Economy, Gaza, and political civility: 5 takeaways from Kamala Harris’ interview with NABJ

CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS: This story has been corrected to reflect that Harris' claim about the unemployment rate was false.

Trying to assuage criticism over her lack of interviews, Vice President Kamala Harris took questions from the National Association of Black Journalists on Tuesday on issues ranging from the economy to Trump's claims of migrant pet-eating.

In the Philadelphia interview, she responded to questions from journalists representing POLITICO, the Grio and NPR on the economy, Israel’s war with Hamas and her call with former President Donald Trump on Tuesday — while also needling the Republican nominee and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, for attacks on Haitian migrants.

Harris’ interview with the group came nearly two months after Trump held his own controversial – and combative – interview with Black journalists at the organization's national conference.

Economy question dogs Harris

The first question Harris fielded was on an issue of chief concern for many American voters: the economy. Voters have said in polling that they trust Trump more on matters of the economy and specifically inflation. Those are areas in which Harris has struggled to gain significant ground.

The economy was also the first question at last week's presidential debate. Harris did not directly answer a question then about whether Americans were better off four years ago when Trump was still president. She faced the same line of questioning at the beginning of her interview on Tuesday.

Harris lamented that she and President Joe Biden came into office during an unemployment crisis. "Four years ago, when we came in, we came in during the worst unemployment since the Great Depression," she said. But that statement was false. In actuality, the unemployment rate had recovered to 6.8% after hitting a record high of 14.8% in April 2020.

She outlined the Biden administration’s actions to bring down the unemployment rate and her recent economic plan, which includes giving first time home buyers a $25,000 down payment assistance and expanding the child tax credit.

But she noted, there’s still more that needs to be done. “Is the price of groceries still too high? Yes,” she said. “Do we have more work to do? Yes.”

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False rumors about Haitian migrants

Harris slammed Trump and Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, for amplifying false rumors that Haitian immigrants are stealing and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, calling their comments “a crying shame.” 

But she had a warning for her Republican opponents: be more careful with words on the national stage. Trump and Vance’s comments spreading the false rumor have led to threatening calls, bomb threats, and evacuations of public buildings in Springfield, Ohio.

“When you have that microphone in front of you, you really ought to understand at a very deep level how much your words have meaning,” Harris said. “I learned at a very young stage in my career that the meaning of my words could impact whether somebody was free or in prison.”

Middle East peace within reach

Harris said she still believes that a two-state solution to the longstanding conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is still possible. The vice president said she supports Israel's ability to defend itself and an independent Palestinian nation.

The Biden administration has been working with Egypt and Qatar all summer to negotiate a cease-fire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas that would end the war in Gaza. None has emerged. Harris said Tuesday that an agreement is not out of reach.

POLITICO White House Correspondent Eugene Daniels pushed Harris to differentiate herself from Biden on her approach to the conflict. Harris said she's had private and direct conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others about how to end the war.

"But ultimately, the thing that is going to unlock everything else in that region is getting this deal done," Harris said.

Gun violence prevention

Harris expanded on her views on gun safety laws, noting as she did in the debate that she owns a weapon, after interviewer Tonya Mosley, co-host of NPR’s “Fresh Air” and its "Truth Be Told" asked her how she'd prevent handgun violence.

"We're not trying to take anybody's guns away from them, but we do need an assault weapons ban," Harris replied.

The vice president said she wants to see "reasonable gun safety laws" and reiterated a call for universal background checks. "It's just reasonable you might want to know before someone can buy a lethal weapon if they've been found by a court to be a danger to themselves or others," Harris said.

Pressed by Mosley move beyond her talking points, Harris said she once protested at a firearms show and supports closing the so-called gun show loophole. The former San Francisco district attorney said she'd held the hands of mothers of who lost their children to gun violence. Harris said the problem requires a wholistic approach that includes untreated trauma.

Congress passed a bipartisan gun safety law in 2022. Harris said more financial resources should be put into community based intervention and that the issue should be prioritized

"There are very few solutions that we haven't thought of," she said. "We need to (put) the resources into them."

Civility in politics

At their September presidential debate, Harris made a beeline for Trump. She walked straight past her lectern, over to the former president and extended her hand. Trump shook it. The clash began on a civil note.

Trump returned the gesture the next morning at a 9/11 remembrance ceremony in New York City. Harris was talking with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer when former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg tapped her to let her know Trump had arrived. He reached for hand and she accepted. He held onto it, and patted it, before letting go.

The former president and Harris spoke by phone on Tuesday after the Secret Service thwarted a second assassination attempt on Trump, the sitting vice president said at NABJ.

"I checked on him to see if he was okay," she said. "In a democracy, there is no place for political violence. We can and should have healthy debates and discussion and disagreements, but not resort to violence to resolve those issues."

Those three encounters, all within the last week, plus a Monday phone call between Trump and President Joe Biden were rare moments of civility in what has been a nasty campaign season and amid rising political violence.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 5 takeaways from Kamala Harris’ interview with NABJ