Harris and Walz barnstorm Georgia and sit down for 1st interview

Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz are campaigning for a second day in the South, holding a rally in Savannah, Georgia. Harris and Walz also sat down for a highly anticipated interview on CNN. Laura Barrón-López reports.

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Geoff Bennett: Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, are campaigning for a second day in the South, holding a rally tonight in Savannah, Georgia.

Amna Nawaz: Harris and Walz also sat down for a highly anticipated interview on CNN this afternoon that will air in prime time tonight, all that as former President Donald Trump continues to face criticism for his visit to Arlington National Cemetery earlier this week.

Laura Barron-Lopez has the latest.

Laura Barron-Lopez: Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz barnstorming in battleground Georgia for a second day.

While in Georgia, Harris and Walz also sat down with CNN for a joint interview. For Harris, it’s her first major interview since taking over the Democratic ticket, something her Republican rivals have criticized, accusing Harris of shielding herself from scrutiny.

Dana Bash, CNN: How should voters look at some of the changes that you have made that you have explained some of here in your policy? Should they feel comfortable and confident that what you’re saying now is going to be your policy moving forward?

Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States (D) and U.S. Presidential Candidate: Dana, I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is, my values have not changed. My value around what we need to do to secure our border, that value has not changed.

I spent two terms as the attorney general of California prosecuting transnational criminal organizations, violations of American laws regarding the passage, illegal passage of guns, drugs and human beings across our border. My values have not changed.

Laura Barron-Lopez: That interview and rally putting a cap on what the Harris campaign sees as an opportunity to win a state that President Biden narrowly carried in 2020.

A new FOX News poll shows Harris changing the race in several toss-up states, taking a lead over Donald Trump in Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, while narrowly trailing Trump in North Carolina, all of the polling within the margin of error.

As Vice President Harris wraps up in the Sun Belt, Donald Trump campaigned today at a steel supplier outside of Lansing, Michigan. In an event billed as one about the economy, Trump railed against recent polling.

Donald Trump, Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate: The polls are rigged too. The polls are rigged too. They say, Donald Trump is tied, tied. We were up massively by Biden.

Laura Barron-Lopez: But Trump’s campaign is still dealing with fallout from taking video for campaign use of the former president’s visit to Arlington National Cemetery on Monday.

It includes moments in Section 60 of the cemetery, largely reserved for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, where photos for political purposes aren’t allowed. The filming at Section 60 led to a physical altercation with a cemetery staffer.

Today, the U.S. Army responded in a rare statement, saying Trump’s campaign had been told that “federal laws, army regulations and DOD policies clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. An employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside.”

That cemetery staffer decided not to press charges. And the Army defended that employee, who the Trump campaign accused of having a mental health episode, the Army saying: “This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked.”

On the trail yesterday, Trump’s running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, blasted Harris for the blowback Trump received, though Harris has made no statements on the incident.

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Vice Presidential Candidate: She wants to yell at Donald Trump because he showed up, she can — she can go to hell.

(Cheering)

(Applause)

Sen. J.D. Vance: Sounds like we got some fans and some haters.

Laura Barron-Lopez: And, today, Vance headlined a Boston firefighters convention just a day after Tim Walz addressed the same gathering. Vance was booed when trying to defend the Trump administration’s record for workers.

Sen. J.D. Vance: I want to talk about why we’re fighting for working people, why we’re going to fight for unions and non-union alike.

(Booing)

Amna Nawaz: And Laura Barron-Lopez joins me now.

So, Laura, the full interview there that the Vice President Harris and Governor Walz, gave hasn’t yet air. We have only seen excerpts. So what stands out to you so far?

Laura Barron-Lopez: So, in addition to what she said about her policy positions, the vice president was also asked whether or not she would appoint a Republican to her Cabinet. And she said that, yes, she would, that she values diversity of opinion, that when important decisions are being made, she wants different perspectives.

In the room, she didn’t say which Republican she’s maybe considering. But I was talking to an Arizona Republican voter today, a two-time Trump voter, Amna, a woman in the suburbs who said that she liked that Harris is considering a Republican for the Cabinet. She also likes that Harris is talking more and more about border security.

She still is not convinced by Harris, though, Amna. And a big piece of that is that she does want more of those policies specifics. So we will see if she gets into it a bit more in the remainder of that interview.

Amna Nawaz: As you reported there, we saw Senator Vance saying Harris can go to hell.

We also saw some pretty lewd sexual posts that Mr. Trump shared online about Kamala Harris. And the campaign hasn’t really responded to those. Do you think they will?

Laura Barron-Lopez: No, I don’t think that they will, mainly because the campaign has pretty much clearly said that they have no plans to respond to any of these attacks.

So far, the vice president herself has not responded to the Arlington Cemetery incident. She has not responded herself to any of these attacks and neither has the campaign. They haven’t put out statements on it. She was asked — the vice president was asked in that interview with CNN about Trump questioning her Black identity.

And she said: “Same old playbook. Next question.”

Amna Nawaz: Meanwhile, she continues to campaign in Georgia. They’re going beyond Atlanta to more rural voters. What’s the strategy there?

Laura Barron-Lopez: Her strategy is twofold, Amna.

She — Kamala Harris wants to drive up urban suburban voters, so get the Democratic base out. They appear to be coming home. But they also say that they want to cut into Trump’s margins in red counties. So they went to a red county in Georgia as well as in Pennsylvania on the bus tour that they did prior to the convention.

Amna Nawaz: You also reported there about that race tightening in some battleground states like Arizona and North Carolina. What are you hearing from your sources on the ground in those states?

Laura Barron-Lopez: Longtime Republican strategists that I have talked to in Arizona and North Carolina say that that polling is real, that this race has completely shifted.

And I also spoke to a two-time Trump voter in North Carolina today, a woman as well who is a lifelong Republican, and she still is kind of undecided. And she said that the recent events at Arlington National Cemetery, Trump’s actions, she didn’t like it. She said that she felt as though he wasn’t respectful. She said that she understands why he went there and the attention that he drew to Afghanistan withdrawal, but that she doesn’t like that — his behavior so far and feels as though that he’s spiraling.

So that could be something that shifts her. And you’re hearing — I heard also from the Arizona voter that she didn’t like Trump’s behavior as well at the Arlington National Cemetery incident.

Amna Nawaz: All right, Laura Barron-Lopez, thanks for your reporting.

Laura Barron-Lopez: Thank you.