Trump, policy reversals: Takeaways from Kamala Harris' interview with '60 Minutes'

WASHINGTON – In a wide-ranging sit-down with "60 Minutes" that aired Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris defended her policy reversals on issues such as fracking and criticized former President Donald Trump for backing out of the interview with the CBS program.

Harris said, as she did in a previous interview with CNN, that shifts in her positions on a fracking ban and Medicare for All, both of which she says she no longer supports, came after hearing from Americans across the country in her travels as vice president.

"What the American people do want is that we have leaders who can build consensus, where we can figure out compromise and understand it's not a bad thing, as long as you don't compromise your values, to find common sense solutions," Harris told "60 Minutes" correspondent Bill Whitaker. "And that has been my approach."

Trump initially agreed to be interviewed, according to CBS. He changed his mind and only Harris, and her running mate Tim Walz, appeared on the program, in a break with more than half a century of tradition.

"Unfortunately last week, Trump canceled," CBS correspondent Scott Pelley said in the program's introduction, adding that the campaign offered "shifting" explanations. One of the issues Trump's campaign raised was that CBS would fact-check the interview, Pelley noted.

"We fact-check every story," Pelley stated.

Addressing Trump's absence from the program, Harris repeated a debate attack line and told viewers to watch his events.

"If he is not going to give your viewers the ability to have a meaningful, thoughtful conversation, question and answer with you, then watch his rallies," she said. "You're going to hear conversations that are about himself and all of his personal grievances."

Harris on Trump: America wants a leader 'who's not trying to divide us'

During the "60 Minutes" interview, Whitaker asked Harris about her past statements that Trump is divisive. Among the examples he put forward was Trump's unfounded claims that Haitian migrants living in Springfield, Ohio, are abducting and eating pets.

Trump has the support of millions of Americans, he pointed out. "How do you explain that?" he asked.

Harris replied: "I am glad you are pointing these comments out that he has made, that have resulted in a response by most reasonable people, to say it's just wrong, it's just wrong."

Pressed again on the fact that so many people are supporting Trump, whom she's previously characterized as a racist, Harris declined to criticize Americans who plan to vote for him.

"I believe that the people of America want a leader who's not trying to divide us and demean," she asserted. "I believe that the American people recognize that the true measure of the strength of a leader is not based on who you beat down, it's based on who you lift up."

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Harris says high grocery prices would be a priority

The economy continues to be the top issue for voters, and Harris said that bringing down high grocery prices would be a priority if she wins the election.

"And I know that, and we need to deal with it, which is why part of my plan," Harris said after Whitaker asked if Americans blaming her and President Joe Biden were wrong.

Harris has proposed tax breaks for new parents, first-time homebuyers, and entrepreneurs. She has said she will pay for her plans by raising the corporate tax rate, which requires an act of Congress, and increasing taxes on capital gains for wealthy Americans.

Biden was unable to achieve key parts of his agenda through Congress after proposing to pay for his plans with tax increases. Harris suggested she'd have better luck.

She told Whitaker that if you "talk quietly" to lawmakers about the issue, "they know exactly what I'm talking about."

"There are plenty of leaders in Congress who understand and know that the Trump tax cuts blew up our federal deficit," she added, referring to a 2017 bill he signed into law.

Harris' economic plans could also add to the federal deficit, analysts said, but forecasts have found Trump's would be more costly.

Harris presses Congress to pass immigration reforms

Harris again called on Congress to pass bipartisan immigration reform legislation that died in the U.S. Senate after Trump encouraged lawmakers not to vote in favor of it.

Illegal border crossings have dropped sharply since Biden instituted tougher asylum measures. Harris has said she'll crack down further.

"It's a longstanding problem. And solutions are at hand. And from day one, literally, we have been offering solutions," Harris told "60 Minutes."

Harris reaffirms support for Ukraine, says diplomacy with Israel an 'ongoing pursuit'

Harris sidestepped a question on whether the Biden administration has "sway" over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while affirming that Israel is an important U.S. ally.

"The work that we do diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles," Harris said. "I think with all due respect the better question is do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people and the answer to that question is yes."

Israel has a right to defend itself, she said of its response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants. "And how it does so matters. Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. This war has to end."

The Democratic nominee said she would not meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine without Ukraine.

"Not bilaterally without Ukraine, no. Ukraine must have a say in the future of Ukraine," she said.

Harris declined to say whether she would support adding Ukraine to NATO, even though member nations adopted language over the summer that said the nation's pathway to membership is "irreversible."

"Those are all issues that we will deal with if and when it arrives at that point," Harris said. "Right now, we are supporting Ukraine's ability to defend itself against Russia's unprovoked aggression."

Harris said that if Trump were president, he would cut a deal that puts Putin in control of Ukraine. "You know what that is? It's about surrender," she said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kamala Harris talks Donald Trump and foreign policy with '60 Minutes'