Harris speaks on 60 Minutes about immigration and the economy

US Vice President Kamala Harris was pressed on issues including the Middle East, Ukraine, gun ownership and immigration in a one-on-one interview with CBS News’ 60 Minutes.

The recorded interview comes as Harris expands her media appearances on a number of podcasts and television networks, although she has offered very few criticisms.

Donald Trump was also invited to 60 Minutes, but declined.

There is less than a month until Election Day in the race for the White House between the Democrat and her Republican opponent.

The interview on CBS News, the BBC’s US affiliate, aired Monday evening after both Harris and Trump appeared at events commemorating the Oct. 7 attack on Israel a year ago.

Asked by reporter Bill Whitaker whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a “strong ally” of the United States, Harris demurred following recent public disagreements between the White House and Jerusalem.

“The work we do diplomatically with Israel’s leadership is a continuing effort to clarify our principles,” Harris said.

“I think, with all due respect, the better question is whether we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people,” she continued. “And the answer to that question is yes.”

In a more tense moment, Harris was also pressed to defend her immigration record, which has come under fierce attack from Trump and Republicans.

Mr Whitaker asked her whether it would be a “mistake” to ease border restrictions put in place during Trump’s presidency, given that the Biden-Harris administration reinstated the restrictions three years after taking control of the White House.

“It’s a long-standing problem. And there are solutions. And from day one, we have literally offered solutions,” she said, blaming Trump for pressuring Republicans in Congress to torpedo a border deal that would have tightened immigration enforcement.

The reporter replied, “What I was asking was, was it a mistake to allow this flooding to happen in the first place?”

Harris responded that “the policies we have proposed are about fixing a problem, not promoting a problem.” She said she and Biden “cut the flow of illegal immigration in half.”

On Ukraine, Harris said she would not sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin unless Ukraine was also at the table.

She criticized Trump’s position, saying: “He’s talking about, oh, he can end it on day one. Do you know what that is? It’s about surrender,” she said.

If Trump were still president, she said, “Putin would be in Kiev right now.”

She was also asked about her economic plan and how her government would finance those plans, which could increase the US federal deficit by $3 trillion (£2.3 trillion) over the next decade.

“My economic plan would strengthen the American economy. His would weaken them,” she said, adding that her plan was based on “strengthening small businesses.”

Asked again how she would pay for it, Harris said she would raise taxes on “the wealthiest among us who can afford it.”

On Monday, a new analysis from the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found that Trump’s proposals would increase the U.S. national debt by twice the amount Harris did.

Trump would add $7.5 trillion and Harris would add $3.5 trillion, the group said.

The think tank warned that neither would address the country’s growing $35.6 trillion debt.

In her interview, Harris also discussed owning a firearm and revealed that her pistol was made by the Austrian company Glock.

“I’ve had it for quite some time,” she said, noting that her “background is in law enforcement.”

Harris, a former district attorney in California, laughed when asked if she ever shot it and said, “Of course I did, at a shooting range.”

On the same show, Tim Walz, Harris’ vice president and Minnesota governor, criticized Trump for his comments about his opponents and immigrants.

“They are dehumanizing, they go beyond scary because, like I said, it almost becomes dangerous. Let’s try to discuss politics in a real way and try again to find the objective truth.”

He also defended his history of making false statements about his military service and his travels to Asia in the 1980s.

Walz described himself as a man who “tells a story and gets a date wrong,” rather than a “pathological liar” like Trump.

“I admit to being a jerk sometimes, but the people closest to me know that I keep my word.”

Trump was also invited to 60 Minutes. According to CBS, he agreed, but later changed his mind and declined.

Trump’s campaign team denied that he ever agreed to an interview. His spokesman Steven Cheung called it “fake news.”

During his 2020 presidential campaign, Trump walked out of his interview with CBS anchor Leslie Stahl after becoming increasingly frustrated with questions about Covid-19.

Earlier Monday, Harris remembered those killed or hostages on Oct. 7 by planting a pomegranate tree at the vice president’s residence in Washington.

“A symbol of hope and justice … to remind future vice presidents of the United States not only of the horror of October 7, but also of the strength and endurance of the Jewish people,” Harris said.

Former President Donald Trump donned a black yarmulke on Monday as he visited Ohel Chabad Lubavitch, the final resting place of Rabbi Schneerson in Queens, New York.

According to some Orthodox Jews, the site is considered the holiest Jewish site in North America.