60 Minutes host tells Kamala Harris ‘we’re dealing with the real world’ during grilling on how she will get a key policy through Congress

Kamala Harris, in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes, seemed to struggle to explain her economic policies and how she will get them through Congress.

The vice president’s full interview will air Monday at 8 p.m. ET as part of an election special, in which she is repeatedly asked about her plans for the economy.

“My plan is that when you invest in small businesses, you invest in the middle class and you strengthen the American economy. Small businesses are part of the backbone of the American economy,” she said.

But when CBS’s Bill Whitaker continued to ask her what her plan does and how she would pay for it, Harris offered no details but continued to say lawmakers agreed with her.

“I’m going to make sure that the wealthiest among us who can afford it pay our fair share of taxes. It is not right that teachers, nurses and firefighters pay a higher tax rate than billionaires and the largest corporations. And I intend to make that fair,” she said.

“But we’re dealing with the real world here,” Whitaker told her, asking her how she would get it passed by Congress.

“You know, if you talk calmly to a lot of people in Congress, they know exactly what I’m talking about, because their constituents know exactly what I’m talking about. Their constituents are the firefighters, teachers and nurses,” Harris replies.

The Democratic presidential candidate released part of her economic plan last week. It focuses on lowering taxes for the middle class, lowering food and grocery costs, and lowering prescription drug prices.

She also talks about creating an “opportunity economy” for Americans to buy their first home or start a business.

Voters see the economy as one of their top issues for the 2024 presidential election. Harris is trying to distance himself from President Joe Biden, who receives low marks from voters for his handling of the economy.

Biden faced high inflation during his time in office, leading to a spike in the prices of groceries, gasoline and rent.

But a recent analysis of Deloitte noted that the economy is starting to recover.

‘While real gross domestic product growth slowed in the first quarter of this year, growth recovered to a strong 3.0% in the second quarter. “All available evidence suggests that policymakers may have succeeded in controlling inflation without triggering a recession,” analysts wrote.

Harris joined 60 Minutes for a pre-election special that will air Monday night. CBS has released some early excerpts of the interview, which also addresses the war in the Middle East.

The news program also asked to interview Donald Trump as part of their special. The former president agreed, but then backed down, saying he felt 60 Minutes owed him an apology for some of its past reporting on him.

Trump appeared to be referring to his last interview with the program, which took place in 2020 while he was president. He walked out on correspondent Lesley Stahl.

“They came to me and wanted me to do an interview, but first I want to get an apology because the last time I did an interview with them, if you remember, they challenged me on the computer.” , Trump said last week. .

“They said the ‘laptop from hell’ came from Russia, and I said it didn’t come from Russia. It was from Hunter, and I never got an apology, so I’m waiting a bit. I would like to do ’60 Minutes.’ I’ll do everything.’

CBS’s Bill Whitaker briefed Kamala Harris on her economic plan

Harris, meanwhile, is busy with an interview in the final days of the election.

In addition to her appearance on 60 Minutes, she also recorded an interview with the popular Call Her Daddy podcast, which has a target audience of young women.

On Tuesday, Harris will be live on ABC’s The View, visit the Howard Stern Show and appear with Stephen Colbert on CBS’s The Late Show.

She will participate in a Univision town hall on Thursday.

Many of the job interviews are considered ‘friendly’ territory for the candidate. Trump employs a similar strategy, often appearing on Fox News.