Analysis: Kamala Harris Shows True Lefty Colors In CNN Interview, Admits Her ‘Values Have Not Changed’ Despite Major Policy Flip-Flops

Vice President Kamala Harris revealed her unwavering ideological stance in her first television interview since being named the Democratic nominee, stating that her “values have not changed,” despite shifts in her positions on key issues.

In an interview with CNN, Harris, 59, defended her recent policy reversals when questioned about whether voters could trust her consistency, as Republicans continue to doubt her sincerity on issues like immigration, healthcare, and energy policy leading up to the November 5 election.

“The most important and significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed,” Harris said during the interview with Dana Bash, marking her first major sit-down since President Biden announced his withdrawal from the race on July 21.

Throughout the nearly hour-long discussion, Harris frequently reiterated this point to counter claims that she was merely adapting her stance for political gain.

Harris has previously shifted away from policy commitments such as ending private health insurance, decriminalizing illegal border crossings, prohibiting fracking, and banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. These positions were part of her 2019 platform when she was vying for the Democratic presidential nomination as a senator from California.

Earlier this month, Harris proposed and then quickly retreated from a plan to implement price controls on groceries after facing widespread backlash. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, seized on the proposal to label Harris as “Comrade Kamala.”

Trump, 78, has been trying to pressure Harris into doing her first interview as a candidate, aiming to disrupt her “honeymoon” phase of favorable media coverage.

“I look so forward to debating Comrade Kamala Harris and exposing her for the fraud she is,” Trump wrote on social media following the airing of the interview. “Harris has changed every one of her long-held positions on everything. America will never allow an Election-WEAPONIZING MARXIST TO BE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.”

When defending her shifts on banning gas-powered cars and fracking, Harris insisted that her earlier advocacy for stronger environmental policies was justified due to the urgency of the climate crisis.

“You mentioned the Green New Deal. I have always believed and—I’ve worked on it—that the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent matter to which we should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time,” Harris explained, often glancing downward as she spoke.

“We did that with the Inflation Reduction Act. We have set goals for the United States of America, and by extension the globe, around when we should meet certain standards for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as an example. That value has not changed.”

The Inflation Reduction Act, which Harris cited, allocated $369 million towards environmental initiatives, including the installation of electric vehicle charging stations and tax incentives for energy-efficient vehicles and home improvements, aiming for a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.

In the interview, Harris stood firm on her decision not to ban fracking but did not provide a clear explanation for her change of heart—an issue that could become a stumbling block in swing-state Pennsylvania.

“In 2019 you said, ‘There is no question, I’m in favor of banning fracking.’ … Do you still want to ban fracking?” Bash asked.

“No. And I made that clear [as Biden’s running mate] on the debate stage in 2020. That I would not ban fracking

. As vice president, I did not ban fracking. As president, I will not ban fracking,” Harris responded to Bash.

Pressed further, Harris asserted, “In 2020, I made very clear where I stand. We are in 2024 and I’ve not changed that position, nor will I going forward. I kept my word, and I will keep my word.”

When Bash asked what led to her change in stance, Harris replied, “Let’s be clear, my values have not changed. I believe it is very important that we take seriously what we must do to guard against what is a clear crisis in terms of the climate.”

She continued, “And to do that, we can do what we have accomplished thus far. The Inflation Reduction Act… That tells me, from my experience as vice president, we can do it without banning fracking. In fact, Dana… I cast the tie-breaking vote that actually increased leases for fracking, yeah, as vice president.”

When pressed on whether any specific policy or scientific data influenced her shift, Harris said, “What I have seen is that we can, we can grow and we can increase a thriving clean energy economy without banning fracking.”

Harris also argued that she has been effective in her role as the administration’s point person on curbing illegal immigration, despite the record-high number of illegal crossings for three consecutive years.

Harris made only one brief visit to the border during her time as the so-called “border czar,” after President Biden assigned her in March 2021 to work with Mexico and three Central American nations to address the “root causes” of illegal immigration.

“Well, first of all, the root causes work that I did as vice president, that I was asked to do by the president, has actually resulted in a number of benefits, including historic investments by American businesses in that region,” Harris said.

“The number of immigrants coming from that region has actually reduced since we began that work.”

The Biden-Harris administration reversed many of Trump’s border policies during their first year, including halting the construction of the US-Mexico border wall and discontinuing the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which required asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while awaiting US court decisions.

Federal data shows that while the number of illegal border-crossers from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras has slightly decreased, the overall number of illegal crossings surged to nearly 2.5 million in fiscal 2023, with Republicans attributing the increase to “pull” factors like the fact that many illegal crossers are allowed into the US to await asylum proceedings. These migrants are eligible for work permits after six months.

In the interview, Harris hinted that she no longer supports decriminalizing illegal border crossings, though she did not explicitly state this.

“I believe there should be consequences. We have laws that have to be followed and enforced that address and deal with people who cross our border illegally, and there should be consequences,” Harris stated.

“And let’s be clear, in this race, I’m the only person who has prosecuted transnational criminal organizations who traffic in guns, drugs, and human beings. I’m the only person in this race who actually served a border state as attorney general to enforce our laws, and I would enforce our laws as president going forward, I recognize the problem.”

The term “decriminalization” can sometimes mean reducing the severity of punishment rather than fully legalizing prohibited conduct.

Trump was quick to pounce on Harris after the interview, following weeks of labeling her as “Comrade Kamala” and accusing her of pushing the “Maduro plan,” referencing Venezuela’s socialist leader Nicolas Maduro.

“She probably goes back to her room and gets sick to her stomach when she says what she has to say because she’s a Marxist,” Trump declared at a rally in Michigan on Thursday, shortly after the first clips of Harris’ interview were released.

“Now she’s saying, ‘Oh, we want to build a strong border.’ Where has she been for three and a half years?” Trump exclaimed.

Republicans have consistently criticized Harris, who also pledged during the CNN interview to include a Republican in her cabinet, accusing her of being a political “chameleon” who is only pretending to have moderated her views in her quest to become the first female president.

“I just saw Comrade Kamala Harris’ answer to a very weakly-phrased question, a question that was put in more as a matter of defense than curiosity, but her answer rambled incoherently, and declared her ‘values haven’t changed’,” Trump wrote Thursday night in a Truth Social post.

“On that, I agree, her values haven’t changed – The Border is going to remain open, not closed, there will be Free Healthcare for Illegal Aliens, Sanctuary Cities, No Cash Bail, Gun Confiscation, Zero Fracking, a Ban on Gasoline-Powered Cars, Private Healthcare will be abolished, a 70-80% tax rate will be put in place, and she will Defund the Police. America will become a WASTELAND!”

{Matzav.com}