In washington, d. C. , earning her logic refrom the hastings law school, was the District Attorney in San Francisco and law on to earning her degree from hastings law school. She announced her candidacy for president back in january 2019 in oakland, california. She withdrew from the race in december of last year. Joining us from los angeles is an l. A. Times political reporter , and in philadelphia, covering politics for politico, holly otterbein. And i want to begin with you, holly otterbein. I wonder if you could walk us through the process of what led to her selection. Sure. A debaten during between biden and sanders. Biden broke the news that he was going to choose a woman as his Vice President ial nominee. That kind of kicked everything little while, a later, in april, he announced his Vice President ial search committee, which included four people, including former senator chris dodd, who has been a longtime friend and ally to biden. He took an important and powerful role in that committee. And, you know, over the next few months, they did lots of interviews. They did lots of intensive vetting. Recently, they ended the search with biden, of course, talking to all of the candidates himself, and they came to the conclusion that Kamala Harris was the best choice for a few different reasons, which i am sure we will talk about more today. But it is interesting, as you noted, this is in many ways the choice that a lot of people in the Political Press and in democratic circles thought that he would make, but at the same time, it is kind of, you know, really notable that the expected pick is a black woman. I mean, i think that just says a lot about where we are today, as well as the democratic party, and, you know, the black lives Matter Movement and the protests we have seen in the street. It says a lot, a lot about all of those things. And we will be discussing all of that, as well. Mehta, you are from his home state. There was a lot around california democrats. She had national ambitions, and they expected her to go far. Her allies, when she dropped out of her president ial race, i think they thought she was a smart woman. But she was not likely to be the nominee. California often feels left out of politics. We have not seen a californian the relationship Kamala Harris led to thee bidens decision to select her. You saw that when they came out together this week. Than 190ere are more appearances with Kamala Harris, available on cspan. Org. This was the first. The state of black america. One participant was Kamala Harris. Criminalis the Justice System is not working for the africanamerican community. We see that in the statistics. 2 Million People in the prison system, 40 african america, despite we only constitute 30 of the general population. It is not working was the leading cause of death for africanamerican and men as homicide. Suffer because our babies hear the gunfire every night and has posttraumatic stress disorder. The criminal Justice System is not working for us. What we have failed to do is own the issue of Law Enforcement. Statistics inthe the context of, it is unfair, morally incorrect. Nobody cares about that. You can look at katrina. Nobody cares that we have a lot of young black men in prison. Issue in we own this Law Enforcement in a way that works for us. We do want Law Enforcement. We want our grandmothers to walk the streets and be safe, ill babies walk to the park and be safe we won our babies to walk to the park and be safe. We dont want is racial profiling, excessive force, having our Civil Liberties stripped, but we want Law Enforcement, so lets define it by saying, i want a Community Police department that works in my community that reflects it. , when theyndmother talk to her, i want accountability that says all enforcement needs to own crime prevention, as much as long sentences. 18 oflly, only series crimes result in arrest. It is my responsibility to keep you safe. If i only send people to prison to keep you safe, i will fall short. The vast majority is not hitting my system, so if im going to keep my promise to you, i better talk with you about crime prevention, recognizing people coming out of the state prisons, 60 will recidivate if we dont get them in programs, job that get themrams in meaningful housing and employment so they dont recidivate. Is it the right thing . It is. If that person commits another 10,000 have to spend on that felony. Im running a program out of my office that brings folks back into the community at 8,000 a year,ng karen teed guaranteed employment, meaningful reunification with her family, and that fulfills my responsibility to keep my community safe, so lets redefine this issue in the context of public safety, doing crime prevention, investing in people coming out of prison. It is the smart thing to do for Law Enforcement. Forget it is just the right thing to do. It is the smart thing to do. Ago, seema mehta , let me begin with you. What did you hear . Seeing criminal justice evolve as an issue. We have seen her evolve as well. Tried to fix the system from the inside, as opposed to being on the outside. She tried to make things better. Her tenure is mixed. It offers an opportunity for critics on the left and right. Franciscoas da in san , there was a case that drew the ire of senator feinstein, who laid into her for not seeking the Death Penalty. By the time she ran for hadection in 2014, she mended defenses. The fences pay or she has had to deal with Racial Injustice the fences. She has had to deal with Racial Injustice, that kind of thing, so this is something she has dealt with throughout her life. For example, she supported icers where body cameras but not toameras, require all officers where body cameras. Body cameras. She really has evolved on these issues. Steve this headline from politico. Com, and holly otterbein, if you could explain how the leftwing is rankled by the choice, based on what seema mehta was saying, based on criminal justice and her standing within the party. Explain that headline. Completely agree. She has evolved on the criminal justice issue with time. As noted, she declined to pursue the Death Penalty against a police murderer, a liberal choice. At the same time, i covered Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris came under fire from fans and others because of her prosecutorial record and what they saw as flipflopping on medicare for all, so that created some complicated feelings among progressive activists and elected officials. In the lead up to bidens announcement this week, many joe bidens announcement this week, many in the progressive world said they hoped he would allow fore that would a wideopen primary. Is notly, Kamala Harris that pig. Pick. Heard not that ave heard they might be that some people might be locked out of the white house. She might be seen as the front liner, if he wins the front runner, if he wins and does not run for reelection. This after believing Bernie Sanders could win and Elizabeth Warren could win the nomination. At the same time, it is complicated, not blackandwhite. Some progressives feel like they dodged a bullet, didnt get someone like Amy Klobuchar, who was more moderate than Kamala Harris. Kamala harris tried to split the difference between moderates and progressives in the primary. That did not serve her because she lacked a base. She could not win over the Bernie Sanders base or joe biden base, but now that might come in handy. She did reach out. At the same time progressives are disappointed, they are proud she will be a historymaking also gladnd they are she endorsed things like the Green New Deal and eliminating fracking. At one point, she also cosponsored Bernie Sanderss medicare for all big and walked away from that policy in the primary. Progressives are disappointed, but glad it is not Amy Klobuchar or someone seen as more moderate. Steve since the announcement, we have learned about her background, father from south asia, father from jamaica, a blended family with her husband. She served in her first term as the california state attorney general. She talked about being the first. Sen. Harris for most of us, we andthe first at what we do, for most, we do what we do because we believe truly in the magnificence of our country, and we are committed to fighting for its highest ideals at every step of the way. And so when i think about the purpose, the reason, and the commonality that we share, i think about it in the context of something we will commemorate or celebrate next week, the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In thinking about the civil of 1964,n 1964 50 years later, we know it to be a product of a coalition of people who came together to fight for the ideals of our country, for that promise we made in 1776 that we should all be treated as equal. We know in the coalition that came around that movement, there were people who fought hard, some who died, who sought to make it real and make it true, and we know for many reasons that document is not just a piece of paper signed into law 50 years ago, it is very much still a living, breathing document, a document that outlines for our country and reminds, unfortunate some folks need to be reminded, folks of the great promise, which indicates there are certain fundamental rights that always must be protected. There are fundamental rights that relate to education, economic opportunity, that relate to giving human beings and the people who live in this country the ability to live a productive life and live with dignity. 2014, kamalarom harris. Seema mehta as you look at her biography and resume, what intrigues you the most about her life story . Seema in reading about her youth, her parents had split, saying made a point of society will view my daughter says black women, so i should raise them to be proud black women. Her mother taking her to africanamerican cultural centers, the indian side as well. Stories aboutthe her childhood was interesting. Her mother was a powerful force in her life. Hearing her talk about her much ityou can hear how matters. Protesting. Also out Kamala Harris was being bussed to school and a desegregation effort. I think in a disaggregation effort. I think that shaped who she is. I think that time in her life is very fascinating. , one ofolly otterbein the most significant decisions das college, she chose howar university. That was significant to her. Decision toe the , it was prosecutor somewhat of a disappointment within her family, which was noted as liberal, going to protests, so that shows where she came from. Producediversity has heavyweights all around, and i think during the primary we saw the powerful net work she built rally around her during the campaign, and i think you will continue to see that in the general election, just proud fellow graduates of howard behind her. I think it is a powerful Political Network that will grow in clout throughout the campaign. Steve this is one of those only on cspan moments, senator is sworn in, we always show the Vice President. 2017, it was senatorelect Kamala Harris being sworn in by Vice President joe biden. It is about three minutes. Runs eightment minutes in our Video Library. [indiscernible] you know what i mean . How are you . Good to see you. You know that, right . You stand here. Ok . Are you ready . All right. That is a good way to do it. Put your hand on the bible. Raise your right. Do you solemnly swear that you will take this obligation without any reservation and you will discharge the duties, so help you god . Sen. Harris i do. You have family, i here . Sen. Harris i have family. I have quite a crew. What is your name . How are you . How are you . Good to see you. How are you . Great. Good to see you. [laughter] hi. Good to see you. How are you . How are you doing . You came to my house last year. Thats right. There is not many guys who can say that. [laughter] good to see you. Guys. Hello. Nice to meet you. Professor at the university of maryland. Is that right . What do you teach . High temperature. Literature. Happy to meet you. Thank you. Good to see you. Welcome. She is thewhat, around boun best. She is the very best. [laughter] uncle. How are you . Journalist and a mathematician. All of these guys are journalists, but i dont think they can add or subtract. [laughter] good to see you. All right. Ok. Ok. We got it . Everybody i am not doing it. [laughter] january, 2017. M you can see the diversity in her extended family. Holly otterbein, the Vice President said going into this process, he wanted someone like him when he served as Vice President for barack obama. The chemistry between these two individuals . It is a huge part of what joe biden was thinking about. He kept referring to the fact he wanted the same kind of chemistry and relationship he had with barack obama. That definitely played a role in his decisionmaking process. Becameer candidate that a finalist was, for instance, california also from , house member, leader of the congressional black caucus, but one reason she did not make it is that she did not know joe biden that well. It was hard to build that relationship during the coronavirus pandemic, you know, tougher to make that happen, so had a harris, she relationship with joe bidens late son beau biden. That played a huge part in him choosing her, and it also helped to smooth things over after and i am sure we will get to this after the famous moment in which Kamala Harris attacked a joe biden on stage during the debates. There was some hard feelings in the biting camp over that the joe biden camp, but because she had that relationship with beau biden, that was able to be gotten over. Moment, whichbate has been getting so much attention, how significant was that in the primary . Seema it was an enormous moment. I think people had a lot of optimism about her candidacy. After that moment, they knew who she was. Seen as the front runner for such a long time. She questioned his statements about working with segregationist senators and bussing, and put issues from decades ago in a modern light. Being thehe ends up nominee, but not an easy task. Because of this preexisting elation ship between them, joe woundedoked personally when she attacked him. It was beyond political, it was personal. It was something he wasnt able to get over that, but it probably took some work to get over that. Ready the campaign was the next day with advertisements. Here it is in its entirety, courtesy of nbc news. Sen. Harris Vice President biden, i do not believe you are a racist. I agree with you when you commit yourself to the importance of finding common ground, but i also believe, and it is personal it was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two u. S. Senators who built the reputations and career on the segregation of race in this country. It was not only that, but you worked with them to oppose bussing. There was a little girl in california who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bussed to school every day, and that little girl was me, so i will tell you on the subject, it cannot be an intellectual debate among democrats. We have to take it seriously, back swiftly, and i was proud to put in place as attorney general that all my agents would wear body cameras and keep those cameras on. [cheers and applause] Vice President biden, you have been invoked. Vice President Biden . [cheers and applause] mr. Biden that is an mischaracterization of my position. I do not praise racist. If you want to have this campaign litigated on what i did or not, i am happy to do that. I am a prosecutor, a public defender. Ofcity was in flames because the assassination of dr. King, number one. Number two, as Vice President of the United States, i worked with a man with whom we work hard to deal with these issues in a major way. Wouldms of bussing, you have been able to go to school, because it was a local decision made by your city council. That is fine. That is one thing i argued for, that we should be breaking down these lines. The bottom line is, look, everything i have done, i ran because of civil rights and think we have to make fundamental changes in civil notts, and those include only africanamericans but the lgbt community. Sen. Harris do you agree today that you were wrong to oppose bussing in america . Mr. Biden i did not oppose bussing. I opposed bussing by the department of education. That is what i opposed. Sen. Harris the failure of states in america, i was part of the second class to integrate berkeley california is to decades after brown versus the board of education. That is where the federal government must step in. Need to pass the equality act, the e. R. A. , because there are moments in history where states failed to preserve the civil rights of all people. 30 seconds i extended the Voting Rights act for 25 years. We got to the place where we got 98 out of 98 votes doing it. I also argued strongly that we deal with the notion of denying people access to the ballot box. I agreed my time is up. I know. Thank you, mr. Vice president. Steve june last year. The l. A. Times, School Busing in srkeley during Kamala Harris childhood was voluntary and volatile. Explain this. Out, ite biden pointed was the School District that decided to voluntarily do it once it became clear integration childrenappening and were not receiving the same services as the wealthier, white children. They did a voluntary integration program. Was a model of theyss, but others felt no onee bussing now, but was integrating. Did not treat the students being bussed in as well as the should have. There was an attempt to recall school board members. It was controversial. You had white flight. It contributed to white flight. Voluntary, but not easy. I think going back to the debate, what joe biden tried to theculate, basically saying courts can order people to do question that dodged Kamala Harris, what is her position . Position later, her was the same as joe biden. Of a policy much difference as she made it out to be. That one. Nailed steve she is back in oakland, california for a town hall. Two moments. First, medicare for all. Million,s another 300 so 4 billion at risk for Community Health centers and teaching centers. We know you are working on our behalf, and we would like to hear more about what you are doing. Part two, medicaid. Of all for half, half births. Skilledeniors in nursing facilities. Sen. Harris one out of two california children. I appreciate that. I thank you for your work. I will break the news. Cosponsor the medicaid for all bill. [applause] [cheers and applause] just theuse it is right thing to do. It is just the right thing to do. Um, somebody should you are right. You are right. Is part of our ongoing fight to make very be a, one, this should not partisan issue. It should be a nonpartisan issue. Babies are born not democrat or republican. One in two california babies. Again, understanding, health care should be a right, not a privilege. It is also about being smart. It is also about being smart. It is so much better that people have meaningful access to Affordable Health care at every stage of life, from birth on, because the alternative is that we have taxpayers otherwise who are paying huge amounts of money for them to get health care in the emergency room. I mean, so it is not only what is morally or ethically right, it also makes sense from a physical standpoint, or if you want to talk about it as a return on investment for taxpayers, so thank you for your work. Steve that from three years ago, but also this month three years ago and in demonstrations in charlottesville, virginia, remarks by President Trump and Vice President pence, talking about the soul of the country. Here is how senator Kamala Harris and her first year in office responded to what happened. [laughter] haveharris and we cannot the leader of our country or those who profess to be leaders in any way condoning or being complicit with the kinds of behavior that is dividing our country. [applause] it is wrong. T is wrong and when we look at the history of our country, we know we have had those moments before. Here, weome of you in would have this ongoing debate with my mother, and sometimes i would say mommy, she is fighting, marching and i would say to her, mommy, you are a bit of a pessimist. She would say, well, you are an idealist. I would say, mommy, im an optimist. And she would say, well, im a realist. Home and imk somewhere in between being an optimist in realist, but on this subject, lets be clear, we have had these moments in time where people suggest there is a right side and a wrong side in terms of jim crow or all of these issues, marriage, marriage equality, all these issues we have had. On some of these issues, they are an debatable are not debatable. This is a challenging moment in time, which is requiring us to fight,p, be vocal, and but i believe strongly with a sense of optimism, and at least lets not be tired and lets not be overwhelmed, and lets not throw up our hands when it is time to roll up our sleeves. Steve august, 20 17 in oakland, california. Holly otterbein, two issues here. Inicare for all and racism america. Holly on the charlottesville rally, that was an interesting clip. That was a big reason joe biden decided to run for office, was President Trump said there are very fine people on both sides. Joe biden said that disturbed him. Im glad you played that clip on medicare for all. That ended up being up a hugely important moment in the primary. She was one of the first big names that said she would cosponsor medicare for all. On itsenators signed off who were interested and eventually did run for president , including cory booker and Elizabeth Warren, so by getting ahead of that, that was a big moment that showed us the debate over medicare for all will be a big issue in the primary. From there, it continued. What was interesting is that Kamala Harris got tripped up on the medicare for all issue once the primary got into full gear. She went back and forth on what she thought of it. She went back and forth on the issue of eliminating private insurance. There was a debate where folks were asked to raise their hands if they wanted to eliminate that insurance for medicare for all. She raised her hand, then said later she thought it was referring to her own personal insurance, so much like Elizabeth Warren, it ended up being a problem for her in many ways. Steve as an attorney, San Francisco da, and former ag in california, senator Kamala Harris sits on the Senate Judiciary committee. Wasmoments, one when she selected as joe bidens running mate. This from the 2018 confirmation hearing that Justice Brett kavanaugh in the issue of law firms and the president. Lets listen. Everharris have you discussed special counsel mueller or his investigation with anyone . The news everyin day. Sen. Harris have you discussed it with anyone . With other judges, i know. Sen. Harris have you discussed Robert Mueller or his at thegation with anyone law firm founded by President Trumps personal lawyer . Be sure about your answer, sir. M, i am not remembering, but if you have something. Sen. Harris are you certain you have not had a conversation with anyone at that law firm . By markfirm founded kelso its by President Trumps personal lawyer. Have you had any conversation about Robert Mueller or his investigation with anyone at that firm . Yes or no . Is there a person you are talking about . Sen. Harris yes or no . I know not sure everyone who works at the law firm. Sen. Harris you dont need to. Who did you talk to . I am not remembering, but i would happy to be refreshed. Sen. Harris all you remember you have an impeccable memory, you have been speaking for eight hours to this committee about all sorts of things you remember, how can you not remember whether you had a conversation about Robert Mueller or his investigation with anyone at the law firm . The investigation has only been going on for so long, sir. Im just trying to think do i know anyone who works at that firm. Sen. Harris that is not my question. My conversation is have you had a question does conversation with anyone at that firm . It is a specific question. I would like to know the person you are speaking of. Sen. Harris i think youre thinking of someone and you dont want to tell us. Steve i go back to that line, be sure about your answer. What does that moment tell us about how she approaches politics and her job on that committee . This is what we have seen for a long time with her, she is prepared and will know the answer. She does not throw things out there. Some will argue that makes her ittious, but supporters say shows she is well prepared. This is why some democrats are excited about the prospect of her as the running mate, the idea she will take the prosecutorial tone. Is a huge this strength that can paint the picture of what this race is about. Steve last year on the Senate Judiciary committee with attorney general bill barr, the issue of the Mueller Report lets watch. Sen. Harris i am glad you brought that subject up, because i have a question. In response to senator graham you said you consulted with rosenstein constantly, with respect to the special counsels investigative report, but Deputy Attorney general rosenstein is a key witness in the firing of comey. Did you consult i am not finished did you consult with doj ethics officials before you enlisted Rod Rosenstein to participate in a charging decision on the subject for which he is also a witness . My understanding is he had been cleared already. Sen. Harris they had consulted and cleared it . They cleared it when he took over the investigation. Sen. Harris you dont know whether he has been cleared of a conflict of interest . He would not be participating if there was a conflict of interest. Sen. Harris you are saying it did not need to be reviewed by the career ethics officials in your office . I believe it was reviewed. This seems to be t a flipf seems to be a flipflop. Sen. Harris sir, you are not answering the question directly, did the ethics official in your office and the department of justice review the appropriateness of rosenstein making a charging decision on investigation in which he is also a witness in . My understanding is he had been cleared before i arrived. Sen. Harris in making a decision on the Mueller Report . Yes. Sen. Harris and the findings of whether the case will be charged on obstruction of justice . He was the attacking acting attorney general on the mueller investigation. Clearedris had he been by your side . I am informed that before i arrived, he had been cleared by the ethics officials. Sen. Harris of what. Serving as active attorney general on the case. Sen. Harris how about him as a witness . Is what the acting attorney generals job is. Sen. Harris to make the decision to prosecute. Know, to make charging decisions. Sen. Harris i have nothing else. Steve may 1, 2019. Holly otterbein as you watch and listen to that, how would you describe the moment . Holly again, this shows her prosecutorial skills, and her ability to do that. That is one reason her admirers were excited about her campaign. In her best moments, like the debate with joe biden, where she took him on over busing, she was able to dig in and prosecute the case. It is interesting, because it has been reported part of the reason joe biden went with Kamala Harris is because of her debate skills. That is one thing they were looking for when they were considering a Vice President , so of course, these moments where she is able to ask questions, very pointed questions, and get to the bottom of things, im sure it played into that. It should also be noted that when we are talking about her debate history, there was one memorable moment where i think she did not perform strongly, which was when Tulsi Gabbard attacked her criminal justice and prosecutorial record. That was one moment. It will be interesting to see what she learned from that and what it looks like when she is on the stage with mike pence, which i know many, Many Democrats are looking forward to. That moment before the Senate Judiciary committee was in the middle of her 2019 campaign. She announced her campaign in oakland, california. We carried at life. An estimated crowd of 20,000. Here is a portion. We rise together [applause] sen. Harris i say we rise together or fall together as one nation, indivisible. [applause] i want to be perfectly clear, i am not talking about unity for the sake of unity. But hear me out. I am not talking about unity for the sake of unity. I am not talking about some facade of unity. And i believe we must acknowledge that the word unity has often been used to shut people up or preserve the status quo. [cheers and applause] remember whens women fought for suffrage, those in power said they were dividing the sexes and disturbing the peace. Lets remember, when abolitionists spoke out in civil marches, they said and were dividing the races disobeying god. Frederick douglass said it best, and Harriet Tubman and dr. King , love as the religion jesus hates the slave master. [applause] when we have true unity, no one will be subjugated to others. It is about fighting for a country with equal treatment, collective purpose, and freedom for all. [applause] that is who we are. That is who we are. , i stand before you today [cheers and applause] i stand before you today, clear ahead and the fight what has to be done. With faith in god, with fidelity to country, and with the fighting spirit i got from my today, i stand before you to announce my candidacy for president of the United States. [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause] steve january, 2019, the official announcement by Kamala Harris. , when did she decide and why . People leave she has wanted to run for a long time. It became clear this is something she was setting her sights on. There was a huge m aquatic field, huge had peoplefield, you saying you need this much experience, but when President Trump was elected, people said you dont have to have experience. She thought this was her moment. That is a larger crowd than when barack obama announced in 2007. She was getting the right feedback. Had a couple of good moments, but she had difficulty deciding on the lane she wanted to pick. She never selected. Really got the backing of a large enough number of people to make her campaign sustainable. Appealed to she africanamerican voters, but they underestimated how loyal African American voters were to joe biden because of barack obama. , react toly otterbein iowa state at the fair. Lets watch, des moines, last year. Sen. Harris part of what needs to happen is this to get through and turn the page and write the next chapter, we need to prosecute the case against four more years about trump, and it will take a prosecutor to do that. And it israp sheet, long. Lets look at the evidence. A tax bill that benefits the top 1 and the biggest corporations in america, to the. 16 of the biggest corporations paid no taxes last year. Who else paid no taxes last year . Lets talk about the trade policy that has resulted in direct harm to working families in america. Lets talk about a policy that is putting babies in cages and separating parents from their children in the name of border security, was what it is is a human rights abuse being committed by the United States government. Lets talk about a failure to herenize, and Everybody Knows it, Climate Change is real. It is a crisis caused by human behaviors, which can be changed without much change to our lifestyle and represents an existential threat to who we are as human beings, and we can do something about it, instead of the current occupant of the white house, who is pushing Science Fiction instead of science fact to our collective peril. He talks about wind turbines, but here, you are a leader. 40 of your electric sissy comes from a energy. As your electricity comes from renewable energy. Love governor inslees line. He says, turbines dont cause cancer, they cause jobs. So we have to be able to prosecute the case against him. You know, the pundits will talk and compare command overly compare, 2016 to 2020. 2020 will not be 2016. 2020 will not be 2016. There is now, i call it a rap sheet, there is now a lot of evidence that has spoken to the american people, who know those him wereved and betrayed, who know we expect the person who occupies that most precious seat, which is our government, not his, that is we are a government for the people, by the people, of the people. Thexpect the president of United States will always know that when she has this microphone in her and, it is a very, very powerful force, and must be used not to beat people down, but lift up. That is who we are. The political soapbox fbi iowatate fair at the state fair is always a staple. Is that what we are going to hear from senator harris . Holly yes. I think what you are hearing is Kamala Harris trying to appeal to liberal voters, talking about fair trade, Climate Change, but also trying to make the case she can beat donald trump. That reminds us that was the Biggest Issue in the democratic primary, you know. Some people like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, others tried to make it about something else, about progressivisms moderates, but with the voters ended up deciding, and they told us this time and time again, the ability to be trump was the Biggest Issue, and that is what you hear , talking about prosecuting donald trump, and joe biden ended up winning that argument. He wasthe argument that best position to be trump, and the issue of electability was interesting. A lot of people felt it was basically code for white man. We would talk to voters who said they very much wanted a woman in the white house, but were terrified that a woman could not defeat donald trump, and many of them said like, i really hope, im voting for biden, but i hope he picks Kamala Harris. Have beeniowa dreaming about a bidenharris ticket for a while. I think we will be hearing from. Er about Donald Trumps record she talked about it in that clip. Nottalks about how it is like 2016 when he does not have a record in government. Point does and people can to specific things. When they had their first event together as a ticket, joe biden and Kamala Harris tried to prosecute the case against him on the coronavirus. That is what it has been from their campaign day in and day out, attacking trump for his handling of coronavirus, and i suspect that is what it will continue to be. Steve let me follow up on your march, joe biden committed to selecting a woman, then we had the death of george floyd, the black lives matter marches, so how did that change the dynamic in joe bidens selection . Seema it did. He was pacing pressure to pick a woman of color facing pressure to pick a woman of color. For example, Amy Klobuchar was his list, gratin which gretchen whitmer. Questions. Some these two women fell off the list once the protest happened. Think Kamala Harris would have been among the topics because of her skills as a prosecutor. The running mate is expected to be the attack dog of the ticket. Charisma, her relationship. Would have narrowed the field because of some of this. Steve here is how senator harris, a member of the Senate Judiciary committee, dealt with policing and communities, black lives matter, and the death of george floyd. Sen. Harris and closing, we we have these words etched into the beautiful marble building, equal justice under law. But we have to show america what it means and that it truly means equal justice for all. We have to show america that, and passing the justice in policing back would be a step towards that goal. Understand,please please understand, tonight and every night, there are black parents in america and grandparents who will be on their knees praying that their. Ons and daughters will be safe every night in america. On, andto take this bracing what, no doubt, are difficult and uncomfortable situations and uncomfortable facts, and an uncomfortable history about our country. On,we must take this understanding this is a righteous demand that we fix act. System, and that we i thank you, my colleagues. Some of thejune, moments from the cspan Video Library with senator Kamala Harris, dating back to 2006, her first appearance. ,y final question, seema mehta we begin with you. What do these moments tell you about the Vice President ial candidate for the democratic ticket . Seema these videos show her charisma on the trail, ability to form a connection, and why joe biden picked her to be his running mate. Childhood,ackground, family, upbringing, influence, who she is, who she became. Here are some weaknesses, struggles to answer some questions. No candidate is perfect. A lot of these moments show you why joe biden picked her. Steve holly otterbein, we conclude that you. What has this taught you about senator Kamala Harris . Again, i agree they show her charisma, how polished she is as a speaker, when you compare the two joe biden, who is known for not being the most polished speaker in the world. When i watched the first event they held together in watching this video, it comes across that she is so much more polished as a speaker than he is. It does show some of her weaknesses, in terms of questions about where she stands and certain issues, and i am watching and remembering the outreach she did try to do to liberals and the party, you know, just talking about the issues that are concerns to him, so, you know, it has not been remarked upon too much, but again, compared to other candidates that were considered like Amy Klobuchar and others, while Kamala Harris is not as progressive as Elizabeth Warren, she is in the middle, so that those tell something about joe bidens decisionmaking as well. Steve your work is available at politico. Com and l. A. Times, respectively. Holly otterbein and seema mehta joining us from los angeles via zoom. We thank you for being with us. A reminder, as the conventions livenderway, primetime coverage is always part of our 2020 coverage, available easily on the web at cspan. Org. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2019] announcer next, our series about contenders who ran and changed the political process forever. That, President Trumps News Conference from earlier today. Then Shirley Bloomfield efforts to expand rural broadband. Cspan has covered every minute of every Political Convention since 1984 and we are not stopping now. This month, Political Conventions will be like none other in history. With the coronavirus pandemic still looming, both conventions will be different. Watch cspan at 9 00 p. M. Eastern for live coverage of the startingc convention monday and the Republican Convention starting next monday, august 20 four, Live Streaming and on demand at cspan. Org, or listen with. Cspan your unfiltered view of politics. Charles evans hughes. Woodrow wilson thought he was beaten. American history goes on in several different directions. What is he doing for Foreign Policy . He is the one you could write novels about. Novels about. He