JD Vance rips Kamala Harris for 'flip-flopping' during CNN interview: 'Important for us not to buy this'
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance warned Americans not to "buy" Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' policy positions during her first sit-down interview since launching her 2024 bid, as critics accuse her of "flip-flopping" on key issues.
Vance slammed Harris' performance during the CNN interview on "Fox & Friends," accusing her of only pretending to be more moderate to garner more votes ahead of the November election.
"I think it's important for us not to buy this," Vance said on Friday. "If you look at the way that Kamala Harris has governed, she's actually governed as a far-left person. She's just trying to pretend that she's not far left now because, of course, she wants to win the American people's votes over the next couple of months. But if she does, she's going to do the same thing that she's been doing for the last few years."
Vance called her out for "flip-flopping" on various issues, warning that Americans would face a higher cost of living, an open border and a more dangerous world under a Harris administration.
"It's really absurd for Kamala Harris to sit there and say, 'Well, I don't actually believe in any of the things that I told you I believed three years ago.' She has governed as a person who believes those things, and unfortunately, the American people are far off because of it," he continued.
The highly anticipated sit-down marks the first interview Harris has held in 39 days, when she became the presumptive nominee. Harris has largely avoided the media since ascending the Democratic ticket, only rarely answering media questions while on the campaign trail and holding no press conferences.
Harris sat down with CNN's Dana Bash for a pre-taped interview that aired on Thursday alongside her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
During the interview, she told Bash that her "values have not changed," despite critics claiming otherwise on several notable issues.
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"If you have the same values, why have you changed your mind on literally every topic that you previously held an opinion on?" Vance questioned.
"She should have to sit and answer tough questions about why she's changed her mind," he argued. "I think she answered one question yesterday about how she changed her mind. It was a bit of a word salad, and I don't think it actually gave Americans any insight into who Kamala Harris really is."
Vance also accused the press of enabling Harris, arguing the mainstream media has largely avoided pressing the Democratic presidential nominee on issues where she has appeared to change her mind.
"The media is so desperate to let her get away with this, that they don't even push her on the fact that she's changed her mind, allegedly on eight different topics," Vance said. "The proof is in the pudding. Kamala Harris can say that she's changed her mind on American energy, or changed her mind on police, or changed her mind on immigration."
"She is the sitting vice president of the United States. If she's changed her mind, why doesn't she enact these policies now and make Americans better off? I don't think she believes it, which is why you're not seeing it in what she's doing," he continued.
Vance admitted he felt "bad" for her after the interview, suggesting she seemed unsure of her own policy positions.
"It's clear that she doesn't have very strong convictions. I actually, even though I'm running against her, I felt a little bad for her because it was clear that she wasn't totally sure-footed, and she didn't totally know why she was saying the things that she was saying," Vance said. "She's been coached to pretend to be a moderate."
"Unfortunately, guys, she's governed as a San Francisco liberal, and because of it, Americans are poor, the world is more chaotic and our border is wide open," he continued. "We've got to take this country in a new direction, which is why we've got to elect Donald Trump."
Fox News' Emma Colton and Matteo Cina contributed to this report.