5 takeaways from Kamala Harris' one-on-one interview with “60 Minutes”

CNN
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Vice President Kamala Harris faced tough questions about how she would finance her economic plans, whether Democrats were too slow to take border security measures, how she would confront Russia over its war in Ukraine and more on a wide-ranging “60 Minutes.” “Interview that aired on Monday.

The Democratic presidential nominee's meeting with CBS comes amid a media frenzy that also puts Harris in front of friendlier interviewers with more targeted audiences. Her interview with Alex Cooper, host of the popular podcast “Call Her Daddy,” went live on Sunday. On Tuesday, she will visit ABC's “The View,” meet with Howard Stern and appear on CBS's “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert. She will then participate in a Univision town hall on Thursday.

With no further debates currently scheduled between Harris and former President Donald Trump, this series of interviews could provide the best opportunities for surprise and attention-grabbing moments in the final four-week sprint to Election Day.

Here are five takeaways from Harris' interview with “60 Minutes”:

Asked about President Joe Biden's administration's approach to immigration policy, Harris claimed migration is a “long-standing problem” and declined to answer whether officials should have taken action sooner.

From the start, the Biden administration has faced record migration in the Western Hemisphere, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. For the past three years, U.S. officials have struggled with the influx of migrants at the southern border.

Asked why the administration didn't crack down sooner, Harris pointed to an immigration bill introduced in Congress in early 2021 and criticized Republicans for rejecting a recent bipartisan border bill after Trump urged them to reject the measure.

CBS correspondent Bill Whitaker asked: “But in the first three years of your administration, a historic surge of undocumented immigrants came across the border. In fact, arrivals have quadrupled compared to last year under President Trump. Was it a mistake to loosen immigration policy as much as you did?”

“It's a long-standing problem. And there are solutions. And from day one, we have literally offered solutions,” Harris said.

Asked about the record number of border crossings and whether more action should have been taken sooner, Harris declined to answer, instead focusing on recent actions that have led to a drastic drop in border crossings and deferring to Congress the duty to act.

“We need Congress to act to actually solve the problem,” she said.

Harris said she would not meet bilaterally with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate a solution to end the war in Ukraine.

“Ukraine must have a say in the future of Ukraine,” she said.

Harris said that “there will be no success in ending this war without Ukraine and the UN Charter being part of what that success looks like.”

The vice president avoided answering whether she would support efforts to expand the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to include Ukraine, saying she would “take care of it if and when it gets to that point.”

“These are all issues that we will deal with when the time comes. “Right now, we support Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked aggression,” Harris said.

She said that if Trump were president, “Putin would be sitting in Kiev right now,” referring to the Ukrainian capital.

“He talks about, oh, he can finish it on day one. Do you know what that is? It’s about surrender,” Harris said.

Harris met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House last month, where she reiterated her unwavering support for the country.

“As I have made clear in our six previous meetings and throughout Putin's brutal aggression and war against Ukraine, my support for the Ukrainian people is unwavering,” Harris said. “I was proud to stand with Ukraine – I will continue to stand with Ukraine and work to ensure that Ukraine is victorious in this war and is safe and prosperous.”

The Harris-Cheney alliance is on display

In the interview, Harris was once seen in Ripon, Wisconsin – supposedly the birthplace of the Republican Party – with former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney.

Cheney, who was ousted in a primary last year over her role in the House investigation into the attack by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, endorsed Harris and spoke at a rally in the key swing state last week.

“I would hope that if you had said to me four years ago, 'Our Constitution is going to be in jeopardy and it will be critical that the parties come together and support Vice President Harris because she will defend the rule of law.'” – I know , I would have said, 'That's exactly what I'm going to do,'” Cheney told CBS.

When asked if she would have imagined campaigning with Cheney four years ago, Harris responded politely.

“That would be great,” Harris said as she and Cheney laughed.

“She’s really diplomatic,” Cheney joked.

Harris' running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was also seen later, facing probing questions about previous statements that had been analyzed by Republicans and the press after he was elected vice president.

He admitted making false claims about his military career and his stay in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square riots. But he said those moments were about “expressing feelings, telling a story, fake dates,” as opposed to being “a pathological liar like Donald Trump.”

Still, Walz said Harris encouraged him to choose his words more carefully.

“She said, 'Tim, you know, you need to be a little more careful about how you say things,' whatever it may be,” Walz said.

Trump backed out of his “60 Minutes” interview after his campaign agreed to it and scheduled a session at his Mar-a-Lago estate, CBS correspondent Scott Pelley said Monday night at the start of the broadcast of the country's most-watched newsmagazine.

Trump sat down with “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl in October 2020 and abruptly ended the interview when he appeared to object to Stahl's questions. Trump told reporters in Wisconsin last week that he would “like to receive an apology” for that interview before sitting down for another interview.

For much of the last few weeks, the former president has only answered questions from friendly interviewers, including Fox News.

“If he doesn’t give your viewers the opportunity to have a meaningful, thoughtful conversation, question and answer with you, then watch his rallies,” Harris told Whitaker.

“You will hear conversations that talk about himself and all his personal grievances. And what you won't hear affects you, the listener. You will not hear how he will try to bring the country together and find common ground,” she said. “And, Bill, that's why I believe in my soul and my heart that the American people are ready to turn the page.”

CNN's Aaron Pellish contributed to this report.