{"id":2334476,"date":"2024-08-30T17:13:56","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T21:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-checking-kamala-harriss-first-interview-as-a-presidential-candidate-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-30T17:19:01","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T21:19:01","slug":"fact-checking-kamala-harriss-first-interview-as-a-presidential-candidate-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-checking-kamala-harriss-first-interview-as-a-presidential-candidate-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Fact-checking Kamala Harris\u2019s first interview as a presidential candidate &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffact-checking-kamala-harriss-first-interview-as-a-presidential-candidate-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2334476&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In her first interview since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris provided vague responses and\u200d made several misleading statements regarding her \u2063policies and record. Harris aimed to distance herself from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/on-inflation-biden-knows-hes-in-dire-straits\/\" title=\"On Inflation, Biden Knows He\u2019s In Dire Straits\">economic challenges faced<\/a> by voters while endorsing\u2062 popular Biden \u200cadministration initiatives, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/editor-daily-rundown-biden-to-deliver-forceful-speech-to-congress-about-lowering-prescription-drug-prices\/\" title=\"Editor Daily Rundown: Biden To Deliver \u2018Forceful\u2019 Speech To Congress About Lowering Prescription Drug Prices\">lowering prescription drug prices<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Her claims included:<\/p>\n<p>1. **Job Losses and the Economy**: Harris attributed pandemic-related job losses and COVID-19 fatalities to former President Donald Trump&#8217;s management, although job losses were widespread due to necessary lockdowns\u2062 supported by both Trump\u2062 and Biden.\u200d During Biden\u2019s administration, the unemployment rate increased to \u200c4.3% from 3.7% under Trump.<\/p>\n<p>2. **Child Poverty Reduction**: She claimed that extending the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">child tax credit<\/a> halved child poverty. However,\u2062 this refers to a temporary measure from the American Rescue Plan\u2064 in\u2064 2021, \u200dand child poverty rates rose\u2064 significantly in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>3. **Fracking Policy**: \u2064When asked about her stance on fracking, Harris asserted she had always been\u2064 clear about not wanting to ban it.\u2062 This contradicts her\u2064 previous support for\u200c a fracking ban \u200dduring her 2019 presidential campaign, which she later\u2063 changed after \u200cjoining Biden&#8217;s ticket.<\/p>\n<p>4. **Immigration Initiatives**: Harris defended her role in addressing the &#8220;root causes&#8221; of immigration, claiming progress in reducing\u2063 the \u200bnumber of immigrants from the Northern Triangle countries, though \u2063critics argue the \u2063effectiveness of these initiatives remains\u200b questionable.<\/p>\n<p>Harris&#8217;s interview showcased her attempts to navigate complex political narratives while making questionable\u200b claims about her administration\u2019s achievements.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Fact-checking Kamala Harris&rsquo;s first interview as a presidential candidate<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1742153\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Vice President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Kamala Harris\">Kamala Harris<\/a>&rsquo;s first interview since becoming the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democratic-party\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Democratic presidential nominee\">Democratic presidential nominee<\/a> featured vague answers about policy and a number of misleading statements about her record.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Harris sought to thread a needle on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/economy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"economy,\">economy,<\/a> distancing herself from the economic realities causing voters&rsquo; anxiety while embracing the Biden administration&rsquo;s initiatives that have been popular, such as lowering prescription drug prices.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some of Harris&rsquo;s misleading claims.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. &lsquo;The economy had crashed&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p><strong>&ldquo;Well, let&rsquo;s start with the fact that when Joe Biden and I came in office during the height of a pandemic, we saw over 10 million jobs were lost. People &mdash; I mean, literally we are all tracking the numbers. Hundreds of people a day were dying because of COVID. The economy had crashed. In large part, all of that [was] because of mismanagement by Donald Trump of that crisis.&rdquo;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Harris sought to portray the pandemic-era job losses and death toll as former President Donald Trump&rsquo;s fault, although neither can really be attributed to Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Millions of jobs disappeared in 2020 due to the lockdowns, which President Joe Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2020\/08\/21\/joe-biden-lockdown-us-coronavirus-400126\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>also supported<\/a> as he ran against Trump that year. Biden and Harris went further than Trump in supporting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/1254953\/obsessed-with-mandates-biden-has-failed-to-focus-on-coronavirus-treatments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>COVID-19 mandates<\/a> after taking office as well.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/news.release\/archives\/empsit_09062019.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>unemployment rate<\/a> under Trump in August 2019, a comparable time period prior to the pandemic, was 3.7%, while the current <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/news.release\/laus.nr0.htm#:~:text=Twenty%2Deight%20states%20and%20the,statistics%20from%20two%20monthly%20programs.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>unemployment rate<\/a> under Biden and Harris is 4.3%. Democrats have touted the millions of jobs created during the Biden-Harris administration, but most of that growth came from the return of jobs that went away during the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>Harris&rsquo;s comment about the pace of COVID-19 deaths was also misleading. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/1238463\/more-people-will-have-died-from-covid-under-biden-than-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>More people died<\/a> from the virus in 2021, under Biden and Harris, than during the same time frame in 2020 under Trump.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Cut child poverty by 50%<\/h2>\n<p><strong>&ldquo;When we do what we did in the first year of being in office to extend the child tax credit so that we cut child poverty in America by over 50%.&rdquo;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Harris&rsquo;s claim about what the administration has done to reduce child poverty is exaggerated.<\/p>\n<p>The vice president was most likely referring to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/newsroom\/how-the-expanded-2021-child-tax-credit-can-help-your-family#:~:text=The%20American%20Rescue%20Plan%20Act,qualifying%20child%20under%20age%206.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>expansion<\/a> of the child tax credit that the American Rescue Plan Act provided in 2021. That expansion was temporary, lasting only a year, because it was part of pandemic relief measures.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The supplemental poverty measure, a metric used by the Census Bureau, for children in 2021 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/library\/publications\/2022\/demo\/p60-277.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>fell by 46%<\/a> from the previous year to a low of 5.2%.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But the drop in child poverty, like the tax credit, was only temporary. In 2022, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-eyes-expanding-welfare-state-overturning-clinton-era-reform\/\" title=\"Biden Eyes Expanding Welfare State, Overturning Clinton-Era Reform\">child poverty rate<\/a> had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/library\/stories\/2023\/12\/poverty-rate-varies-by-age-groups.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>shot up<\/a> to 16.3%.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And the push to grow the child tax credit is not strictly a Democratic policy. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Trump&rsquo;s running mate, has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/jd-vance-child-tax-credit-5000-what-to-know\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>proposed<\/a> increasing the credit even more than the American Rescue Plan did.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As president, Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.taxpolicycenter.org\/briefing-book\/how-did-tcja-change-taxes-families-children\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>doubled<\/a> the maximum child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000 with his 2017 tax cut bill.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) pose for a photo with marching band members at Liberty County High School in Hinesville, Georgia, on Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Fracking flip-flop<\/h2>\n<p><strong>DANA BASH: Do you still want to ban fracking?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>KAMALA HARRIS: No, and I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020, that I would not ban fracking.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Harris&rsquo;s claim that she has been clear about her opposition to a fracking ban is not quite accurate.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As a presidential candidate in the Democratic primary in 2019, Harris said she supported a ban on fracking.<\/p>\n<p>After she dropped out of the primary and Biden selected her as his running mate, Harris adopted the Biden campaign&rsquo;s line.<\/p>\n<p>Her reference on Thursday to the debate stage in 2020 was a reference to the debate she had with then-Vice President Mike Pence in October 2020, not the debates she participated in during her own campaign that cycle.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Joe Biden will not end fracking. He has been very clear about that,&rdquo; Harris <a href=\"https:\/\/www.api.org\/news-policy-and-issues\/blog\/2020\/10\/09\/joe-biden-will-not-ban-fracking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> during that debate.<\/p>\n<p>This is where Harris&rsquo;s careful political calculations can get tricky. When it helps to neutralize the progressivism of her past, Harris has characterized the Biden administration&rsquo;s policies as no different from her own, as she did with her answer about fracking. But when it helps to distance herself from the unpopular effects of the Biden administration&rsquo;s policies, Harris has cast her proposals as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3122173\/kamala-harris-seeks-unburden-herself-biden-record\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>newer and more aggressive<\/a> than Biden&rsquo;s, as she has with her plans to lower the cost of living.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. &lsquo;Root causes&rsquo; of immigration addressed<\/h2>\n<p><strong>&ldquo;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. The number of immigrants coming from that region has actually reduced since we&rsquo;ve began that work.&rdquo;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Defending her record as the Biden administration&rsquo;s point person on addressing the &ldquo;root causes&rdquo; of illegal immigration, Harris said she had achieved some success in that role.<\/p>\n<p>She specified during the interview that her portfolio included only the Northern Triangle countries in Central America: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.<\/p>\n<p>While she is correct that illegal immigration from those countries fell between 2021 and 2024, her claim does not tell the whole story. Apprehensions at the border of migrants from the Northern Triangle countries continue to remain significantly higher than under the Trump administration &mdash; before Biden and Harris took office and ended a number of Trump-era policies that were keeping those numbers low.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Border Patrol agents apprehended 588,000 Northern Triangle migrants crossing the border under Biden and Harris in 2021, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/cis.org\/Arthur\/How-Fruitful-Have-Kamala-Harriss-Root-Causes-Efforts-Been\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Center for Immigration Studies<\/a>, and saw that number decline steadily to 447,000 apprehensions in fiscal 2023. The number is projected to dip further to 418,000 this fiscal year.<\/p>\n<p>But in 2020, just 104,000 migrants from the region were apprehended at the border.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, illegal immigration spiked dramatically when Biden and Harris implemented their immigration agenda and has remained relatively high since.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1742153\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1742153\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fact-checking Kamala Harris&#8217;s inaugural interview as a presidential candidate<\/p>\n<p>In her first interview since being named the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris provided ambiguous responses regarding policy and made several misleading claims about her record. She attempted to navigate the economic concerns of voters by distancing herself from the current economic challenges while also endorsing popular initiatives from the Biden administration, such as reducing prescription drug prices. Below are some of Harris&#8217;s misleading assertions.<\/p>\n<p>1. **Claim about the economy crashing**:<br \/>\nHarris stated, &#8220;When Joe Biden and I came into office during the height of a pandemic, we saw over 10 million jobs were lost&#8230; The economy had crashed&#8230; largely due to Donald Trump&#8217;s mismanagement.&#8221; While she aimed to attribute pandemic-related job losses and fatalities to Trump, these issues cannot be solely blamed on him. The significant job losses in 2020 were primarily due to lockdowns that Biden also supported during his campaign against Trump. Furthermore, under Trump in August 2019, unemployment was at 3.7%, whereas it is currently at 4.3% under Biden and Harris. Although Democrats highlight job creation during their administration, much of this growth is simply a rebound from pandemic-related losses. Additionally, more COVID-19 deaths occurred in 2021 under Biden than in 2020 under Trump.<\/p>\n<p>2. **Child poverty reduction claim**:<br \/>\nHarris claimed that extending the child tax credit cut child poverty by over 50%. This assertion is exaggerated; she likely referred to temporary expansions made through the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021 which only lasted for one year as part of pandemic relief efforts. According to Census Bureau data using supplemental poverty measures, child poverty fell by nearly half in 2021 but surged back up to 16.3% in 2022 after those measures ended.<\/p>\n<p>3. **Fracking stance**:<br \/>\nWhen asked if she still wanted to ban fracking, Harris replied no and asserted that she had been clear on this issue since her debate with Mike Pence in October 2020; however, this statement lacks accuracy regarding her previous support for a fracking ban during her own primary campaign in late-2019 before aligning with Biden\u2019s position after becoming his running mate.<\/p>\n<p>4. **Addressing immigration root causes**:<br \/>\nHarris defended her role as point person on addressing illegal immigration&#8217;s &#8220;root causes,&#8221; claiming success through investments by American businesses leading to reduced immigration from Central America\u2019s Northern Triangle countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras). While it&#8217;s true that illegal immigration numbers have decreased since their peak post-implementation of their policies\u2014apprehensions dropped from around half a million migrants crossing into lower figures\u2014these numbers remain significantly higher than those seen prior under Trump&#8217;s administration when stricter policies were enforced.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, while attempting to present accomplishments and clarify positions during her first interview as a candidate for president alongside Joe Biden\u2019s record has proven complex for Harris amid ongoing political scrutiny<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2775,"featured_media":2334477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Harris-Walz-0824.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[14599,32438,35293],"class_list":["post-2334476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-fact-checking","tag-kamala-harris","tag-presidential-candidate"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Harris-Walz-0824.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2334476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2775"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2334476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2334476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2334477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2334476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2334476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2334476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}