in 1968 the Republican Richard Nixon and the Democrat Hurbert Humphrey sat before the CBS journalists. This year, however, Donald Trump stood down the network after initially agreeing to the interview. Yes, Kamala Harris granted it. The Democratic candidate, who took 39 days to respond face to face to a media outlet since she was appointed to replace Joe Biden, has embarked on a media offensive to reach voters. In this Monday, Harris said that she would not sit down with Vladimir Putin to negotiate peace in Ukraine without representation from the kyiv Government. He also assured that not only does he have a gun, but he has fired it.
In addition to this Monday’s interview, Harris gave another to Call Her Daddy podcast, one of the most popular in the United States, which aired on Sunday. This Tuesday he has scheduled appearances in The View of the ABC and The Late Show, on CBS. Additionally, he will participate in a Univision forum aimed at Latino voters on Thursday in Las Vegas. His vice presidential candidate, Tim Walz, appeared briefly in the CBS interview on Monday and also scheduled an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! from ABC. What Harris has not done for now is give a press conference, within his peculiar media strategy that has until now tried to minimize the possibilities of a skid that takes its toll. With interviews, take some controlled risk in the face of the need to fight for every vote in a very close battle.
The program 60 minutes This Monday began with an explanation from the presenter in which he pointed out that Trump had backed out after admitting to doing the interview, alleging various excuses, among them that he refused to submit to verification of his words. Trump did appear on conservative Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, where he said he knew how tough Gaza was because he had been there, which turned out not to be true. In that interview, he insisted on his xenophobic messages, linking immigration and crime and stating that the arrival of immigrants had brought “bad genes” to the United States. His campaign later said he was referring to criminals, not immigrants in general.
“What about allowing people to come in across an open border, 13,000 of whom were murderers? Many of them murdered many more than one person,” Trump said, according to AP. “And now they live happily in the United States. You know, now a murderer… I believe this: it’s in his genes. And we have a lot of bad genes in our country right now.” The statistics cited by Trump are for immigrants who have entered the United States for decades, including his tenure. Trump has spoken in the past that immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of the United States, a phrase with echoes of Nazi Adolf Hitler. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre criticized Trump on Monday for his statement: “That type of language is hateful, disgusting, inappropriate and has no place in our country,” she said at a press conference.
CBS host Bill Whitaker asked Harris about Trump’s refusal to grant the interview to 60 minutes. “If he’s not going to give his viewers the chance to have a meaningful, thoughtful conversation, Q&A with him, then watch his rallies. You will hear conversations that deal with himself and all his personal grievances. And what they won’t hear is anything about you. They won’t hear how he’s going to try to unite the country, find common ground. And, Bill, that is why I believe with my soul and with my heart, that the American people are ready to turn the page,” he answered.
Harris stayed with her 30 minutes of the CBS program and passed the exam with some ease, although the interviewer put her on the spot by pointing out some of her contradictions and the delay in approving effective measures against the avalanche of undocumented immigrants. Harris did not deviate from his usual script when talking about Israel. He proclaimed what he calls Israel’s right to defend itself and assured that Washington is making a continuous effort to make its principles clear to Israel and the need for the war to end. “The diplomatic work we do with Israel’s leaders is a continuous effort to make our principles clear,” he said.
The Ukrainian War
The interviewer asked him if he would sit down to negotiate a solution to the war in Ukraine without Putin. “Not bilaterally without Ukraine, no. “Ukraine must have a say in the future of Ukraine,” was his response. And then he criticized his rival in the elections: “If Donald Trump were president, Putin would be sitting in kyiv right now. He talks about how it can end. [con la guerra] on the first day. Do you know what that is? It’s about giving up.”
On his changes in position on issues such as the extraction of shale oil through hydraulic fragmentation (fracking), about public health insurance for all or about toughness at the border, Harris explained: “I believe in consensus. We are a diverse people. Geographically, regionally, in terms of where we are in our origins. And what the American people want is for us to have leaders who can reach consensus. That we can reach a compromise and understand that it is not bad, as long as you do not compromise your values, to find common sense solutions. And that has been my focus.”
In particular, on the border, he returned to the attack against his adversary when he recalled that he torpedoed a bipartisan agreement in the Senate to approve a border security law. “Donald Trump found out that this bill was in the works and could be passed, and he wants to ride on a problem instead of fix a problem, so he told his colleagues in Congress: ‘Kill the bill.’ law. Don’t let it advance,” he said.
Harris took the opportunity to try to place the message that she is a unifying figure, in contrast to Trump: “I think the American people want a leader who does not try to divide us and degrade us. “I think the American people recognize that the true measure of a leader’s strength is not who he knocks down, but who he lifts up.”
And he gave some more detail about the firearm he owns and which he has spoken about several times in the last month to try to convince voters that he is not opposed to them. He noted that he has had a Glock pistol “for quite some time,” and when asked if he had used it, he laughed and replied: “Yes. Of course. At a shooting range. Yes, of course I have.”
Harris defended his economic proposals — dropping his “I’m a capitalist” again — and his intention for the richest and companies to pay more taxes.
In his podcast interview Call Her Daddy aired Sunday, Harris said she felt “sorry” for Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who suggested last month that the vice president has nothing to keep her humble because she has no biological children. “I feel sorry for her, and I’ll tell you why. Because I don’t think he understands that there are many women who don’t aspire to be humble. Two, there are many women who have a lot of love in their lives, family and children, and I think it is very important for women to lift each other up.”
“I am convinced that each person has their family by blood and their family by love. And I have both. And I consider it a true blessing,” he continued, referring to his blood relatives and his adopted children. “I love those kids to death. The family has many forms, and I think that more and more, we all understand that this is no longer the 50s,” he said.
The lies about the hurricane
Before heading to New York this Monday, the vice president of the United States criticized Trump for the lies he has spread in relation to the hurricane Helene. “The former president is spreading a lot of misinformation and disinformation about what is available, especially for Helene survivors. “It is extraordinarily irresponsible,” he said. The hurricane has left more than 220 fatalities in six states, including two of the decisive ones in the November 5 elections (Georgia and North Carolina) and the former president is trying to take political advantage of the tragedy. “People have a right to these resources, and it is vitally important that people ask for the help that is there to support. “All of these resources were created precisely for these types of moments, in an emergency situation, knowing that people have the right to receive the relief they so rightly need,” he added before flying to New York aboard Air Force Two.
Trump has baselessly claimed that the federal government is intentionally withholding aid to Republican victims of the disaster and has also lied when he said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had run out of money because it had been diverted to immigrant programs. without papers, betting again on the xenophobic strategy.