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Business Manager: Brendan Flaherty
Email: bflaherty1@umassd.edu
Kamala Harris was featured in a 60 Minutes interview on October 7.
Taking place so close to the election, this 20-minute interview, although simple at face value, can be seen as a turning point in many people’s votes for the presidency.
The two running candidates for the Presidential election for the next term are Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Both have recently taken the stage in a second debate on September 10 to introduce themselves to the American public, talk about major topics regarding their party’s stances, and their plans for their term if they are elected.
(If you wish to learn about that debate, be sure to read our article, Trump v. Harris: First Debate.)
The idea behind 60 Minutes is a “story worth telling could be done in ten or 15 minutes.” Throwing in time for commercials and transition scenes, the entire episode contains three stories with a little bit of something for everyone.
So, what does Kamala Harris, a latecomer to the presidential election, have to say to all the skeptics and the naysayers in her small segment of the episode? There are a few significant points that were talked over in the quick interview that need to be mentioned.
The War in the Middle East
The interview begins with Harris’s plans about the ongoing fight in Israel and Gaza. She replies, saying, “Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. This war has to end.”
The interviewer, Bill Whitaker, goes on to talk about how the U.S. has been aiding the Israelians and their efforts to defeat Hamas, but Harris retaliates with how the U.S. is trying everything they can to reduce the fighting and possibly bring about a ceasefire.
Prices are Too High
The second topic in the interview is about how the state of grocery prices is unbearably high for most Americans. Harris shares her plan to help out the small businesses of America along with lowering the prices of all goods.
The interviewer asks how her plan is going to get through Congress, and Harris replies, “[W]hen you talk quietly with a lot of folks in Congress, they know exactly what I’m talking about,” leaving the idea that such a plan has a chance to pass if carried out correctly.
The aim of the Harris party has been to seemingly reach out to the lower-class and smaller individuals who cannot use their voice and to finally allow them to have a better life and a better standing in the economy and the markets.
Immigration
A seriously talked about topic that has not left the Republican voters’ minds is the topic of immigration, more specifically, how they believe that Kamala is unfit to carry out the necessities to ensure that the border is secure.
During the last presidential debate between Trump and Harris, President Trump mentioned the lack of agency from the current president regarding the issue of immigration.
As mentioned in an article from TIME, Trump wanted to “project strength on familiar issues like the economy, immigration, and foreign policy.”
Harris’s response in the 60 Minutes interview essentially consists of how the Democrats have been trying to pass the Border Security Bill and that because it has failed to get through Congress, they have been pushed back.
The War in Russia and Ukraine
Harris was also asked about the current and ongoing war that is occurring in Ukraine and what her party intends to do about it.
In a simplified version, Harris essentially says that the war needs to come to an end with a favorable ending for Ukraine.
When asked if she would meet with Putin to discuss an end to the war, she replied saying, “Not bilaterally without Ukraine, no. Ukraine must have a say in the future of Ukraine.”
Altogether, the interview gives viewers a quick and informative view of the Vice President and her plans for if she becomes the new President.
With the election coming up and voters needing all the information they can get to formulate a decision on who they will vote for in November, this interview may have been the ticket for many Americans in their decision.
Ultimately, it will be a close race either way. Former President Trump has plenty of supporters, and Harris has the previous supporters from the Biden administration to rely on.