PHILADELPHIA — Vice President Kamala Harris met with a panel of three correspondents from the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Sept. 17 at WHYY public radio station in Philadelphia.
Harris answered questions from multiple moderators — all of whom were NABJ members and journalists representing Politico, the Grio and NPR. Their topics included the state of the economy, a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas as well as her appeal to Black voters.
“You cannot be entrusted with standing behind the seal of the President of the United States of America engaging in that hateful rhetoric that, as usual, is designed to divide us as a country,” said Harris. “Let’s chart a new way forward and say, ‘You cannot have that microphone again.’”
Harris’ stance toward Israel and Gaza
The moderators pressed Harris about her and President Joe Biden’s policy as it relates to the on-going Israeli attacks in Gaza, her support of a potential cease-fire and two-state solution, and the line between aggression and defense.
Harris said she supported Israel’s right to defend itself but how it does so matters. She said that the aggression needs to end immediately and that captors need to release all hostages. In her words, too many “innocent Palestinians have died” in Israel’s response.
Harris also said that she supported the White House’s decision to pause the shipment of 2,000 pound bombs to Israel in May 2024.
“We have to agree that not only must we end the war, but we have to have a two state solution … there must be stability and peace,” said Harris. “Our goal is to ensure Israelis have security and Palestinians, in equal measures, have security, self-determination and dignity.”
Eugene Daniels, one of the session’s moderators, brought up that many Americans say the pause on bomb shipment is not enough and want the administration to do more to end the region’s conflict.
“We are doing the work of putting the pressure on all parties involved… but right now, the thing we need to get done is this hostage deal and the cease-fire deal,” said Harris.
Opportunity economy
Recent polling suggested Black voters trust Trump more with the economy and in hopes of swaying voters, Harris outlined her plan for an “opportunity economy.”
Harris said that she and Biden came into office during the worst unemployment and the worst public health epidemic in centuries. According to her, the Biden-Harris administration has done a lot to clean up the former president’s mess.
“We’ve created 16 million new jobs, over 800,000 new manufacturing jobs. We have the lowest Black unemployment rates in generations. We have invested in small businesses … the highest rate of creation of new Black small businesses in years,” said Harris.
According to Harris, the plan is to grow an opportunity economy, in which everyone has access to the resources to apply their work ethic, ambition, aspirations and dreams — for Americans to thrive instead of survive.
“Part of my approach is to employ and engage the private sectors — in particular home builders with tax credit … give them the incentive to create new housing, 3 million by the end of my first term,” said Harris. “Part of my plan … is to give first-time home buyers a $25,000 down payment assistance so they can just get their foot in the door.”
The vice president also said the administration successfully cut the cost of prescription medication and insulin for senior citizens, and has allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices against the big pharmaceutical companies.
“Is the price of groceries still too high? Yes. Do we have more work to do? Yes,” said Harris.
Appeals to Black voters, gun violence prevention
Another moderator, Gerren Keith Gayner, asked Harris about polls showing a growing number of Black men supporting Trump.
“I think it’s very important to not operate from the assumption that Black men are in anybody’s pocket,” said Harris. “Black men are like any other voting group — you gotta earn their vote. So I’m working to earn the vote, not assuming I’m going to have it because I am Black.”
Harris said she plans to eliminate medical debt from credit scores and address the economic barriers preventing Black Americans achieving wealth.
During the presidential debate, Harris also said that she owns a gun during the presidential debate, which shocked many Americans. She took time during the event to expound upon her views regarding gun safety laws and ways to prevent gun violence.
“We’re not trying to take anybody’s guns away from them but we do need an assault weapons ban,” said Harris.
Harris also said universal background checks should be necessary for anyone attempting to purchase a firearm. Doing so would reveal a court record of that individual being a danger to themselves or others before buying “lethal weapons.”
Haitian Migrants
Harris slammed Trump for voicing false rumors against Haitian immigrants during the previous presidential debate.
“It’s a crying shame, my heart breaks for this community,” said Harris.
Multiple Schools in Springfield have responded to multiple bomb threats since Trumps’ false claims against immigrants, which he reiterated during the presidential debate. That repeated rumor has led to multiple school closing and evacuations as well as that of public office buildings.
“When you have these positions, that microphone in front of you, you really ought to understand at a very deep level how much your words have meaning,” said Harris. “I learned at a very young stage in my career the meaning of my words could impact whether somebody was free or in prison.”
