U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said in her first interview since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee that she would not change U.S. policy towards Israel.
“I am unequivocal and unwavering in my commitment to Israel’s defense and its ability to defend itself,” Harris said in an interview on Thursday with CNN’s Dana Bash. “That’s not gonna change.”
Harris has reportedly been one of the senior members of the Biden administration who has been most critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip, and has called for insisting more forcefully on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
That reporting prompted some hope from the Democratic Party’s anti-Israel, left flank that Harris might consider cutting off or conditioning U.S. aid to Israel.
Bash asked if she would make any changes to “policy in terms of arms and so forth.” Harris said “no” but insisted on the need for a ceasefire-for-hostages deal that could lead to the creation of a Palestinian state.
“We have to get a deal done,” Harris said. “When you look at the significance of this to the families to the people who are living in that region, a deal is not only the right thing to do to end this war but will unlock so much of what must happen next.”
“I remain committed since I’ve been on Oct. 8 to what we must do to work toward a two-state solution, where Israel is secure and in equal measure, the Palestinians have security and self-determination and dignity,” she said.
Harris added that “this war must end” and that “far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed,” while reiterating that Israel has a right to defend itself after the Oct. 7 attacks.
Critics of the Biden administration’s Israel policy have claimed that the White House is slow-rolling aid and arms sales to Jerusalem, and hampering its ability to defeat Hamas by insisting on a ceasefire. Republicans repeated those charges on Thursday in response to the interview.
“Kamala Harris keeps saying she’s working for a ceasefire,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) wrote. “Israel has Hamas on the ropes, so a ceasefire is objectively pro-Hamas. She wants to help Hamas survive and stay in charge. Disgraceful.”
Israel and foreign policy made up only a small portion of the CNN interview, which largely focused on what Harris’s priorities would be as president and her reversals on positions she held as a candidate in the 2020 presidential primary, such as banning fracking and decriminalizing illegal border crossings.
“My values have not changed,” Harris said. “I kept my word, and I will keep my word.”
Writing on his Truth Social media platform, former U.S. President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, slammed Harris’s answer and criticized her previous positions.
“I just saw Comrade Kamala Harris’s answer to a very weakly-phrased question—a question that was put in more as a matter of defense than curiosity, but her answer rambled incoherently, and declared her ‘values haven’t changed,’” Trump wrote.
“On that I agree, her values haven’t changed—the border is going to remain open, not closed, there will be free healthcare for illegal aliens, sanctuary cities, no cash bail, gun confiscation, zero fracking, a ban on gasoline-powered cars, private healthcare will be abolished, a 70% to 80% tax rate will be put in place, and she will defund the police,” he added. “America will become a wasteland.”
“I look so forward to debating Comrade Kamala Harris and exposing her for the fraud she is,” Trump added.
