WATCH: Harris blames Trump for killing bipartisan border bill

Vice President Kamala Harris blamed former President Donald Trump during their presidential debate on Tuesday for intervening to stop a bipartisan immigration and border bill.

Harris said she supported the bill, which would have hired 1,500 more border agents and “stem the flow of fentanyl” entering the United States.

“That bill would have put more resources to allow us to prosecute transnational criminal organizations for trafficking in guns, drugs and human beings, but you know what happened to that bill? Donald Trump got on the phone, called up some folks in Congress and said, ‘Kill the bill,’” Harris said.

“You know why? Because he’d prefer to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem.”

Harris accused Trump of lobbying to stop the bill so that immigration would continue to be a problem going into the November election.
Harris was responding to a question from the debate moderators about why the Biden administration had waited until six months before the election to impose new asylum restrictions and what she would do differently from President Joe Biden.

Harris and Trump met for their first and possibly only debate on Sept. 10, hosted by ABC in Philadelphia. Harris replaced Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee this summer after Biden gave a troubling debate performance in June, increasing calls for him to drop out of the race.

According to the latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll, more than two-thirds of Americans say they will watch all or most of the debate. While many voters have already made up their minds, 14 percent of Americans say the debate will have a great impact on which candidate they choose.