Vice President Kamala Harris was asked about how important joy is to the 2024 presidential campaign during an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) on Tuesday, following President Trump's grilling by the group.

Harris answered questions from Politico's Eugene Daniels, WHYY's Tonya Mosley and The Grio's Jaren Keith Gaynor at an event hosted by NABJ in Philadelphia. Harris, who has given just one prime-time interview since launching her presidential campaign, faced off against NABJ panelists who were friendlier than the former president as she spoke about the joyous element of campaigning and her plan to ban assault weapons. (Related article: “I didn't know she was black”: Trump criticizes Kamala Harris when asked if she ran on racial issues)

“The term 'joyful warrior' has been used to describe your campaign and your opponent, and Republicans have weaponized the fact that you're laughing in their ads and elsewhere. Why is it important to you to show joy in this election and how do you feel about Republicans using it to suggest you're not a serious candidate?” Gaynor asked the vice president.

“Well, sometimes I think, and I would say to any young people watching this, sometimes the enemy will try to turn your strength into a weakness. Don't allow that. Don't allow that,” Harris began.

“I find joy in the American people. I find joy in our optimism, in our future and our ability to invest in it. I find joy in people's ambition. I find joy in people's dreams. I find joy in building communities. I find joy in building coalitions. I find joy in believing that the true measure of a leader's strength is not based on who they defeat but who they lift up. And I think we should all find joy in who we are as Americans, what we mean to each other and what we can do to lift each other up,” the Vice President concluded.

Before answering questions about her “fun” campaign, Harris was quizzed on abortion rights, Middle East policy and the city of Springfield, Ohio. The only tense moment of the interview came when the vice president was asked whether he would ban handguns.

“You've said you support an assault weapons ban and universal background checks, and I learned during the debate that you own a gun. Yet in Philadelphia, most murders and violent crimes are committed with handguns,” Mosley began.

“The push to ban assault weapons only solves a small but significant part of the problem, so how are you going to address the issue of handgun use?” Mosley continued.

The vice president began by explaining that he doesn't want to take away Americans' guns, but he does want to ban assault weapons. Mosley repeatedly interrupted the vice president to press him further, emphasizing that he was talking about handguns, not assault weapons or universal background checks.

“The reason I'm asking specifically about handguns is because a lot of handguns are purchased somewhere,” Mosley interjected.

“Handguns are subject to universal background checks, that's correct,” Harris said, interrupting Mosley.

Harris's friendly interview with NABJ stood in contrast to Trump's appearance in July, when both were invited to the NABJ conference, but only the former president was able to attend in person.

ABC News reporter Rachel Scott began her interview with Trump by immediately confronting him about the former president's “false claims” about his “rivals.” Scott went on to say that Trump had “attacked black journalists,” before going on to lay out the former president's past comments in a 35-second segment.

“I don't think I've ever been asked such a bad question,” Trump responded. “I don't even say, 'Hello, how are you?' Are you from ABC? Because I think they're a fake news network, a terrible network.”

“I think it's a disgrace,” he added.

Tensions rose as the interview progressed, with the former president getting into an altercation with an audience member over whether Scott's questions were disrespectful.

“If I was on this stage and this woman treated me badly, I would be okay with that.”

“No, it's not!” the crowd shouted.

'No, I wasn't!': President Trump argues with audience member over whether ABC's Rachel Scott was rude to him at NABJ24 conference pic.twitter.com/4MdYnNT5KM

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 31, 2024

“She was very rude. She was nasty. That was not a question. She didn't ask me a question. She made a statement. That was not a question,” Trump told the crowd.