Harris says ‘values have not changed’ in 1st interview of her U.S. campaign

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are still introducing themselves to voters, unlike Donald Trump and Joe Biden of whom people had near-universal awareness and opinion.

Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday “my values have not changed,” as she was questioned along with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in their first major television interview of their presidential campaign.

The interview with CNN’s Dana Bash gives Harris a chance to quell criticism that she has eschewed uncontrolled environments, while also giving her a fresh platform to define her campaign and test her political mettle ahead of an upcoming debate with former President Donald Trump set for Sept. 10. But it also carries risk as her team tries to build on momentum from the ticket shakeup following Joe Biden’s exit and last week’s Democratic National Convention.

The full CNN interview is set to air at 9 p.m. EDT. It was taped at 1:45 p.m. at Kim’s Cafe, a local Black-owned restaurant in Savannah, Georgia and an excerpt was released Thursday afternoon. In it, Harris was asked about changes in her policies over the years.

“I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed,” Harris replied, citing as evidence her support for climate change legislation and border security.

Joint interviews during an election year are a fixture in politics; Biden and Harris, Trump and Mike Pence, Barack Obama and Biden — all did them at a similar point in the race. The difference is those other candidates had all done solo interviews, too. Harris hasn’t yet done an in-depth interview since she became her party’s standard bearer five weeks ago, though she did sit for several while she was still Biden’s running mate.

Harris and Walz are still introducing themselves to voters, unlike Trump and Biden of whom people had near-universal awareness and opinion.

They were in the midst of a two-day bus tour through southeast Georgia that culminates with an evening rally in Savannah. Harris campaign officials believe that in order to win the state over Trump in November, she must make inroads in GOP strongholds across the state.

Harris, during her time as vice president, has done on-camera and print interviews with The Associated Press and many other outlets, a much more frequent pace than the president — except for Biden’s late-stage media blitz following his disastrous debate performance that touched off the end of his campaign.