Harris grilled on Fox News on immigration, Biden’s fitness for office

WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pennsylvania — Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris was grilled in a TV interview on Wednesday on the Biden administration’s efforts to tackle a surge in illegal immigration at the southern border, and laid the blame on Republicans for failing to pass a border bill.

In a combative interview with Fox News host Bret Baier, Harris was also pressed to defend President Joe Biden’s mental fitness, her years as vice president and previous support of gender-affirming surgery for transgender inmates. Harris and Baier frequently talked over each other and Harris grew visibly frustrated.

She was asked to defend the administration’s early decision to reverse some of Republican rival Donald Trump’s restrictive policies, and to respond to a mother who testified in Congress about the loss of her daughter at the hands of an illegal immigrant.

“I’m so sorry for her loss, but let’s talk about what is happening right now,” Harris said. She said Trump told Republicans to reject a bipartisan immigration bill because “he preferred to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem.”

Asked about her recent comment that there was “not a thing” she would change about the actions of the Biden administration, Harris said, “Let me be very clear, my presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency,” but did not provide specifics.

Harris was pressed about her previous vouching for Biden’s mental fitness for office before he ended his reelection campaign in July.

Biden has the “judgment” and “experience” to be president, she said, while questioning Trump’s fitness for office.

“Joe Biden is not on the ballot, and Donald Trump is,” Harris said.

She was pressed on her position on using taxpayer funds for gender-affirming surgery for transgender inmates, including those who are undocumented. Trump has spent millions of dollars in ads on the subject in battleground states.

“I will follow the law,” she said a few times, noting that the U.S. Bureau of Prisons provided gender-affirming treatments under Trump. She accused him of “throwing stones when you live in a glass house.”

The nearly 30-minute interview marked the first time Harris has appeared on the media network as a presidential candidate. Within minutes of the interview’s end, the Trump campaign released a statement calling it a “train wreck.”