Sep 25, 2024
Kamala Harris' First One-On-One Interview Is Raising Eyebrows
Vice President Kamala Harris had her first one-on-one television MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle.
- 9 minutes
You just laid out
your economic vision for the future?
Yeah, but still,
there are lots of Americans
who don't see themselves in your plans.
For those who say
these policies aren't for me.
What do you say to them?
[00:00:15]
Well, if you are hardworking,
if you have the dreams and the ambitions
and the aspirations of what I
believe you do, you're in my plan.
[00:00:33]
That clip was from Kamala Harris's
just released interview on MSNBC
with MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle.
Now we're going to get
to more clips from the interview.
But before we do,
I do think it's important to say
that she chose to speak with rules
specifically for this interview.
[00:00:51]
But Ruhle said something recently
on Bill Maher's show
that kind of makes me worry about her
being the one carrying out this interview.
But anyway, for now, we're going
to actually focus on the interview itself,
and then we'll go back
to what Rahul said in a bit.
[00:01:07]
Now, Harris has repeatedly been pressed
to do more interviews,
and I commend her for doing that.
Now, this isn't her first one
on one interview, if you count her
discussion with Oprah, but that was
kind of like a fluffy interview.
Like, I don't know if I'd want
to call that hard hitting.
[00:01:23]
The thing is, this might be
a fluffy interview as well, I don't know.
We're going to watch the clips together.
So, Rahul asked Harris about how she would
implement a higher corporate tax rate.
Something that I know Stephanie Ruhle
is not actually in favor of,
but nonetheless, let's watch.
[00:01:40]
Expanding that child tax credit
or you mentioned housing before giving
that extra money for a first home.
If you can't raise corporate taxes
or if GOP takes control of the Senate.
Where do you get the money to do that?
Do you still go forward
with those plans and borrow?
[00:01:56]
Well, but we're going to have
to raise corporate taxes
and we're going to have to have to raise.
We're going to have to make sure
that the biggest corporations
and billionaires pay their fair share.
That's just it.
It's about paying their fair share.
[00:02:12]
I am not mad at anyone
for achieving success,
but everyone should pay their fair share.
And it is not right that the teachers
and the firefighters that I meet every day
across our country are paying a higher tax
than the richest people in our country.
[00:02:30]
Look, I think
that the messaging there is good.
I agree with what Kamala Harris is saying,
but how do you plan on doing that?
Right?
I mean, Joe Biden, of course,
came into office and said,
I'm going to raise the corporate tax rate
[00:02:47]
from 21% to 28%, even though it was 35%
before Trump cut it down to 21%.
So his starting point
wasn't even at the full 35%.
It was at 28%.
Kamala Harris has said the same thing.
[00:03:02]
And so I want to understand how do you
intend on even getting that accomplished?
Because Biden failed.
So what are you going to do to succeed?
Yeah.
And by the way, I mean, to the point
I was making earlier, Stephanie Ruhle,
not a fan of raising taxes on corporations
and the wealthy, and you're about to get
[00:03:20]
a little taste of that in her follow up.
How do you find that line to make sure
corporations are paying their fair share,
but they're not leaving our country?
Well, listen, I work with a lot of CEOs.
I have spent a lot of time with CEOs.
And I'm going to tell you that
the business leaders who are actually part
[00:03:38]
of the engine of America's economy, agree
that people should pay their fair share.
They also agree that when we look at a
plan such as mine, that is about investing
in the middle class,
investing in new industries,
investing in bringing down costs.
[00:03:55]
Invest in entrepreneurs
like small businesses that the overall
economy is stronger and everyone benefits.
Part of my plan for the economy
is investing in new industries
in a way that we have active partnership
with the private sector.
[00:04:11]
I've worked with the private sector
my entire career.
I, even as vice president,
working with some of the biggest banks
and biggest tech companies
to increase by billions of dollars,
the money going into community banks
to increase access to capital
for small businesses.
[00:04:27]
Why do those biggest corporations
and CEOs do that?
Because they know those kinds of
investments, like in our small businesses,
in startups and entrepreneurs, actually
strengthens America's economy overall.
Hey, don't scroll away,
come back, come back.
[00:04:42]
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You see that smile
on Stephanie rules face?
Yeah, that's the smile of someone
who feels confident
[00:04:58]
that nothing is going to change.
And the wealthy will be fine.
That that was my take anyway.
Really?
That's your groundbreaking proposal?
Government partnerships with corporations.
How is that different
from what's happening right now?
[00:05:14]
I mean, some of that, I think in trying to
make the case that we're going to do this,
we have to do this.
And when we do this, everyone is going to
benefit, including the corporations, even
if their taxes are a little bit higher.
I think is at least an interesting
like flipping on its head of we're going
to slash corporate taxes and some
money will trickle down and you pause,
[00:05:32]
which we always hear reverse that.
Focus on doing what's necessary
to give some benefits to those who don't
have as much, and then make the case that
theoretically, the rich will make more.
I think the the question was
was pretty silly,
like, well, the corporations might leave.
What if we put the taxes back
where they were at five, seven years ago
[00:05:50]
or whatever they were here,
then why would they suddenly flee?
It's it's ridiculous.
I thought the first half of what Harris
said, there was her best answer
because it started to get specific.
She talked about her history.
I didn't I didn't love the last part.
And Stephanie rules.
Smile deeply worried me.
[00:06:08]
And the earlier answers,
I think were very vague.
Yeah, she wasn't really addressing
the questions, which I didn't love.
That is part of the problem
in the interviews
that I've seen Kamala Harris do.
There's a lot of vague, flowery talk,
but very few specifics
[00:06:25]
on how she would accomplish her vision
should she get elected.
And we need to understand
the specifics, right.
Anyone can say, oh,
I'm going to bring manufacturing.
We need more manufacturing jobs.
Yes, yes, everyone can say that.
I mean, Trump says that,
but what is your theory of change?
[00:06:41]
How do you plan
on actually accomplishing that?
Now I want to get back
to what I was referencing earlier
in regard to Stephanie Ruhle,
because she was on Bill Maher's program.
Okay.
With I think it was Bret Stephens
was the other guest.
[00:06:57]
And the issue of Kamala Harris,
like the lack of interviews came up, but
also the lack of specifics on her policy
policies and agenda came up as well.
And so there was this back
and forth about it.
And so Stevens had recently
written an op ed
[00:07:13]
to argue that Harris has not sufficiently
explained her policy positions.
And here's a snippet of rules
back and forth with Stevens.
Stevens says it's not too much to ask.
Kamala.
Say, are you a Palestinian state?
If Hamas is going to run
that state, yes or no?
[00:07:30]
Rule says, okay,
let's say you don't like her answer.
Are you going to vote for Donald Trump?
Stevens says, no, I'm not.
I just said,
I'm not going to vote for him.
Rule says Kamala Harris
isn't running for perfect.
She's running against Trump.
We have two choices.
And so there are some things
you might not know her answer to.
[00:07:50]
And in 2024, unlike 2016,
for a lot of the American people, we know
exactly what Trump will do, who he is,
and the kind of threat he is to democracy,
Stevens responds with Stephanie,
the problem that a lot of people
have with Kamala
is we don't know her answer to anything.
[00:08:08]
Okay.
And rule says, but you know his answer
to everything Stephen says,
and that's why I would never vote for him.
And people shouldn't vote for him.
But people are also or people also
are expected to have some idea
[00:08:23]
of what the program is of the person
you're supposed to vote for.
You're just not supposed to say,
well, you have to vote for Y because X is
this, that, the, that, that and the other.
Okay.
So basically like they're going back
and forth because Stephanie rules like
[00:08:40]
but Trump bad, Trump bad, Trump bad.
Why are you asking so much of Kamala.
Trump bad.
All you need to know is
that Trump bad and you vote for Kamala.
That's it. End of story.
And Stevens is saying no.
I think voters deserve to know what the
specifics are on her policy proposal.
[00:08:55]
She should do more interviews.
And honestly, I agree with Stevens.
So, you know,
the fact that she's one of the very few
people that Kamala Harris has agreed to be
interviewed by is a little bit concerning
because clearly Stephanie Ruhle
doesn't really care what her policies are.
All she knows is Trump bad.
Can't vote for Trump.
[00:09:12]
So that's where we are
in our current election cycle.
Yeah.
Yeah, I agreed with him up until the we
don't know her answer to anything.
Like like, do you have to be absolutist
about literally everything we know?
What? Where she stands on a lot of stuff.
You were totally right.
[00:09:28]
That simply because you want more
specifics about what she thinks
about Gaza, say, does not mean that you're
going to vote for the other guy.
And it's unfair to frame things that way.
I think he was totally right there.
But then to go to the well,
we don't know anything about her.
Like you're literally a journalist.
She's been in the pub like,
come on, that's that's ridiculous.
[00:09:45]
But yeah, but I came out of it not
really liking either of their positions.
No, I mostly agree with you, which.
Is kind of how Bill
Maher's show works, I think.
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