During a town hall on CNN on Wednesday, 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris responded to questions on how she squares her past criticisms of the border wall under the Trump administration with her support for the Senate border bill that contains wall funding by stating that “I am not afraid of good ideas where they occur,” but the way her GOP rival, former President Donald Trump handled the wall “did not make much sense, because he actually didn’t do much of anything.” Harris then responded to a question on if she wants to build some wall by stating she wants “to strengthen our border.”
Host Anderson Cooper noted that the bill Harris touts includes wall funding and noted that Harris criticized the wall under the Trump administration, and then asked, “Is a border wall stupid?”
Harris responded, “Well, let’s talk about Donald Trump and that border wall. So, remember, Donald Trump said Mexico would pay for it. Come on, they didn’t. How much of that wall did he build? I think the last number I saw was about 2%. And then when it came time for him to do a photo op, you know where he did it? In the part of the wall that President Obama built. So, come on.”
Cooper countered that Harris is endorsing a bill that has funding to keep building that wall.
Harris responded, “I pledge that I am going to bring forward that bipartisan bill to further strengthen and secure our border. Yes, I am, and I am going to work across the aisle to pass a comprehensive bill that deals with a broken immigration system.”
Cooper then said, “To fix the problem, you’re doing this compromise bill. It does call for $650 million that was earmarked under Trump to actually still go to build the wall.”
Harris cut in to counter, “I am not afraid of good ideas where they occur, Anderson.”
Cooper then cut in to ask, “So, you don’t think it’s stupid anymore?”
Harris responded, “I think what he did and how he did it did not make much sense, because he actually didn’t do much of anything. I just talked about that wall, right? We just talked about it. He didn’t actually do much of anything.”
Cooper followed up, “But you do want to build some wall?”
Harris answered, “I want to strengthen our border.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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