Photo: GEOFF ROBINS / AFP / Getty Images
Charlamagne Tha God sat down with Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday (October 15) for a live interview, billed as "We The People: An Audio Town Hall with Kamala Harris." Charlamagne hosted the Democratic candidate for president in Detroit, Michigan, for an hour-long interview that was broadcast on iHeartRadio stations across the country.
Charlamagne started off by bringing up criticisms that Harris sticks to her talking points during interviews and speeches.
"That would be called discipline," Harris replied, noting that repetition is important for people to remember and understand her policies.
“You know, some people say that if until someone has heard the same thing at least three times, it just doesn’t stay with you. So, repetition is important, and for that reason, yes, at my rallies, I say the same thing when I go to Detroit as I do in Philly, as I do wherever I am, to make sure that people hear and receive what I think are some of the most critical issues that are at stake in this election," she added.
The two went on to speak about many vital issues facing voters as they prepare to head to the polls on November 5. Some of the questions came from listeners across the country, who submitted them using the Talback feature in the iHeartRadio app.
One listener asked why the United States continues to send money to other countries. Kamala responded by saying, "We can do it all, and we do."
"I maintain very strongly that America should never pull ourselves away as a world leader," she added.
Harris then touted how taxpayer money has been spent to make Americans' lives better by increasing homeownership, reducing Black child poverty, and lowering healthcare costs. Later in the interview, she spoke about a program to help small business owners by providing a $20,000 nonrefundable loan so they can purchase new equipment or meet other needs.
Harris was then questioned about claims she has done very little to help the Black community.
Harris denied the claims, saying, "One of the biggest challenges I face is misinformation, and it's purposeful." She then pivoted into attacking her opponent, former President Donald Trump.
"Ask Donald Trump what his plan is for Black America. Ask him. I'll tell you. Look at Project 2025."
She said Trump supports stop-and-frisk policies and making it harder for workers to get overtime pay.
Harris also attacked Trump while responding to a question about whether she thinks he will mass deport immigrants if he is elected.
"Trump is running full-time on a campaign about instilling fear," Harris said, mentioning false claims made by Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, that Haitian migrants were eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio.
She then blasted him for scuttling a bipartisan immigration reform bill negotiated by Congress.
"It doesn't help when a bipartisan group got together to fix it, and Trump told them 'hold on, don't fix it 'cause it won't help me politically.'"
Charlamagne asked Harris about why Democrats fail to receive credit for the economy when, historically, it has done better under Democratic administrations since World War II.
"Democrats probably talk more about what we're doing for people rather than the economy, when, in fact, you do for the people, the economy grows. Democrats have accelerated economic growth," Harris said.
Throughout the interview, Harris urged people to go out and vote, even if they don't feel like showing up at the polls will change anything.
"You can't let anyone take you out of the game by not voting. The solutions are not going to happen overnight," Harris said. "All those people who are obstructionists are winning [when you do that] because they're convincing people that it can't be done, so don't participate. So, let's not fall for it."
If you missed the interview, you can listen to it on-demand via the Breakfast Club podcast.