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Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ABC Interview: Why did Kamala change her views after allegedly calling Biden racist

Katrina Pierson, the senior advisor to President Donald Trump released a statement claiming that Harris had accused Biden of being a racist

On August 11, 2020, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden announced that Sen. Kamala Harris would be his running mate, thus making history by selecting the first woman of color to compete for a major party's presidential election ticket. Biden announced the news on Twitter calling Harris as “a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants.” 

On August 21, 2020, exactly ten days after the nomination, 'World News Tonight' anchor David Muir along with 'Good Morning America' co-anchor Robin Roberts conducted the first joint interview with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris in Wilmington, Delaware.

Among Muir's questions was one where he asked Harris: "You remember that moment, Senator Harris, you were on stage talking about being a little girl who was being bussed, and you said of the Vice President's words about working with segregationist senators that they were hurtful and personal. I think the American people want to know that these aren't debate moments, these aren't political points, that when you say they were hurtful and personal -- you mean that."

This could hark back to August 11 when Biden announced Harris's selection. On the same day, Katrina Pierson, the senior advisor to President Donald Trump released a statement claiming that Harris had once accused Biden of being a racist and that "she is proof that Joe Biden is an empty shell being filled with the extreme agenda of the radicals on the left". The statement read in part: “Not long ago, Kamala Harris called Joe Biden a racist and asked for an apology she never received.” The statement also stated, "Clearly, Phony Kamala will abandon her own morals, as well as try to bury her record as a prosecutor, in order to appease the anti-police extremists controlling the Democrat Party. In her failed attempt at running for president, Kamala Harris gleefully embraced the left’s radical manifesto, calling for trillions of dollars in new taxes and backing Bernie Sanders’ government takeover of healthcare."

The statement reportedly refers to an exchange of words between the two during the Democratic debate back in 2019, when they were the competing candidates for the Democrat's presidential ticket. In the exchange, Kamala said, “I do not believe you are a racist.” This happened on June 27, 2019, debate during which moderators asked a question about racial inequities in policing. The question grew into a wider discussion of race among the 10 candidates on stage and Harris directed her remarks to Biden, who was leading in the polls at the time. But during the whole time, she never accused Biden directly by calling him racist, she rather remarked that she can't believe that he can be one. 

In the ABC interview when asked about the infamous 'racist comment'  she ignored the question and the interviewer moved on. A viewer said : "@KamalaHarris -Correct, your implication during #DemDebate that @JoeBiden policies were racist is a distraction - a distraction you created. Too bad your answers (twice) on @ABC #TheTicket didn’t suffice to dispel."

While one said, "NOW is the time to answer questions the people have, not just rattle off your talking points...  she never really answers any question..." and "Kamala dodging questions??? Shocker! Better than just saying “it was a debate” over and over and over again I guess."

Another commenting on the way Harris dodged the question by the ABC interviewer said: "Noooooooo. You don’t get to insinuate someone is racist then take a job for that person without answering why you took the job after saying he did racist things."