What you missed in Harris' NBC interview

Vice President Kamala Harris and her team are prepared if her opponent Donald Trump declares victory in the presidential election before all the ballots are counted, she told NBC News.

The interview between Harris and Hallie Jackson was recorded at the US Naval Observatory and aired on Tuesday evening.

The Democratic US presidential candidate answered questions about President Joe Biden's poor performance in the debate before she dropped out of the race, whether she would pardon former President Trump and the historical significance of her candidacy as a woman.

Here are some key moments:

Ms. Jackson asked Harris whether she had been honest with Biden when she endorsed his re-election bid.

“You've never seen anything like what happened to him behind closed doors on debate night?” Ms. Jackson asked.

“It was a bad debate. People have bad debates,” Harris replied, referring to the Trump-Biden duel in June.

Ms. Jackson then elaborated, saying that Biden's poor performance in the debate was the reason Harris is now the Democratic Party's nominee.

“Well, you'd have to ask him if that's the only reason he resigned,” Harris said.

Ms. Jackson asked again about Biden.

“I am running for President of the United States. Joe Biden is not – and my presidency will be about bringing a new generation of leaders to America,” Harris said.

She then vouched for the president's political successes and leadership.

“I speak not only with sincerity, but also with a real, first-hand account of watching him do this work. I have no inhibitions about saying that,” she said.

Ms. Jackson asked Harris what she would do if her Republican opponent declared himself the winner in the presidential race before all the votes were counted.

“We will deal with election night and the days after as they come, and we also have the resources and the expertise and the focus to do that,” Harris said.

In the hours after Election Day in 2020, Trump falsely declared himself the winner in the race against Biden while votes were still being counted. The election was not decided until days later.

He is currently accused of pressuring officials to overturn the 2020 results and knowingly spreading lies about voter fraud.

Asked whether the Harris team would have considered a similar scenario on Election Day next month, the vice president replied “of course.”

“This is a person, Donald Trump, who tried to overturn a free and fair election, who still denies the will of the people, who incited a violent mob to attack the United States Capitol…that's a serious one matter,” she said.

Ms. Jackson asked Harris if she would pardon Trump if she became president.

“I will not get involved in these hypotheses. “I’m focused on the next 14 days,” she replied.

Asked whether pardoning the former president would help unify the country, she said:

“Let me tell you what’s going to help us – I’m going to be elected President of the United States.”

Harris was also asked whether the U.S. would be ready to name a woman of color as the next president.

“Absolutely,” she said without hesitation. “…I think what's important in this election is not just turning the page, but closing the page and closing the chapter on an era that suggests Americans are divided.”

Ms. Jackson then pressed Harris on why she was hesitant to speak on the campaign trail about the historic nature of her candidacy. If elected, Harris would be the first female president.

“I'm clearly a woman… the question that's really on most people's minds is: Can you do the job and do you have a plan to actually focus on it,” she said.

When asked if she was concerned about sexism, Harris said she didn't view her candidacy that way. Instead, she said her challenge on the campaign trail is to make sure she can talk to and listen to as many voters as possible.

“I never assume that anyone in our country should elect a leader based on their gender or race, but rather that that leader must earn the vote based on their substance and actions to address challenges,” she said.

Harris later discussed her agenda with a focus on reproductive rights and abortion access.

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