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Kamala Harris Answers The Web's Most Searched Questions

Kamala Harris, the 49th Vice President of the United States and 2024 Democratic Presidential Nominee, joins WIRED to answer her most searched for questions on Google. Where is Kamala Harris from? What does Kamala Harris stand for? What was her childhood and early family life like? What policies would Kamala Harris pursue as President? Vice President Kamala Harris answers these questions and many more on the WIRED Autocomplete Interview. Director: Justin Wolfson Editor: Louis Lalire; Brady Jackson Talent: Kamala Harris Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi Associate Producer: Paul Gulyas; Brandon White Production Manager: Peter Brunette Production Coordinator: Rhyan Lark Talent Booker: Lauren Mendoza, Meredith Judkins Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds Special Thanks: Democratic National Committee

Released on 09/19/2024

Transcript

Hi, I'm Kamala Harris

and this is the WIRED Autocomplete Interview.

[upbeat music]

What do you want me to do with each one?

[Team Member 1] Just drop them on the floor.

Yeah, we'll-

It's not gonna be in the camera shot?

[Team Member 1] It's off-camera.

'Cause I don't believe in littering.

[Team Member 1] No, I know, we're gonna pick them up.

[everyone laughing]

[upbeat music]

How to pronounce Kamala Harris?

Kamala Harris.

[Kamala Harris laughs]

My baby nieces, you can go on YouTube

and they did a really great tutorial

on how to pronounce my name.

So look it up.

What did Kamala Harris' mother tell her?

She told us

that we should never let anyone tell us who we are.

You tell them who you are.

She said to me many times,

Kamala, you may be the first to do many things.

Make sure you're not the last.

Since I was two years old,

my mother told me to look out for my little sister.

These are all instructions that she gave me

that I have carried throughout my life.

What does Kamala Harris stand for?

I am a daughter of parents,

who're active in civil rights movement.

They actually took me when I was in a stroller

to civil rights marches

where they were fighting

for freedom, for justice, for equality.

I believe, for example, right now

that one of the biggest things

that we must fight for is the freedom of a woman

to make decisions about her own body

and not have her government tell her what to do.

An important moment that I had was back in 2004

when I was one of the first elected people in the country

to perform same-sex marriages.

Because I believe very strongly

that the law should not treat people differently

when it comes to being able to love who they love

and the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride.

Does Kamala Harris have kids?

Yes, I have two.

Cole and Ella became my cherished children.

Doug, my husband,

I was very clear with him that when we started dating,

I wanted to see how this thing was gonna go

before I would meet Cole and Ella.

I'm a kid of divorced parents.

It was important to make sure

that when I developed a relationship with the kids,

that it would be lasting.

I love those kids to pieces.

They are my children and I'm very proud of them.

How was Kamala Harris' life as a child?

I had the blessing of having a great childhood.

I grew up in a neighborhood full of families,

adults who were everything

from construction workers to teachers,

people who were proud of their lawn.

As kids, we used to ride bikes in the neighborhood.

I'll never forget and will always love my banana seat

on my bike.

[Kamala laughs]

And I grew up,

I had a family of people,

some were family by blood and some are family by love,

a real incredible childhood

and I want the same for every child in America.

[Team Member 2] Here we go.

Where is Kamala Harris from?

Oakland, California,

the home of the Golden State Warriors,

who are one of my favorite teams

and I have always on the court,

shown incredible excellence as has their coach.

Where did Kamala Harris go to college?

Howard University, which we refer to as the Mecca.

I actually ran for my first office there,

freshman class representative

of the liberal arts student council.

It was a very tough race against a girl from Jersey.

She was tough and smart.

Kamala Harris laughing.

I love to laugh.

It's really important to be able to laugh at yourself,

laugh with folks

and there are obviously moments

that require serious thought and serious approaches.

But I hope that everybody has a moment to laugh

from time to time.

Kamala Harris presidential campaign.

So I am running for president of the United States.

I am the vice president of the United States

and I intend to win as president of the United States.

And I intend to be a president for all Americans.

As a prosecutor,

when I would talk with a victim of crime or a witness,

I never asked them, Are you a Democrat or a Republican?

The first thing I'd always ask them is Are you okay?

And that's the kind of president I intend to be.

It's about you and how you're doing

and again, tapping into your dreams and your aspirations

for yourself and the people in your life.

[Team Member 2] Perfect.

Can Kamala Harris beat Trump?

Yes, absolutely.

I think what's really important,

is to know what you stand for

and then you know what to fight for.

I come from a middle-class background.

My mother worked hard, she saved up.

And only when I was a teenager,

she was able to buy our first home.

I mean, that's why I'm focused in particular

on middle-class families

and doing what I can to uplift working people.

My opponent, Donald Trump, on the other hand,

he gives tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations.

I stand for our military.

I believe we have to honor their service, their sacrifice,

the service and sacrifice of their families.

My opponent has called military heroes, suckers and losers.

Not to mention

that I think most Americans wanna have a leader,

who believes that their strength is not

in beating people down, but in lifting people up.

And that's why I'm gonna beat Trump.

Kamala Harris attorney general of California, two terms.

As Attorney General,

I was the top law enforcement officer

of the biggest state in the country.

I took on the big banks

for predatory lending practices against homeowners,

so many who faced foreclosure

and I took them on and actually won $20 billion.

Kamala Harris policies.

One of my policies is to make sure

that first-time home buyers will get $25,000

in down payment assistance.

So you can just get your foot in the door

and be able to live that dream

and obviously work hard and own a home.

And that's part of building wealth.

The tax deduction now for startups is only $5,000

and no one can start a new small business with $5,000.

Let's expand that and give people a $50,000 tax deduction

to start up a small business.

Our small businesses are the backbone of America's economy,

including giving a tax break to middle-class families,

including young parents of $6,000.

So you can just have the support you need

to buy a crib, to buy a car seat, to buy baby clothes,

knowing that's such a fundamental stage

of your child's life, the first year of life.

And we wanna do what we can

to support your natural desire to parent.

Kamala Harris Tim Walz.

So Tim Walz is my running mate.

I call him as do many, Coach Walz.

He's an incredible person.

He was a high school teacher, high school football coach.

He has served our country in uniform

and he is currently a governor

of a state under his leadership

that has been designated sixth most friendly to businesses.

He reminds me of people I grew up with,

different part of the country,

folks who seemingly have nothing in common

and have everything in common.

Hardworking people who love their community,

who care and work hard and contribute.

Get to know Tim Walz, he's really a great guy.

Kamala Harris sorority.

The name of my sorority,

is Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

and it is the oldest black sorority in America

and has a history of producing incredible women,

who have gone on to great roles of leadership.

Kamala Harris gun ownership.

I and Tim Walz are both gun owners.

We will not take anybody's guns away.

We also need to have reasonable gun safety laws.

I believe that we need an assault weapons ban,

we need universal background checks, we need red flag laws.

We can support the Second Amendment as I do

and also agree that we need some reasonable laws.

I mean, if you talk to a lot of people in our country,

who have sadly from kindergarten through 12th grade,

have to go through active shooter drills

and worry about whether when they're sitting in class

and should be learning

and taking advantage of the wonders of the world

and some part of their mind is worried

about somebody busting through the door of the classroom

with a gun.

I think we should agree.

We don't want our kids,

we don't want anyone to live with that kind of fear

and there are things we can do about it.

Kamala Harris Taylor Swift.

I am very proud to have the support of Taylor Swift.

She's an incredible artist.

I really respect the courage that she has had in her career

to stand up for what she believes is right.

But we were on different sides of the Super Bowl last year.

[Kamala Harris laughs]

I am a 49ers fan,

but who's mad at anyone for being loyal to their team,

right?

So there you go.

Kamala Harris debate.

That was quite enjoyable.

I enjoyed the debate.

I think it's very important for us to,

in our democracy, create an opportunity

for civil debate and disagreement

about ideas and about policies.

I think the debate showed

that we have two very different visions for our country.

I stand for and have a vision

that is about the future of our country.

And I offer, I think, a new generation of leadership.

My opponent, Donald Trump, I think his vision

for our country is very grounded in the past

and frankly, an attempt to take us backward.

Taking away the freedom

to make decisions about your own body,

regardless of your gender,

saying that the government has a right

to tell you what to do with your body,

I think that's kind of backward.

I think the government shouldn't be making those decisions

for people.

Kamala Harris joy.

I call myself a joyful warrior.

I think it is important to find joy in each other,

in the strength that we each have to lift each other up

to build community, to build coalition.

There you go, let's all share some joy.

Okay, that was it, we're done.

Okay, let's do it another way.

[everyone laughing] [Kamala Harris laughs]

[beeps]

I really enjoyed talking with everybody.

That's it, no more boards.

Thank you for your interest

and just stay active and please vote.

[mechanical whirring]

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