Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday took questions from Latino voters at a town hall in Nevada, where she was pressed for specifics on her proposals on immigration, the economy and more.
Harris faced about a dozen questions during the roughly hour-long event hosted by Univision, where she sought to win over this key demographic group with just 26 days to go before Election Day. The Democratic nominee pointed to her record as vice president and swung ferociously at her opponent, Republican former President Donald Trump, but she was light on specifics on her plans for the country.
Here are the highlights:
VOTERS IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES GIVE TRUMP AN EDGE OVER HARRIS ON THIS TOP TIER ISSUE: POLL
Democratic Presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris walks over to Latino voter Ivett Castillo, who recently lost her mother, during a Univision Town Hall in Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday October 10, 2024. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Harris pushes back on Trump attacks over hurricane response
In the first question of the night, a voter from Tampa asked Harris about rumors that the Biden-Harris administration did not do enough to respond to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Former President Trump, the Republican nominee, has fanned those rumors, claiming at a recent rally that President Biden’s response to the storms was “the worst hurricane response since Katrina,” invoking the heavily criticized federal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Harris defended the Biden administration, accusing critics of “playing political games” and insisting claims the response was inadequate are “just not accurate.” She said she has been working with people on the ground in Georgia, North Carolina, Florida and other southeastern states to get Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) resources to people in need.
“Another piece of work that I’ve been doing, it’s based on my years of being an attorney general in California, is telling those corporations and those companies that during crisis and emergencies jack up prices,” Harris said. “I’ve seen it happen before, that we’re watching them and at a moment of desperation for these individuals and families, whether it be to be able to get temporary shelter at a hotel for gas prices, for even airline tickets, that we’ll be watching if they’re jacking up prices to make sure they’ll be serious consequence. And that’s the kind of work I will do going forward.”
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: Democratic Presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris takes questions from Latino voters during a Univision Town Hall in Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday October 10, 2024. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images) (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
On immigration, Harris won’t say how she’d be different than Biden
Voters pressed Harris for specifics on her plans for immigration and how her policies would differ from President Biden’s.
In her answer, Harris pointed to her recent trip to visit the border in Arizona and her law enforcement career as a prosecutor and California attorney general to show she’s serious about border security.
“I will put my record up against anyone in terms of the work I’ve always done, and it will always be to ensure we have a secure border,” she said.
Harris also criticized Trump for leading Republican opposition to a bipartisan border security deal that was endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council in February. She claimed the bill would have sent 1,500 additional Border Patrol agents to the border and provide law enforcement resources to combat fentanyl trafficking.
Republicans say the border bill provided too many benefits to illegal immigrants, like work permits and taxpayer-funded attorneys, and would have funded sanctuary city jurisdictions that do not cooperate with immigration enforcement.
Harris said there is a “false choice” between a secure border and humane immigration policy. But she did not explain how her policies would be different from Biden, who also supported the border bill.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event on Thursday, Oct. 10, on the Gila River Indian Community reservation in Chandler, Ariz. (AP/Ross D. Franklin)
Emotional moment as woman asks about health care
An emotional moment came when a Las Vegas woman, Ivett Castillo, told Harris that she recently lost her mother before she could get her immigration status legalized.
“She was never able to get the type of care and service that she needed or deserved,” Castillo said, holding back tears. She asked how Harris would help illegal immigrants who “have to live and die in the shadows.”
Another voter, Francisco Medina of San Diego, California, told the vice president that despite his insurance coverage through the Defense Department, he had to cross the border into Mexico to receive treatment. He asked how she would improve the medical system.
“I firmly and deeply believe that healthcare is a right, and should be a right and not just a privilege of those who can afford it or have access to it easily,” Harris said.
She pointed to the Biden administration’s efforts to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and cap prescription drug prices as a starting point for what she’d do as president.
“The work we have done has been about capping the cost of prescription medication for seniors at $2,000,” she said. “My intention as president of the United States is to make that available for not just seniors, but for everyone.”
Trump-leaning voter confronts Harris on leaving Biden behind
At one point during the town hall, a self-described independent voter said he was leaning towards voting for Trump because Harris did not win the Democratic nomination through the normal primary process.
“I’m a little confused,” said Mario Sigbaum, of Santa Monica, California. “Being a candidate without going through the normal process – that is primary elections or through a caucus – that really caught my attention.” He demanded an explanation for how Biden was “completely destituted.”
Harris thanked him for being “candid.” She called Biden’s decision to withdraw from the election amid mounting pressure from the Democratic Party “one of the most courageous a president could make” and said he “put country above his personal interest.”
“He made that decision, he… within that same period of time supported my candidacy and urged me to run,” Harris said. “He and I have been partners for the last four years as his vice president to him as the president. And I am honored to have earned the Democratic nomination.”
She went on to say there is a “huge contrast” in this election and asserted Trump would be a “dictator on day one,” calling the situation “unprecedented” with “support for democracy” on the ballot.
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Harris can’t say three nice things about Trump
In the closing moments of the town hall, one voter asked if Harris could name three virtues of her Republican opponent. She could not.
“I think Donald Trump loves his family and I think that’s very important,” she said. “But I don’t really know him to be honest with you. I only met him one time on the debate stage. I’d never met him before.”
Harris came up short searching for two other virtues. Instead, she criticized Trump for taking an “us versus them” approach and using divisive language.
“I don’t think that’s healthy for our nation, and I don’t admire that.”
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