Vice President Kamala Harris came under intense scrutiny during an interview on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” as she continues her assault on the media.

The vice president attended the pre-taped, second stop of her media tour, which includes appearances on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy,” “The View,” “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and “The Howard Stern Show.” He joined Bill Whitaker in a sit-in. Whittaker conducted what is expected to be the toughest interview of the tour, probing Harris about her repeated policy failures, vague economic plans and national borders.

Whitaker began by chiding Harris about her economic plan, defending the estimated $3 trillion in additional federal deficits and demanding she explain how she would pay for it.

“So other economists who looked at my plan and my opponent’s plan decided that my economic plan would strengthen the American economy, but his economic plan would weaken the American economy. The plan is, Bill, if you don’t mind, that investing in small businesses means investing in the middle class, which strengthens the American economy.Small businesses are part of the backbone of the American economy. ” Mr. Harris began his answer.

“But please forgive me, Madame Vice President. The question was, how are we going to pay for it?” Whitaker interjected.

“Well, one of the things I’m trying to do is make sure that the wealthiest among us who can afford it pay their fair share of taxes. Teachers, nurses, firefighters, billionaires, It’s not right that we’re paying a higher tax rate than large corporations, and I’m going to make it fair.”

Whitaker interjected again, reminding Harris that they were “dealing with the real world” and asking how she expected such a plan to pass Congress. .

“You know, if you talk quietly to a lot of people in Congress, they know exactly what I’m saying, because their constituents don’t know what I’m saying. Because we know exactly. Those constituents are middle-class, hard-working people.” He said he has not shown any plans to support the plan.

On tonight’s 60 Minutes election special, Vice President Kamala Harris shares her plan to strengthen the economy by investing in small businesses and the middle class. Bill Whitaker asks how we’re going to raise the money and get it through Congress. https://t.co/3Kyw3hgBzr pic.twitter.com/HdAmz0Zpxa

— 60 minutes (@60Minutes) October 7, 2024

Before hitting the vice president at the border, Whitaker tried to get answers from Harris about her frequently changing policy positions, something other journalists have tried and failed to do. (Related: Harris fails to explain flip-flops, says she has no regrets about Biden in first interview)

“Tell me what the critics and columnists are saying,” Whitaker began. “They say the reason so many voters don’t know about you is because you’ve changed your positions on so many things. You were against fracking. Now you’re against fracking. I agree with that. You were all for tightening up immigration policy. Now you’re not. I don’t really know what I believe or what I stand for, and I’m sure you’ve heard that before.”

“For the past four years, I have served as Vice President of the United States, traveling this country, listening to people, and exploring what is possible in terms of common ground. I am committed to building consensus. I believe,” Harris said in response to a series of flip-flops.

“We’re a diverse people geographically, regionally, and background-wise, and what the American people really want is to build consensus, find compromises, and understand that that’s not a bad thing. It’s about having a leader who understands.’ As long as you don’t compromise your values ​​to find a common-sense solution, that’s my approach,” she continued.

Whitaker then asked Harris about her plans for the immigration crisis, a weakness of the vice president who oversaw addressing the root causes of the problem in the Biden administration. This work led Republicans to brand her the “border czar.” (Related: Report: Harris visits Arizona border for first time in years)

The “60 Minutes” host asked Harris why she and President Joe Biden are now accepting the latest crackdown on asylum seekers instead of taking such steps in 2021.

“The first bill we proposed to Congress was to fix our broken immigration system, and we knew that if we wanted to actually fix it, Congress would have to act. It wasn’t taken up. “Fast forward to the moment when a bipartisan group of senators, including one of the most conservative members of the U.S. Senate, came together and proposed a border security bill,” Harris said, echoing the administration’s frequent statements. Points out that President Trump asked members of Congress to repeal the bill.

“I’ve been covering the border for years, so I know this is not a problem that started with your administration. But the first three years of your administration saw a historic flood of illegal immigration at the border. In fact, the number of people entering the United States has quadrupled compared to last year. Was it a mistake to loosen immigration policies so much?

The vice president told Whitaker that the border crisis was a “long-standing” problem and that the administration had offered solutions, before interjecting and asking more questions.

“What I wanted to ask is whether it was a mistake to allow that flood to happen in the first place,” the “60 Minutes” host said as Harris again called on Congress to act. I followed.

“I have a Glock. I’ve had it for quite some time,” Vice President Harris said, noting the surprise some people felt when they learned she was a gun owner. “My background is in law enforcement, so I’ll go with that.” https://t.co/3WvS0NXkSP pic.twitter.com/dGDqEy17IL

— 60 minutes (@60Minutes) October 8, 2024

Harris’ second solo national interview on “60 Minutes” was her first with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhl. The vice president, who was accompanied by Walz, first spoke with CNN’s Dana Bash after coming under intense scrutiny for avoiding the press during the first month of campaigning. After occasional interviews with local media, MSNBC announced that Harris would meet with Ruhl, who later defended Harris’ lack of “clear” and “direct” answers. (Related: Harris fails to explain flip-flops, says she has no regrets about Biden in first interview)

The vice president will also appear on “The View,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and “The Howard Stern Show.” Colbert has previously hosted fundraisers for Biden in both 2020 and 2024. According to In the New York Times. Stern previously supported Biden as a 2020 presidential candidate.

Waltz himself has avoided the media, but he also appeared on “60 Minutes.” He told Whittaker that part of his disagreement with Harris was over comments he had made that had drawn criticism, including claiming he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen massacre.

“Waltz has been criticized for embellishing and outright lying about his military record and travels to Asia in the 1980s,” Whitaker’s voiceover begins.

“In your debate with J.D. Vance, when you said, ‘I’m crazy sometimes,’ you were referring to when you said you were in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen massacre when you weren’t there. I think that’s a false alarm. Isn’t that more than just a knucklehead? The host followed up.

“I think people know who I am, and I’m not a pathological liar like Donald Trump, and I’m different from someone who expresses emotions, tells stories, and gets dates wrong. “I think you know,” Waltz replied.