Reporter’s Notebook: Win or lose, Harris must attend the Jan. 6 presidential election certification
We don’t know whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Trump will win the White House this fall. But there are two things we do know: The 2024 presidential election is likely to be tight. And regardless of the victor, Harris will co-preside over her victory or defeat when the House and Senate convene a joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College results on Jan. 6, 2025. She’s required to do so. FOX NEWS POLL: CLOSE RACES IN BATTLEGROUND STATES SHOW VOTERS LOCKED IN The House and Senate are the quadrennial arbiters of the electoral vote on Jan. 6. That’s why the date was so controversial four years ago. It devolved into a riot and emerged as one of the ugliest days in American history. What was usually a sleepy, ceremonial affair on Jan. 6 to tabulate and sign off on the electoral vote emerges forevermore as a major national security event – along the lines of State of the Union. And like it or not, possible controversy over the certification process next Jan. 6 likely gains momentum by the fact that Harris is the presumptive Democratic nominee and will be on the dais for her defeat or victory. This scenario is just another radiating political isotope, augmenting our already unsteady political climate. It doesn’t help matters that Jan. 6, 2025, will be the first time Congress has met to certify the Electoral College since the mayhem of almost four years ago. That’s augmented by the fact that Trump stands to either officially win or lose on that day, too. The vice president presides over joint sessions of Congress alongside the speaker of the House. Under the Constitution, the vice president also serves as president of the Senate – the only leader mentioned in the Constitution when it comes to the Senate. Joint sessions of Congress are special parliamentary events. Congress only convenes in such a conclave for the president’s State of the Union address and to certify the Electoral College results. Vice presidents sometimes duck joint meetings of Congress (note the slight difference). They look the same, but aren’t. Both bodies of Congress assemble in the House chamber for a joint meeting. Those circumstances are reserved for lawmakers to receive a foreign dignitary. Notably, Harris did not preside over a joint meeting of Congress for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month. However, the speaker of the House always presides as the lead figure of that body – and the constitutional officer of the legislative branch of government. LEGAL EXPERTS SAY BIDEN ADMIN’S LEGAL THEORY IN JAN 6 PROSECUTION ‘ON THE ROPES’ AFTER SUPREME COURT ARGUMENT We don’t know who will appear alongside Harris on the dais for the Electoral College certification next year. That hinges on which party wins the House. Under the Constitution, the new Congress starts Jan. 3 at noon and must first elect a speaker. It will likely either be House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., if Republicans retain control. If Democrats flip the House, expect them to tap House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., as speaker. The certification of the electoral vote falls on Jan. 6 by design. That gives the new Congress a few days to prepare after it begins on Jan. 3. Moreover, Congress is tasked with certifying the election on Jan. 6 so there’s ample time to prepare for the inauguration of the president: noon on Jan. 20. It’s not unheard of for a vice president with skin in the game to preside over the Electoral College certification joint session of Congress. Vice President Richard Nixon presided over his own re-election alongside President Dwight Eisenhower in the January 1957 joint session. Nixon was also vice president for the January 1961 session, watching himself lose to President John F. Kennedy. Vice President Hubert Humphrey was the Democratic nominee in 1968. So he co-presided over the joint session in January 1969 when Nixon finally ascended to the presidency. SUPREME COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF JAN. 6 CAPITOL RIOT PARTICIPANT WHO CHALLENGED OBSTRUCTION CONVICTION Speaking of Minnesota, Vice President Walter Mondale chaired the loss of President Jimmy Carter and himself to President Ronald Reagan in the 1981 joint session. Future President George H.W. Bush was on hand for the re-election of Reagan and himself in January 1985. As vice president, Bush then officiated over his own victory aspresident in January 1989. However, things were not as pleasant for former Vice President Dan Quayle four years later. Quayle co-moderated the loss by Bush and himself to President Bill Clinton in the January 1993 joint session. Vice President Al Gore was on the dais for the re-election of Clinton and himself in January 1997. But Gore found himself in a particularly awkward spot on the dais four years later. Gore presided over his own defeat in 2001 to President George W. Bush, after the election of 2000, one of the most controversial in U.S. history. During the joint session, a parade of members of the Congressional Black Caucus tried to contest the slate of electoral votes from Florida – which Gore famously lost. However, none of the House members had a Senate co-sponsor to challenge the Florida vote. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., was one of those pushing for debate on Florida’s electoral voters. Gore asked Waters if she had a Senate petitioner. Waters replied that she didn’t and that she “did not care.” Gore famously cut off Waters with a magnanimous line which drew applause. “The rules do care,” observed Gore. Vice President Dick Cheney was there for the re-election of Bush 43 and himself in January 2005. However, there was a bona fide challenge to the Ohio slate of electors by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio. Biden presided for President Barack Obama’s re-election in January 2013. That also returned Biden to the vice presidency. And Biden helped oversee things in January 2017 when Donald Trump prevailed. And of course, we all now know the efforts employed by
Dems try to block Green Party candidate from presidential ballot in major swing state
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is attempting to remove from a swing state ballot a Green Party presidential candidate – who, in 2016, received more votes than former President Trump’s margin of victory in the state. An employee at the DNC filed a complaint against Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s placement on the ballot Wednesday, suggesting that since the Wisconsin Green Party doesn’t hold any statewide offices, Stein wouldn’t be able to be properly nominated as a candidate, according to a statement the DNC shared with Fox News Digital. “We take the nomination process for President and Vice President very seriously and believe every candidate should follow the rules,” said Adrienne Watson, a senior adviser to the DNC. “Because the Wisconsin Green Party hasn’t fielded candidates for legislative or statewide office and doesn’t have any current incumbent legislative or statewide office holders, it cannot nominate candidates and should not be on the ballot in November.” Stein’s campaign director pushed back on the complaint, telling Fox that the move is part of “anti-democratic shenanigans.” SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON ONLY AMERICANS SHOULD DECIDE OUR ELECTIONS. HERE’S HOW CONGRESS CAN GUARANTEE IT “This is a fishing expedition conjured up by the DNC, and is in line with their statements back in March that they will hire an army of lawyers and infiltrators to find any angle of attack to prevent Green Party ballot access,” said Jason Call, Stein’s campaign manager. “We absolutely will be hiring counsel to defend our ballot line in Wisconsin.” Trump won the state of Wisconsin in the 2016 presidential election, defeating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by about 27,000 votes. BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION USING TAXPAYER MONEY TO MASK MEDICARE PREMIUM HIKES BEFORE ELECTION: CRITICS Stein, the Green Party candidate in 2016, garnered 30,980 votes in Wisconsin that year – a number that surpassed the margin of Trump’s triumph over Clinton in that state. Similar results were mirrored in other crucial states won by Trump that cycle. Dave Wasserman, senior elections analyst for the Cook Political Report, made a Dec. 1, 2016, post on X, then-Twitter, highlighting Stein’s votes being greater than Trump’s margin of victory in three swing states that play a crucial role in determining presidential elections: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In Michigan, Trump defeated Clinton by about 10,000 votes. Stein received more than 50,000 votes in the state, once again exceeding his margin of victory. Stein is expected to be virtually nominated as the Green Party’s nominee at their annual national meeting in August.
Biden says Harris ‘not going to’ distance herself from his economic policies
President Biden claims Vice President Kamala Harris is not going to distance herself from his economic policy agenda. Reports have circulated that the Democratic presidential nominee is seeking to stand apart from the policies of the Biden administration, which insiders say are too unpopular and could prove to be a liability. “How much does it bother you that Vice President Harris might soon, for political reasons, start to distance herself from your economic plan?” Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Biden during a press conference on Thursday. TRUMP CAMP THANKS WH FOR CONFIRMING THERE’S ‘NO DAYLIGHT’ BETWEEN HARRIS, BIDEN: ‘KAMALA CREATED THIS MESS’ “She’s not going to,” Biden replied, before walking away from the reporter. The comment shows surprising confidence in the face of recent reports that Harris is not in lockstep with the administration. An Axios report published Wednesday claimed the Harris-Walz campaign is consciously seeking to disentangle the vice president from the Biden administration’s unpopular economic policies. FORMER BIDEN ADVISER SUSAN RICE SAYS HARRIS HAS BEEN AN ‘INTEGRAL ARCHITECT’ OF THE ADMINISTRATION’S AGENDA Key positions Harris is looking to pivot away from Biden include fracking, decriminalization of illegal immigration into the country and health care – according to the Axios report. The vice president is reportedly most concerned with tackling inflation in new, more direct ways in order to free herself from the negative baggage that over three years of rapid inflation has created for the Democratic Party. Harris announced on Thursday her intention to ban “price gouging” on groceries, which have seen a cost increase of over 20% over the last three years. Conversely, the White House has been keen to emphasize unity between Biden and Harris, claiming there is “no daylight” between their individual agendas. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday during the White House press briefing that Biden and Harris have been “aligned” throughout the administration. “[Harris is] going to lay out her vision. But again, they’ve been aligned, you know, they’ve been aligned for the last three and a half years. There’s not been any daylight,” Jean-Pierre said.
Who is Sampat Meena, CBI Additional Director, heading probe in Kolkata doctor murder-rape case?
Meena was also at the helm of the high-profile investigation of the sensational Unnao rape case and Hathras gangrape.
Vance says media acted like Biden was ‘Einstein,’ aim to make Harris into ‘second coming of Abraham Lincoln’
Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance accused the mainstream media of attempting to turn Harris into the “second coming of Abraham Lincoln.” The senator from Ohio made the remarks while speaking at a rally in New Kensington, Pennsylvania on Thursday. “I just can’t quite get over how dishonest the American media is about Kamala Harris. Isn’t it the craziest thing,” Vance said at the rally. “Now we have to remember for three and a half years […] Democratic leaders all across the country would say things and the American media would back ’em up. That President Biden, for three and a half years — he’s as sharp as he’s ever been, sharp as a tack. Remember that?” JD VANCE SAYS HE WANTS A ‘REAL’ DEBATE WITH OPPONENT TIM WALZ, NOT A ‘FAKE NEWS MEDIA GARBAGE’ ONE He continued, “The American media acted for three and a half years like this guy was Albert Einstein — and now they would tell us that Kamala Harris is the second coming of Abraham Lincoln. We don’t buy it. We don’t believe it.” Vance has made frequent comments about his deep distrust of the mainstream news media since being chosen by former President Donald Trump to be his running mate. Speaking with Fox News on Wednesday, Vance said he wanted multiple debates with his vice-presidential opponent Tim Walz — but drew a distinction between “real” and “fake” debates. CNN’S BRIANNA KEILAR WALKS BACK JD VANCE SWIPE FOLLOWING BACKLASH: HE ‘SERVED HONORABLY IN IRAQ’ Vance said he is “not going to do one of these fake debates where they don’t actually have an audience there, where they don’t actually set the parameters in a way where we can have a good exchange of ideas.” “In other words, we’re not going to walk into a fake news media garbage debate. We’re going to do a real debate, and if CBS agrees to it, then certainly we’ll do it,” he added. Vance got into a public feud with CNN’s Brianna Keilar after the anchor questioned his military bona fides on air. “Because we have, as you introduced him, as a combat correspondent, which is what [Vance’s] title was,” Keilar told her CNN colleague Dana Bash Thursday. “But when you dig a little deeper into that, he was a public affairs specialist, someone who did not see combat, which certainly the title ‘combat correspondent,’ kind of gives you a different impression. So he may be the imperfect messenger on that.” “Brianna this is disgusting, and you and your entire network should be ashamed of yourselves,” Vance wrote on X. “When I got the call to go to Iraq, I went. Tim Walz said he carried a gun in a war. Did he? No. It was a lie.” Keilar later appeared to walk back her remarks, acknowledging in a monologue that Vance “served honorably in Iraq.” Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
Trump flips script on Harris’ ‘duck and hide’ media strategy with second press conference in a week
Donald Trump will take questions from reporters Thursday at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, the second straight week that the former president has grabbed headlines by holding a news conference. The move is partially to try and blunt the momentum of Vice President Kamala Harris heading into next week’s Democratic National Convention. Harris has been riding a wave of energy and enthusiasm since replacing President Biden at the top of the Democrats’ 2024 ticket three and a half weeks ago. But it also appears to be another move to try and put pressure on Harris for not holding a news conference or a major interview since Biden bowed out and backed his vice president. “It has been 24 days and Kamala Harris continues to duck and hide from the media – no interviews and no press conferences since she announced,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung emphasized on Wednesday. VANCE SAYS TRUMP’S ‘OFF THE CUFF’ COMMENTS ‘PART OF HIS APPEAL’ Trump, at his news conference last week at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, continued to insult Harris’ intelligence, arguing that “she hasn’t done an interview – she can’t do an interview.” The former president’s 2024 running mate, Sen. JD Vance, has also been criticizing the Democrats’ standard-bearer for her lack of engagement with the media. TRUMP CAMPAIGN PLANS COUNTER-PROGRAMMING DURING DEMOCRATS’ CONVENTION “She doesn’t’ have any ability to be unscripted,” Vance charged as he answered reporters’ questions following a campaign event in southwestern Michigan. “She sure as hell isn’t giving interviews. She’s not standing before the American people answering questions.” And he argued that “it is scandalous that Kamala Harris is running from the media. But more importantly, she’s running from the American people. That’s a disgrace.” Harris, who to date has briefly taken a few questions from the traveling press, has said she’ll sit for a major interview before the end of the month. “We will commit to directly engage with the voters that are actually gonna decide this election and that is gonna be complete with rallies, with sit-down interviews, with press conferences, with all the digital assets we have at our disposal,” Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler told CNN yesterday. While Trump took questions for over an hour at last week’s news conference, he used some of his uneven answers to push unproven claims on a bunch of topics, including his repeated years-long charge that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, and the size of the crowd at his Jan. 6, 2021, rally ahead of the attack on the U.S. Capitol. WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL IN THE HARRIS-TRUMP FACE-OFF SHOWS Hours before Thursday’s news conference, the Harris campaign put out mock email advisory titled “Donald Trump To Ramble Incoherently and Spread Dangerous Lies in Public, but at Different Home.” And Harris campaign spokesperson James Singer told Fox News that “Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are talking to voters, laying out a vision of the middle class, and letting Americans know they will fight for their freedoms.” He argued that “Donald Trump can talk to whoever he wants, but he can’t explain away his toxic Project 2025 agenda, speak in coherent thoughts, or offer anything but insults and higher prices to the middle class.” While criticizing Harris over key issues such as border security, crime and inflation, Trump in the past couple of weeks has also continuously slammed the vice president and insulted her during speeches, news conferences and in social media posts. Sources in Trump’s political orbit tell Fox News that top advisers to the former president are quietly aiming to persuade him to tamp down the insults to Harris and the questioning of the vice president’s racial identity and instead focus on branding her an ultra-liberal and spotlighting her stance on the border, crime and inflation TRUMP ARGUES HARRIS IS MORE LIBERAL THAN BERNIE SANDERS — HERE’S WHAT THE VERMONT SENATOR TOLD FOX NEWS Trump allies are also publicly pitching the former president to refocus his attention. “You’ve got to make this race not on personalities,” former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Monday in an interview on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.” “Stop questioning the size of her crowds and start questioning her position.” McCarthy emphasized that Trump has “a short time frame to do it, so don’t sit back. Get out there and start making the case.” During an interview Tuesday with Bret Baier on Fox News’ “Special Report,” former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley – Trump’s top rival from the Republican presidential primaries earlier this year – also had some unsolicited advice for her former boss. Haley, who reiterated that she wants Trump to win the presidential election, emphasized that “the campaign is not going to win talking about crowd sizes. It’s not going to win talking about what race Kamala Harris is. It’s not going to win talking about whether she’s dumb. It’s not. You can’t win on those things. The American people are smart. Treat them like they’re smart.” Vance, in an interview with Fox News Digital ahead of his campaign event in Michigan, responded to the blunt advice from fellow Republicans. “I think one of the things people actually love about Donald Trump in politics is he’s not unwilling to speak off the cuff. He says what’s actually on his mind. He’s not always filtered. I think that’s a good thing and part of his appeal,” the GOP vice presidential nominee said. But Vance also emphasized that “if you look at this race, we’re talking about policy. That’s 90% of what we’re doing. And I think that’s going to keep on happening.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
How Lubbock artists pushed back after the city ended funding for its popular art walk
The City Council did approve $5,000 for security, about one-fifth of the money it withheld over last month.
‘Pregnant persons’: Ohio Sen Sherrod Brown scrubbed ‘women’ from bill on pregnancy
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, quietly erased the words “women” and “woman” from a bill relating to insurance enrollment periods for pregnant women. In 2015, the Ohio Democrat introduced the first iteration of the Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act. It featured the word “women” 22 times, “maternity” 19 times, and “woman” twice. By last year, he had scrubbed it of references to women before the bill’s re-introduction. The 2023 version doesn’t make any mention of “women” or “woman.” It also reduced references to “maternity” to only four. ‘PATH TO JUSTICE’: DURBIN URGES AUSTIN TO RETHINK REVOKING 9/11 MASTERMINDS’ PLEA DEALS The measure itself seeks to establish a special health insurance enrollment period for pregnant women by amending the Public Health Service Act to require it by law. Introduced several times, including in 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023, the bill once featured a section titled, “Findings and Purpose.” Within that section, “women” were referenced 19 times in 2015 and 20 times in 2019. According to the section, “Pregnancy is a significant life event for millions of women in the United States each year.” Brown even referred to “sex-based discrimination,” claiming that federal law has determined that “treating pregnancy differently than other conditions” qualifies as such. KAMALA HARRIS LED DEMS IN 2018 CALL TO REJECT MORE FUNDING FOR BORDER PATROL, ICE The lengthy section was then inexplicably removed from both the 2021 and 2023 versions of the measure. The later iterations of the bill solely rely on the descriptors “pregnant person” and “pregnant individual,” rather than “woman.” When contacted by Fox News Digital, neither Brown’s office nor his campaign answered why the bill was scrubbed of references to women, despite being on the topic of pregnancy. Brown’s campaign and office also did not respond to questions from Fox News Digital on whether he believes that anyone other than women can become pregnant or if he could cite an occasion when a man had given birth to a child. The senator did not provide any comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication. GOOGLE EXECS PRESSED TO TESTIFY AFTER ADMITTING TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SEARCH OMISSIONS WERE BY DESIGN Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, who is endorsed by former President Trump, is running to unseat Brown in November. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Moreno spokesperson Reagan McCarthy said, “By erasing women from a bill centered around women’s health care during pregnancy, Sherrod Brown is saying the quiet part out loud: he doesn’t believe that only women can get pregnant and wants to erase biological women’s unique abilities.” “Brown isn’t just a far-left extremist, he’s also a bonafide weirdo.” Brown is running for re-election in Ohio, a red state which has voted for Trump in the past two presidential elections. His race is rated a “Toss Up” by non-partisan political handicapper the Cook Political Report, alongside Senate match-ups in Montana and Michigan. BIDEN REPEATS DEBUNKED CLAIM HE TRAVELED 17,000 MILES WITH CHINA’S XI JINPING The vulnerable Ohio senator’s removal of “women” from the measure comes as a national debate on gender identity continues, with specific areas of contention in language, women’s sports, and school appropriate content. The decision to omit mention of women follows a trend among Democrats to include transgender individuals, who may be biologically a man or woman but say they identify as something else, in discussions on policy. While only biological women can become pregnant, a woman might say she is transgender and identify as a man. Republicans have sought to point out their Democratic counterparts’ ambiguity on inherently gendered subjects. GOP politicians and pundits have often questioned Democrats on the definition of a woman, frequently showcasing their opponents’ unwillingness to put the term in precise words. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
‘Election interference’: Trump lawyers call for delayed sentencing in Bragg case
Lawyers for former President Trump are requesting his sentencing hearing in New York v. Trump be delayed until after the November presidential election, citing “naked election-interference objectives.” Trump was found guilty in an unprecedented criminal trial on all counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, following a six-week trial stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation. Trump has moved to overturn his criminal conviction in the Manhattan case after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a former president has substantial immunity for official acts committed while in office. TRUMP’S APPEAL TO LIFT REMAINING PARTS OF NY GAG ORDER DENIED His initial sentencing was set for July 11 — just days before the Republican National Convention, where he was set to be formally nominated as the 2024 GOP presidential nominee, but Judge Juan Merchan agreed to delay that until Sept. 18. Trump attorney Todd Blanche on Thursday moved to further delay that sentencing hearing. “The Court should adjourn any sentencing in this case, though one should not be necessary because dismissal and vacatur of the jury’s verdicts are required based on Presidential immunity, until after the 2024 Presidential election,” Blanche wrote in a letter to Merchan. Blanche argued that the case “should be dismissed” and pointed to the fact that Vice President Kamala Harris, in her capacity as the Democratic presidential nominee, and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in his capacity as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, “wrongly referred to this case in a public speech.” Blanche also pointed to Merchan’s daughter’s work at Authentic Campaigns, which represents top Democratic candidates. TRUMP TOUTS SUPREME COURT’S PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY RULING AS ‘BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND FOR DEMOCRACY’ “Sentencing is currently scheduled to occur after the commencement of early voting in the Presidential election,” Blanche wrote. “By adjourning sentencing until after the election — which is of paramount importance to the entire nation, including tens of millions of people who do not share the views of Authentic, its executives, and its clients — the Court would reduce, even if not eliminate, issues regarding the integrity of any future proceedings.” Blanche stressed that there is no need “to rush.” “Setting aside naked election-interference objectives, there is no valid countervailing reason for the Court to keep the current sentencing date on the calendar,” Blanche wrote. “There is no basis for continuing to rush.” NEW YORK V. TRUMP: MERCHAN DELAYS SENTENCING HEARING UNTIL SEPTEMBER He added, “Accordingly, we respectfully request that any sentencing, if one is needed, be adjourned until after the Presidential election.” In his arguments for dismissal, Blanche argued that Bragg offered official acts evidence during the six-week-long unprecedented criminal trial. Blanche said that included official White House communications with staffers like Hope Hicks, Madeleine Westerhout and others. The Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. United States that a former president has substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in office but not for unofficial acts. The high court said Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for “official acts” but left it to the lower court to determine exactly where the line between official and unofficial is.
Harris does about-face on several far-left policies, distances herself from Biden
Vice President Harris is doing an about-face on several far-left policies as she distances herself from President Biden and attempts to make a name of her own as the Democratic presidential nominee. In her first policy speech in North Carolina later this week and then next week at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Harris plans to present to Americans who she is and how she will govern essentially for the first time since Biden backed out of the race and endorsed her presidential campaign. In recent weeks, Harris has shifted on at least five major policy stances: mandatory assault rifle buybacks, fracking, immigration, health care and a federal jobs guarantee. While campaigning for president in 2019, she endorsed a mandatory buyback program for assault rifles. “We have to have a buyback program, and I support a mandatory gun buyback program,” Harris said in October 2019, according to NBC News. “It’s got to be smart, we got to do it the right way. But there are 5 million [assault weapons] at least, some estimate as many as 10 million, and we’re going to have to have smart public policy that’s about taking those off the streets, but doing it the right way.” In 2024, a Harris spokesperson says she wouldn’t push a mandatory buyback program for assault rifles. TRACKING KAMALA HARRIS’ POLICY REVERSALS: A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF KEY ISSUE FLIP-FLOPS Harris also now contradicts what she stated during a September 2019 CNN Town Hall on fracking. An audience member asked at the time, “From contaminated groundwater to poisonous emissions – will you commit to implementing a federal ban on fracking your first day in office, adding the United States to the list of countries who have banned this devastating practice?” “There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking, so yes,” Harris said then. “And starting – and starting with what we can do on day one around public lands, right? And then there has to be legislation, but yes – and this is something I’ve taken on in California. I have a history of working on this issue.” In 2024, Harris’ campaign says the vice president “does not support a total ban on fracking.” Five years ago, Harris called for decriminalizing border crossings and reconfiguring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She also raised her hand on the NBC News debate stage on June 27, 2019, when host Jose Diaz-Balart asked, “We had a very spirited debate on this stage last night on the topic of decriminalization of the border. If you’d be so kind, raise your hand if you think it should be a civil offense rather than a crime to cross the border without documentation? Can we keep the hands up so we could see them?” Now she calls for “strong border security and an earned pathway to citizenship.” Harris said she would eliminate private insurance and institute a single-payer health care program in 2019. She famously changed her “answer” the morning after the June 27, 2019, debated hosted by NBC News, saying she misunderstood the question and favored keeping supplemental private health insurance. She lost support from some progressives after the switch. Harris and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., had raised their hands when host Lester Holt asked debate participants, “Many people watching at home have health insurance through their employer. Who here would abolish their private health insurance in favor of a government-run plan?” In 2024, the Harris campaign says she no longer supports a single-payer health insurance program. The Biden administration has not pursued a federal jobs guarantee. However, there were two instances of Harris at the debates in 2019 supporting the Green New Deal, which included a federal jobs guarantee. And in one of the clips, CNN host Dana Bash goes on to note that right after her answer. “We currently have a president in the White House who obviously does not understand the science. He’s been pushing science fiction instead of science fact. The guy thinks that wind turbines cause cancer, but what in fact they cause is jobs,” Harris said during the July 31, 2019, Democratic Debate hosted by CNN. “And the reality is that I would take any Democrat on this stage over the current President of the United States, who is rolling it back to our collective peril. We must have and adopt a Green New Deal. On day one as president.” KAMALA HARRIS PANNED FOR REQUIRING ID TO ENTER ARIZONA RALLY AFTER PREVIOUSLY PAINTING VOTER ID LAWS AS RACIST Harris, short for time, added she would re-enter the Paris Agreement and aim to be carbon-neutral by 2030. “Thank you, Senator,” Bash interjects. “I want to talk about that with Senator Gillibrand. You’re a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal, which includes the guarantee of a job with medical leave, paid vacations, and retirement security for everyone in America. Explain how that’s realistic.” Harris’ advisers privately told Axios this week that she wants to break with Biden’s unpopularity on the economy and rising prices. In Raleigh on Friday, she will propose how to tackle lowering costs on health care, housing and food for middle-class consumers, as well as how she’ll “take on corporate price-gouging.” Harris reportedly wants to present clearer, more urgent solutions on inflation, considered one of the largest domestic policy issues of her campaign. In their first joint trip since Biden discontinued his re-election campaign, he and Harris will make an appearance together in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The event is slated to discuss lowering costs for Americans. While campaigning for president in 2019, Harris said she was against fracking, supported decriminalizing illegal border crossings and was in favor of single-payer health care, known as Medicare for All. Now, during her short, three-month window bid for the White House in 2024, she backtracked on all three. She also copied Republican presidential nominee and former President Trump’s “no tax on tips” campaign promise after calculating how well it appealed in the swing state of Nevada to a key