Kamala Harris: The 2024 60 Minutes Interview | October 7, 2024

 Auto-transcribed on Tuesday, October 08, 2024.media and text playback available on this page: https://aliceapp.ai/recordings/Rmg9FHW3Pfs8Xc_pkzUEehNdoYLGBMIt

Key 	Value 	
Words: 	2,928 	
Duration: 	00:19:25 	
Recorded on: 	Unknown date 	
Uploaded on: 	2024-10-08 03:07:04 UTC 	
Last update: 	 	
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Using: 	Uploaded to aliceapp.ai 	

Speakers:

 Bill Whitaker - 33.03%

 Kamala Harris - 40.13%

 Bill Whitaker - 12.74%

 Tim Walz - 8.57%

 Liz Cheney - 2.66%

 Bill Whitaker - 2.87%

Notes:

Summary by ChatGPT- Support for Israel: Emphasizes Israelâ€™s right to self-defense amidst Middle East tensions.- Economic Focus: Plans to combat inflation, lower food prices, and expand the child tax credit.- Immigration Reform: Urges Congress to address immigration issues comprehensively.- Bipartisan Efforts: Works with leaders like Liz Cheney to promote democratic principles.- 2024 Election Stance: Aims to present a contrast to Trump, focusing on optimism and unity.

[00:00:00]  Bill Whitaker 
 The events of the past few weeks have pushed us to the brink, if not into, uh, an all out, uh, regional war. Mhm. In the Middle east. What can the US do at this point to stop this from spinning out of control? 

[00:00:16]  Kamala Harris 
 Well, let's start with October 7. 1200 people were massacred, 250 hostages were taken, including Americans. Women were brutally raped. And as I said then, I maintain Israel has a right to defend itself. We would. And how it does so matters. Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. This war has to end. 

[00:00:42]  Bill Whitaker 
 We supply Israel with billions of dollars in military aid, and yet Prime Minister Netanyahu seems to be charting his own course. The Biden Harris administration has pressed him to agree to cease fire. He's resisted. You urged him not to go into Lebanon. He went in anyway. Does the US have no sway over Prime Minister Netanyahu? 

[00:01:10]  Kamala Harris 
 The work that we do diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles. 

[00:01:19]  Bill Whitaker 
 But it seems that prime, uh, minister Netanyahu is not listening. 

[00:01:24]  Kamala Harris 
 We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end. 

[00:01:32]  Bill Whitaker 
 Do we have a, uh, real close ally in Prime Minister Netanyahu? 

[00:01:40]  Kamala Harris 
 I think, with all due respect, the better question is, do we have an important alliance between the american people and the israeli people? And the answer to that question is yes. 

[00:01:52]  Bill Whitaker 
 While the war in the Middle east has dominated recent headlines, it's the, uh, economy that most concerns american voters this election year. 

[00:02:00]   
 As always, there are lots of signs that the american economy is doing very well. Better than most countries, I think. But the american people don't seem to be feeling it. Groceries are, uh, 25% higher. And people are blaming you and Joe Biden for that. Are they wrong? 

[00:02:23]  Kamala Harris 
 We now have historic low unemployment in America among all groups of people. We now have an economy that is thriving by all macroeconomic measures. And to your point, prices are still too high. And I know that, and we need to deal with it, which is why part of my plan, you mentioned groceries. Part of my plan is what we must do to bring down the price of groceries. 

[00:02:48]  Bill Whitaker 
 Harris says she'll press Congress to pass a federal ban on price gouging for food and groceries, but details are yet to be defined. 

[00:02:57]   
 You want to expand, uh, the child tax credit? 

[00:03:01]  Kamala Harris 
 Yes, I do. 

[00:03:01]  Bill Whitaker 
 You want to give tax breaks to first time home buyers. 

[00:03:04]  Kamala Harris 
 Yes. 

[00:03:05]  Bill Whitaker 
 And people starting small businesses. 

[00:03:06]  Kamala Harris 
 Correct. 

[00:03:07]  Bill Whitaker 
 But it is estimated by the nonpartisan committee for responsible federal budget that your economic plan would add $3 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade. How are you going to pay for that? 

[00:03:22]  Kamala Harris 
 Okay, so the other economists that have reviewed my plan versus my opponent and determined that my economic plan would strengthen America's economy. His would weaken it. My plan, Bill, if you don't mind. My plan is about saying that when you invest in small businesses, you invest in the middle class and you strengthen America's economy. Small businesses are part of the backbone of America's economy. 

[00:03:50]  Bill Whitaker 
 But pardon me, Madam vice president. Uh, the question was, how are you going to pay for it? 

[00:03:56]  Kamala Harris 
 Well, one of the things I'm going to make sure that the richest among us who can afford it pay their fair share in taxes. It is not right that teachers and nurses and firefighters are paying a higher tax rate than billionaires and the biggest corporations. And I plan on making that fair. 

[00:04:17]  Bill Whitaker 
 But we're dealing with the real world here. 

[00:04:19]  Kamala Harris 
 But the real world includes, how are. 

[00:04:21]  Bill Whitaker 
 You going to get this through Congress? 

[00:04:23]  Kamala Harris 
 You know, when you talk quietly with a lot of folks in Congress, they know exactly what I'm talking about because their constituents know exactly what I'm talking about. Their constituents are those firefighters and teachers and nurses. Their constituents are middle class, hard working folk. 

[00:04:40]  Bill Whitaker 
 And Congress has shown no inclination to move in your direction. 

[00:04:46]  Kamala Harris 
 I disagree with you. There are plenty of leaders in Congress who understand and know that the Trump tax cuts blew up our, uh, federal deficit. None of us. And certainly I cannot afford to be myopic in terms of how I think about strengthening America's economy. Let me tell you something. I am a devout public servant. You know that I am also a capitalist. And I know the limitations of government. 

[00:05:15]  Bill Whitaker 
 Kamala Harris has been in government for decades. She was first elected San Francisco district attorney in 2003, then California attorney general. General. She went on to the US Senate and now vice president. 

[00:05:29]   
 A quarter of registered voters still say they don't know you. They don't know what makes you tick. And why do you think that is? What's the disconnect? 

[00:05:42]  Kamala Harris 
 It's an election bill. And I take, um, it seriously that I have to earn everyone's vote. An election for president of the United States. No one should be able to take for granted that they can just declare themselves a candidate and automatically receive support. You have to earn it. And that's what I intend to do. 

[00:06:03]  Bill Whitaker 
 Let me tell you what your critics and the columnists say. 

[00:06:07]  Kamala Harris 
 Okay? 

[00:06:07]  Bill Whitaker 
 They say that the reason so many voters don't know you is that you have changed your position on so many things. You are against fracking. Now you're for it. You supported looser immigration policies. Now you're tightening them up. You're for Medicare for all now. You're not so many that people don't truly know what you believe or what you stand for. And I know you've heard that in. 

[00:06:35]  Kamala Harris 
 The last four years, I have been vice president of the United States, and I have been traveling our country, and I have been listening to folks and seeking what is possible in terms of common ground. I believe in building consensus. We are a diverse people, geographically, regionally, in terms of where we are and our backgrounds. And what the american people do want is that we have leaders who can build consensus, where we can figure out compromise and understand it's not a bad thing, as long as you don't compromise your values to find common sense solutions. And that has been my approach. 

[00:07:16]  Bill Whitaker 
 But one issue that has proven impervious to compromise is immigration. Over the past four years, the Biden Harris approach has been inconsistent, and Republicans are convinced immigration is the vice president's achilles heel. 

[00:07:30]   
 You recently visited the southern border and, uh, embraced President Bidens recent crackdown on asylum seekers. And that crackdown produced an almost immediate and dramatic decrease in the number of border crossings. If thats the right answer now, why didnt your administration take those steps in 2021? 

[00:07:55]  Kamala Harris 
 The first bill we proposed to Congress was to fix our broken immigration system, knowing that if you want to actually fix it, we need Congress to act. It was not taken up. Fast forward to a moment when a bipartisan group of members of the United States Senate, including one of the most conservative members of the United States Senate, got together, came up with a border security bill. Well, guess what happened? Donald Trump got word that this bill was afoot and could be passed, and he wants to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem. So he told his buddies in Congress, kill the bill. Don't let it move forward. 

[00:08:35]  Bill Whitaker 
 But I've been covering the border for years, and so I know this is not a problem that started with your administration. 

[00:08:43]  Kamala Harris 
 Correct? Correct. 

[00:08:44]  Bill Whitaker 
 But there was an historic flood of undocumented immigrants coming across the border the first three years of your administration. As a matter of fact, arrivals quadrupled from the last year of President Trump. Was it a mistake to loosen the immigration policies as much as you did? 

[00:09:08]  Kamala Harris 
 It's a longstanding problem, and solutions are at hand. And from day one, literally, we have been offering solutions. 

[00:09:18]  Bill Whitaker 
 What I was asking was, was it a mistake to kind of allow that flood to happen in the first place? 

[00:09:26]  Kamala Harris 
 I think the policies that we have been proposing are about fixing a problem, not promoting a problem. Okay. 

[00:09:34]  Bill Whitaker 
 But the numbers did quadruple, and the. 

[00:09:36]  Kamala Harris 
 Numbers today, because of what we have done, we have cut the flow of illegal immigration by half. We have cut the flow of fentanyl by half. But we need Congress to be able to act to actually fix the problem. 

[00:09:55]  Bill Whitaker 
 You have accused Donald Trump of using racist tropes when it comes to haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, when it comes to birtherism, when it comes to Charlottesville. In fact, you have called him a racist and divisive. Yet Donald Trump has the support of millions and millions of Americans. How do you explain that? 

[00:10:20]  Kamala Harris 
 I am glad you are pointing these comments out that he has made that have resulted in a response by most reasonable people to say, it's just wrong. It's just wrong. 

[00:10:30]  Bill Whitaker 
 With so many people supporting Donald Trump, a man you've called a racist, how do you bridge that seemingly unbridgeable gap? 

[00:10:41]  Kamala Harris 
 I believe that the people of America want a leader who is not trying to divide us and demean. I believe that the american people recognize that the true measure of the strength of a leader is not based on who you beat down. It's based on who you lift up. 

[00:11:02]  Bill Whitaker 
 The Harris campaign has been hopscotching the country, and with less than a month to go, the pace is picking up. The vice president told us she has lost track of how many states she's visited. 

[00:11:14]  Kamala Harris 
 How are you doing? 

[00:11:15]  Bill Whitaker 
 I'm doing well. 

[00:11:15]  Kamala Harris 
 You? 

[00:11:15]  Tim Walz 
 Well? 

[00:11:15]  Bill Whitaker 
 Uh, we joined her on the trail late last week in the crucial swing state of Wisconsin in the town of Ripon, the birthplace in 1854 of the republican party. And at a rally plastered with country over party banners, Harris appeared with staunch conservative Liz Cheney. As vice chair of the House January 6 committee, Cheney became one of Donald Trump's fiercest critics. 

[00:11:41]  Liz Cheney 
 I have never voted for a Democrat, but this year, I am proudly casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. 

[00:11:53]  Bill Whitaker 
 That proclamation spurred a chant of approval from the crowd. 

[00:12:02]   
 Four years ago, if someone had told you that you would be campaigning with Liz Cheney, what would you have said to them? 

[00:12:09]  Kamala Harris 
 That'd be great. It's really diplomatic. 

[00:12:13]  Bill Whitaker 
 Would you ever have thought that you'd be campaigning with Kamala Harris? 

[00:12:17]  Liz Cheney 
 I hope that if you had said to me four years ago, our constitution is going to be under threat and it's going to be crucial for the parties to come together, uh, and to support Vice President Harris because she'll defend the rule of law, I know I would have said, that's exactly what I'll do. 

[00:12:33]  Kamala Harris 
 I thank you all. 

[00:12:34]  Bill Whitaker 
 Whoever wins the presidency will take on a host of, um, daunting challenges, especially beyond our borders. Back in Washington, Vice President Harris told us she's determined the US must win the economic competition with China for the 21st century. And as for the war between Russia. 

[00:12:53]   
 And Ukraine, what does success look like in ending the war in Ukraine? 

[00:12:58]  Kamala Harris 
 There will be no success in ending that war without Ukraine and the UN charter participating in what that success looks like. 

[00:13:06]  Bill Whitaker 
 Would you meet with President Vladimir Putin to negotiate a solution to the war in Ukraine? 

[00:13:11]  Kamala Harris 
 Uh, not bilaterally without Ukraine, no. Ukraine must have a say in the future of Ukraine. 

[00:13:20]  Bill Whitaker 
 As president, would you support the effort to expand NATO to include Ukraine? 

[00:13:27]  Kamala Harris 
 Those are all issues that we will deal with if and when it arrives. At that point right now, we are supporting Ukraine's ability to defend itself against Russia's unprovoked aggression. Donald Trump, if he were President Putin, would be sitting in Kiev right now. He talks about, oh, he can end it on day one. You know what that is? It's about surrender. 

[00:13:51]  Bill Whitaker 
 A hard left turn here. But, um, you recently surprised people when you said that you are a gun owner and then if someone came into your house. 

[00:14:00]  Kamala Harris 
 That was not the first time I've talked about it. That's not the first time I've talked about it. 

[00:14:04]  Bill Whitaker 
 So what kind of gun do you own and when and why did you get it? 

[00:14:07]  Kamala Harris 
 I have a Glock and, um, I've had it for quite some time. And, um, I mean, look, bill, my background is in law enforcement, and, um. So there you go. 

[00:14:20]  Bill Whitaker 
 Have you ever fired it? 

[00:14:22]  Kamala Harris 
 Yes, of course I have. At a shooting range? Yes, of course I have. 

[00:14:30]  Bill Whitaker 
 When we come back, vice presidential candidate Tim Walz gets the 60 minutes treatment. And Kamala Harris talks about why Donald Trump decided not to. Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walls was little known outside Minnesota just two months ago. He didnt exactly come from nowhere. He was a six term congressman. And now as governor of Minnesota, where he has championed abortion rights, gun control, and other progressive ideas. But it was calling former President Trump and Senator JD Vance weird that may. 

[00:15:07]   
 Have landed him on the ticket. Two months ago, you and Kamala Harris barely knew each other. Now you're running together, vying for the top offices in the land. It's not possible that you agree on everything. 

[00:15:23]  Tim Walz 
 Yeah. 

[00:15:24]  Bill Whitaker 
 What have been some disagreements you've had since you became a team? 

[00:15:27]  Tim Walz 
 Well, she probably disagreed with you, said, Tim, you know, you need to be a little more careful on how you say things. Whatever it might be. 

[00:15:34]  Bill Whitaker 
 Whatever it might be. Walsh has been criticized for embellishing or telling outright falsehoods about his military record and about his travels to Asia in the 1980s. 

[00:15:45]   
 In your debate with JD Vance, you said, I'm a knucklehead at times. And I think you were referring to the time that you said that you were in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen square unrest when you were nothing. Is that kind of misrepresentation? Isn't that more than just being a knucklehead? 

[00:16:06]  Tim Walz 
 I think folks know who I am, and I think they know the difference between someone expressing emotion, telling a story, getting a date wrong, uh, by a, rather than a pathological liar like Donald Trump. 

[00:16:17]  Bill Whitaker 
 But I think it comes down to the question of whether, whether you can be trusted to tell the truth. 

[00:16:26]  Tim Walz 
 Yeah, well, I can. I think I can. I will own up to being a knucklehead at times, but the folks closest to me know that I keep my word. 

[00:16:35]  Bill Whitaker 
 Walz proudly touts his record as governor of Minnesota, but it also has opened him up to criticism from his republican opponents. 

[00:16:44]   
 Former President Trump says that you and, um, your administration here in Minnesota has been dangerously liberal. Radical left, he calls it. So what do you say to that criticism? That rather than leading the way, you and Minnesota are actually out of step with the rest of the country? 

[00:17:05]  Tim Walz 
 President Trump may be referring to that, um, our children, uh, get breakfast and lunch in school so that they can learn. He may be talking about, we have, ah, a paid family medical leave policy that was promoted by the business community. Donald Trump spends his time tearing down states rather than lifting up the things we do the best of it. Donald Trump's critiques of that, not only are they wrong, but I'm waiting for what is his solution? Here in Minnesota, we're so optimistic. We walk on water half the year. 

[00:17:36]  Bill Whitaker 
 It was that kind of humor and candor that helped land Tim walls the job as Kamala Harris's running mate. 

[00:17:43]   
 Before you join the, uh, you called Republicans weird, and that's sort of become a rallying cry for Democrats. Why do you think that label stuck? 

[00:17:52]  Tim Walz 
 I was really talking about the behaviors, being obsessed with people's personal lives in their bedrooms and their reproductive rights, making up stories about legal folks legally here, eating cats and dogs. They're dehumanizing. They go beyond weird because I said this, it becomes almost dangerous. Let's debate policy in a real way, and let's try and find an objective truth again. 

[00:18:14]  Bill Whitaker 
 God bless America. 

[00:18:17]   
 Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are in a full sprint to November 5, hoping their arguments will give them a chance to cross the line ahead of Donald Trump and JD Vance. 

[00:18:29]   
 You are sitting here with us. The Trump campaign canceled an interview that they had agreed to to participate in this broadcast. What do you make of that? 

[00:18:45]  Kamala Harris 
 If he is not going to give your viewers the ability to have a meaningful, thoughtful conversation, question and answer with you, then watch his rallies. You're going to hear conversations that are about himself and all of his personal grievances. And what you will not hear is anything about you, the listener. You will not hear about how he's going to try to bring the country together, find common ground. And Bill, that is why I believe in my soul and heart. The american people are ready to turn the page.