Vice President Kamala Harris covered topics from reparations to the border in her high-profile interview with Charlamagne Tha God, whose program is popular with Black listeners, Tuesday.
The audio town hall in Detroit aired on iHeartRadio with the “Breakfast Club” radio show co-host for a full hour, with questions from listeners.
Recent polls have shown Harris losing support from Black men and her appearance was part of an attempt at reversing that trend.
Off the bat, Charlamagne remarked on people criticizing Harris for sounding “very scripted” in interviews and rallies, which Harris called “discipline.”
“Some people say you have an inability to fearlessly say who you are and what you believe,” Charlamagne said. “What do you say to people who say you stay on talking points?”
“I would say, ‘You’re welcome,'” Harris answered. “I mean, listen, here’s the thing. I love having conversations, which is why I’m so happy to be with you this afternoon. And the reality is that there are certain things that must be repeated to ensure that I have everyone know what I stand for and the issues that I think are at stake in this election. And so, it requires repetition.”
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“You know, some people say that until someone has heard the same thing at least three times, it just doesn’t stay with you,” Harris continued. “So repetition is important. And for that reason, yes, at my rallies I say the same thing when I go to Detroit as I do in Philly, as I do wherever I am, to make sure that people hear and receive what I think are some of the most critical issues that are at stake in this election.”
Later on, Charlamagne brought up Harris’ record as the San Francisco District Attorney, calling reports of her imprisoning thousands of Black men on drug charges “misinformation.”
“One of the biggest pieces of misinformation, one of the biggest allegations against you is that you targeted and locked up thousands of Black men in San Francisco,” Charlamagne said. “Some say you did it to boost your career. Some say you did it out of pure hate for Black men. Please tell us the facts.”
“It’s just simply not true,” Harris said. “And public defenders who’re around those days will tell you I was the most progressive prosecutor in California on marijuana cases and would not send people to jail for simple possession of weed and as vice president have been a champion for bringing marijuana down on the schedule.”
Though Harris has since supported decriminalizing marijuana use, as district attorney, she oversaw nearly 2000 convictions on marijuana-related charges.
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As the show continued, Harris took questions from callers, including one who asked about her stance on reparations for slavery.
“I am running to be a president for all Americans. That being said, I do have clear eyes about the disparities that exist and the context in which they exist, meaning history, to your point. So my agenda, well, first of all, on the point of reparations, it has to be studied. There’s no question about that. And I’ve been very clear about that position in terms of my immediate plan,” Harris answered.
Charlemagne later pressed Harris about her record on the border, an issue he’s brought up multiple times.
“Doesn’t the Biden administration have to take some blame for the border? A lot of the blame, because, I mean, the first three years, you did get a lot of things wrong with the border,” Charlamagne said.
Harris answered, “No, Charlamagne. Within hours of being inaugurated, the first bill we passed before we did the Inflation Reduction Act, before we did the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, before we did the Safer Communities Act to deal with gun violence. The first thing we dropped was a bill to fix the broken immigration system, which, by the way, Trump did not fix when he was president.”
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The town hall came just days after former President Barack Obama, in comments that went viral, admonished Black male voters for a lack of enthusiasm in support of Harris. Polls indicate Trump is making gains with Black men, who are traditionally some of the Democratic Party’s most reliable supporters.
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