Harris was speaking in her first interview since becoming the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.
Vice President Kamala Harris is defending her shifts in policy by saying her values remain the same.
“The most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed,” Harris told CNN in her first interview since accepting the Democratic Party nomination to face former President Donald Trump in November, according to a clip CNN released ahead of airing the full session.
Harris was responding after being asked about changes she’s made on major policies.
Harris said in 2019 she supported Medicare for All and banning fracking, or hydraulic fracturing. More recently, her campaign has said recently that Harris no longer supports expanding Medicare to all or a ban on fracking.
Harris also said in the past that she would block funding for a barrier at the U.S.–Mexico border. She said in 2020 that former President Donald Trump’s border wall “is a complete waste of taxpayer money and won’t make us any safer.”
While giving a speech to the Democratic National Convention this month, Harris said she would sign a border bill crafted by senators that includes spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the barrier.
Harris told CNN in the new interview that she still believes “the climate crisis is real” and that “it is an urgent matter to which we should apply metrics that include holding to deadlines around time.” She pointed out to the Inflation Reduction Act, which she and President Joe Biden supported. The act included money for companies to measure and lower greenhouse gas emissions, among other climate-related work.
“We have set goals for the United States of America, and by extension the globe, around when we should meet certain standards in reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, as an example,” Harris said. “That value has not changed. My value around what we need to do to secure our border, that value has not changed.”
Harris later discussed reaching a consensus on issues.
“I believe it is important to build consensus, and it is important to find a common place of understanding of where we can actually solve problems,” Harris added later, according to CNN.
