The National Association of Black Journalists gave a friendly welcome to Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday, asking her mostly softball questions in contrast to their highly contentious interview with former President Donald Trump last month.
In her lengthiest interview to date, Ms. Harris fielded questions from three reporters, such as, “Why is joy important to you?”
She was rarely challenged or fact-checked, including when she falsely claimed that Mr. Trump left her and President Biden “the worst unemployment since the Great Depression.” Unemployment did indeed spike to the Great Depression record of 14.8% in April 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic set in. However, by December 2020, after the election, unemployment had fallen back to 6.4%, according to Labor Department data.
The three reporters participating in the event did not ask Ms. Harris to explain why she has changed her position on several important issues, including no longer supporting a fracking ban, “Medicare for All” or decriminalizing illegal border crossings.
It was quite a contrast from Mr. Trump’s appearance in August, which was widely criticized on both sides of the aisle. Liberals blasted the NABJ for welcoming him in the first place, while conservatives accused one of the moderators — ABC News reporter Rachel Scott — of being hostile to Mr. Trump.
When the Trump interview started, Ms. Scott ticked off several incendiary comments the former president made about Black people and other ethnic groups. Mr. Trump fired back by calling her “nasty.”
Ms. Harris’ interview mostly covered familiar ground, such as her economic proposals. When asked if her Israeli policy differs from Mr. Biden’s, Ms. Harris dodged the question by saying only that a hostage deal needs to get done.
When asked about a specific policy that she could offer to end the war in Gaza, Ms. Harris responded, “We need to get this deal done, and we need to get it done immediately, and that is my position, and that is my policy.”
She also offered few specifics about how her plan would lower child care costs, focusing on her plan to expand the child tax credit.
“It is, sadly, the state of affairs in our country that working people often have to decide to either be able to work or be able to afford child care,” Ms. Harris said.
When pressed for specifics, Ms. Harris said families should not be paying more than 7% of their income on childcare but did not say how she would ease the strain on families.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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