Kamala Harris Interview Sparks Backlash From Progressives

Progressives are pushing back against comments made by Vice President Kamala Harris during her Thursday interview with CNN’s Dana Bash.

Harris was accompanied by her running mate, Tim Walz, during the interview, the first the two candidates have given since Walz was announced as Harris’ running mate. In the weeks after Harris began her run for president following President Joe Biden’s decision to end his campaign, she has faced repeated criticism from Republicans for not granting an interview or holding a news conference.

The vice president and Minnesota governor’s White House campaign has caused produced a surge of excitement in the Democratic Party, with polls showing that she is improving on Biden’s numbers and leading Donald Trump in the race. However, some progressives have pushed back against Harris’ positions, particularly those involving fracking and the Israel-Hamas war.

Newsweek reached out by email to the Harris campaign for additional comment.

Israel-Hamas War

Many progressive voters have said Harris needs to end Israel’s war against Hamas or cease providing Israel with weapons used in the fighting. But in her interview with Bash, Harris made it clear that she is “unequivocal and unwavering in my commitment to Israel’s defense and its ability to defend itself.”

“That’s not going to change,” she said.

That stance angered some progressives who have voiced their support for the Palestinians, including Representative Rashida Tlaib.

“That’s right. War crimes and genocide will continue,” Tlaib posted on X (formerly Twitter) with a clip of the interview.

ist Kylie Cheung posted on X: “What’s insane about this is that the democratic voters, activists, and majority of voters who want this aren’t asking for her to create any new policy, they’re asking her to follow existing law that prohibits sending weapons to countries that are committing war crimes.”

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what’s insane about this is that the democratic voters, activists, and majority of voters who want this aren’t asking for her to create any new policy, they’re asking her to follow existing law that prohibits sending weapons to countries that are committing war crimes https://t.co/8TGhrNUden

— Kylie Cheung (@kylietcheung) August 30, 2024

Fracking

In the interview, Bash mentioned that in 2019 Harris said she was “no question in favor of banning fracking,” a process used to recover gas and oil from shale rock. It has been linked to methane spikes in the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming, according to National Geographic.

However, Harris has since changed her view on fracking. Asked by Bash if she still wanted to ban it, she said: “No, and I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020, that I would not ban fracking, as vice president I did not ban fracking and as president I will not ban fracking.”

She added that she has not changed her position, “nor will I going forward.”

Those comments didn’t sit well with several progressives.

Briahna Joy Gray, the former press secretary for Senator Bernie Sanders, posted on X: “90 seconds of Kamala bragging about how much she loves fracking.”

Nonprofit news organization Democracy Now! posted on X: “Kamala Harris says she no longer supports a ban on fracking. ist @davidsirota responds to her CNN interview and says the U.S. must cut fossil fuels in addition to investing in clean energy to reach its climate goals.”

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Kamala Harris says she no longer supports a ban on fracking. ist @davidsirota responds to her CNN interview and says the U.S. must cut fossil fuels in addition to investing in clean energy to reach its climate goals. pic.twitter.com/sNvZ3DH3Cw

— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) August 30, 2024

Harris’ stance on fracking comes as Biden has expressed lofty climate goals, such as reducing U.S. emissions by up to 52 percent in 2030, achieving a carbon-pollution-free power sector by 2035 and a net zero emissions economy by 2050.

A Pew Research Center poll found that less than 25 percent of Democrats are in favor of fracking, with far more expressing support for cleaner forms of energy, such as wind, solar or nuclear energy. During a recent interview with Shawn Ryan, a former Navy SEAL and CIA contractor, Trump expressed his intention to expand nuclear energy in the U.S.

Despite the pushback from progressives, observers deemed Harris’ interview a success, commending her focus on policy and playing it “safe.”

“Harris summed up the case she was trying to make near the end of the interview, when she said: ‘I am the best person to do this job at this moment.’ Harris and Walz largely played it safe in this interview,” Susan McWilliams Barndt, a professor of politics at California’s Pomona College, previously told Newsweek.

“They kept their answers short. They kept their cool when the questions were pointed. They kept a focus on policy. They kept a tight leash on their emotions. They kept it serious,” she said.