Kamala Harris made her first appearance on The View as Democratic presidential nominee, in a very friendly setting where she outlined some of her policy priorities and got a chance to respond to rival Donald Trump‘s falsehoods about the administration’s hurricane response.
“It is the height of irresponsibility and frankly, callousness,” Harris said of Trump’s claims that FEMA funds were being directed to migrants, among other things.
“Lives are literally at stake right now,” she said, adding that Trump was “playing political games for the sake of himself.”
Harris also commented on the oncoming Hurricane Milton, which is threatening central Florida, and the claim by the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, who said this morning that she has never called regarding any of the storms until now. She has called him “selfish” for not taking the call.
Harris said that she has talked with Democratic and Republican governors during the most recent crisis. “Called, taken the call, answered the call, had a conversation,” she said. “So obviously, this is not an issue that is about partisanship or politics for certain leaders, but maybe it is for others.”
She also urged state residents to follow evacuation orders, warning that the hurricane “is predicted to be historic in terms of how serious and devastating it will be.”
As Democratic nominee, Harris has done a sit down with Oprah Winfrey, but that was a campaign-related event. The View billed her appearance as her first live appearance on a talk show since she got into the race, but she still got showered with support from the co-hosts. Whoopi Goldberg introduced her as the “next president of the United States,” and Beyonce’s Freedom, Harris’ campaign anthem, played as she made her way to the set.
The show also gave her the chance to introduce a new policy proposal, to extend Medicare benefits for at-home health care for seniors.
Harris also noted that one difference from her plans and Joe Biden’s presidency is that she wants to have a Republican in her cabinet. “I don’t feel burdened by letting pride get in the way of a good idea,” she said.
At the end, the show also played a clip from Saturday Night Live and Maya Rudolph’s portrayal of her.
Harris laughed. “She’s so good. She has the whole thing — the suit, the jewelry.” She said that she had not seen the clip before.
Harris’ appearance on the show is part of a media blitz this week. She was headed after The View for an appearance on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM show. Later today, she is due to appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
