Harris on Immigration
Bash questioned Harris on the record number of U.S. immigration cases and her role in addressing the root causes of migration from the Northern Triangle of Central America, including Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Harris claimed there had been a reduction in “immigrants coming from that region.” Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows a year-on-year decrease in encounters with citizens of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras between October 2021 and September 2023. However, the year-to-date figures for 2024 exceed last year’s totals, with 365,246 encounters reported between October 2023 and July 2024, compared to 346,704 during the same period in 2023.
Harris on Fracking
Harris’s stance on fracking has been a target for criticism, particularly after she stated her support for a fracking ban during the 2020 presidential campaign. In the interview with Bash, Harris said, “I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020—that I would not ban fracking. As vice president, I did not ban fracking. As president, I will not ban fracking.” During the 2020 Vice Presidential debate, Harris mainly reiterated Joe Biden’s position against banning fracking. When former Vice President Mike Pence claimed that Biden and Harris had “repeatedly committed to abolishing fossil fuel and banning fracking,” Harris responded, “That’s not true.”
Harris also mentioned that she cast a “tiebreaking vote that actually increased leases for fracking as vice president,” likely referring to her vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, which included provisions to increase oil and gas leasing. Newsweek has reached out to Harris’s representatives for additional data on the increase in natural gas leases.
Walz’s Defense
Tim Walz’s only significant statement during the interview not addressed by Harris was his claim that a Trump presidency could result in an “abortion ban.” As previously reported by Newsweek, Trump has not advocated for a national abortion ban, stating that such decisions should be left to the states. Furthermore, Project 2025, which some have described as a Trump government blueprint, does not include a national abortion ban.
Walz also defended previous comments he made about carrying “weapons of war” during his deployment to Italy in 2003 as part of America’s war on terror, despite not having seen open combat, and a statement about him and his wife using fertility treatments, which some interpreted as a reference to IVF.
Scrutinizing the Facts
The CNN interview with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz has sparked significant interest, and the claims made by both figures have been carefully examined. While Harris and Walz presented information that aligns with broader trends and data, some of their statements require additional context or clarification. The ongoing political discourse will undoubtedly continue to scrutinize these details as the 2024 presidential election approaches.
