NEW YORK, Oct 17 (Reuters): Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris defended the Biden administration's handling of illegal immigration in a combative television interview on Wednesday, blaming Republicans for failing to pass a border security bill.
Grilled by host Bret Baier on Fox News, Harris also defended President Joe Biden's mental fitness, her years as his vice president and her previous support of gender-affirming surgery for transgender inmates.
Harris and Baier frequently talked over each other and Harris grew visibly frustrated, but she delivered her message for the Nov 5 election to a conservative audience that might not often hear it.
She was asked to defend the administration's early decision to reverse some of the restrictive border policies of Republican rival Donald Trump when he was president and to respond to a mother who testified in Congress about the loss of her daughter at the hands of an immigrant in the US illegally.
"I'm so sorry for her loss, but let's talk about what is happening right now," Harris said. She said Trump told Republicans to reject a bipartisan immigration bill early this year because "he preferred to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem".
Trump and Republicans have claimed that immigrants are fuelling violent crime in the United States, although studies show immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than others.
Asked about her recent comment that there was "not a thing" she would change about the actions of the Biden administration, Harris said, "Let me be very clear, my presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden's presidency."
She said she would bring in new ideas from Republicans and business leaders to solve housing shortages and expand small businesses.
Harris was a vocal supporter of Biden when he faced mounting questions about his mental fitness after a disastrous June debate with Trump, before dropping out of the race in July. She was asked to defend those statements.
Biden has the "judgment" and "experience" to be president, she said, while questioning Trump's fitness for office. "Joe Biden is not on the ballot, and Donald Trump is," Harris said.
She was pressed on her position on using taxpayer funds for gender-affirming surgery for transgender inmates, including those who are undocumented. Trump has spent millions of dollars in ads on the subject in battleground states.
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