ATLANTA — Vice President Kamala Harris sat down with CNN's Anderson Cooper on Thursday night following the first presidential debate in Atlanta.
The debate featured the two front runners, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Both received a lot of attention and criticism, especially regarding Biden's performance.
In the interview, Cooper questioned Harris about concerns within the Democratic Party regarding President Biden's ability to challenge Trump effectively. Cooper highlighted remarks from Democratic lawmakers who expressed disappointment with Biden's debate performance, with some describing it as a "disaster" and a "train wreck."
"Listen, first of all, what we saw tonight is that the president made a very clear contrast with Donald Trump on all of the issues that matter to the American people," Harris responded. "Yes, there was a slow start, but it was a strong finish. And what became very clear through the course of the night is that Joe Biden is fighting on behalf of the American people on substance, on policy, on performance. Joe Biden is extraordinarily strong."
Cooper persisted, pointing out the criticism from Democratic lawmakers and the concern that Biden did not effectively counter Trump's falsehoods during the debate.
"People can debate on style points but ultimately, this election and who is the president of the United States has to be about substance," Harris said. "The contrast is clear; look at what happened during the course of the debate. Donald Trump lied over and over and over again, he would not disavow what happened on January 6th, he would not give a clear answer on whether he would stand by the election results this November."
Despite interruptions from Cooper, Harris continued to emphasize Biden's achievements and commitment.
"I'm talking about 3.5 years of performance in work that has been historic, whether it be infrastructure... the person that you saw on the debate stage who has, for the last 3.5 years up until today, performed in a way that has been about whether it be in the Oval Office, negotiating bipartisan deals so that we have an infrastructure plan... ensuring the safety of America."
Harris finished the interview by emphasizing the long-term impact of Biden's presidency rather than focusing solely on the debate performance.
"So I'm not gonna spend all night with you talking about the last 90 minutes when I've been watching the last 3.5 years of performance."