As Vice President Kamala Harris travels to the swing state of Pennsylvania this week ahead of her debate with former President Donald Trump, Fox News Digital asked people in Pittsburgh where they think she stands on key issues.
Harris has come under fire recently for appearing hesitant on issues such as taxation – particularly tipping after Trump promised during the campaign to eliminate the policy – and for claiming she would secure the southern border.
Last week, Harris’ campaign confirmed to Fox News that her stance had changed on several immigration-related measures, including decriminalizing illegal border crossings and closing detention centers.
Richard Walker of Pittsburgh said he was convinced Harris was in favor of allowing fracking in places like Pennsylvania, since other states like New York currently have blanket moratoriums in place.
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Tyrone Murray from Pittsburgh speaks with Fox News Digital. (Fox News Digital)
Regarding her stance on nationalizing health care, Walker said he had not heard her position, but noted that health care should be more affordable than it is now.
When asked if she would be the best candidate to bring down the inflated prices of food and other commodities, Walker said she was, but added that he had already seen prices rise before she and President Biden took office.
Walker made the same point about the border crisis. He believes Harris is trying to secure the border, but this has been a problem for a long time.
He told Fox News Digital he was unsure whether Harris could win his home state, calling it a “decided” but said she had a good chance of winning next week’s debate.
“I hope so,” he said.
On Penn Avenue, Tyrone Murray, wearing a classic green and white Randall Cunningham jersey, joked that he might not look like the typical Pittsburgher in that attire.
However, he said he is from the Steel City and believes Harris will win statewide in November.
“I think women will prevail,” he said. “I think that’s the difference that made them win – women’s votes, period.”
He seemed to agree with Walker that there has long been a crisis at the border and that Harris is making efforts.
Harris changes key positions on border and illegal immigration as campaign promises hands-on approach
Richard Walker from Pittsburgh speaks with Fox News Digital. (Fox News Digital)
On the cost of consumer goods and whether Harris would help lower them, he said: “They cannot go up any further.”
“Since the virus outbreak, things have only been going uphill. You know, it didn’t make any difference who was president.”
He further urged Harris to support an expansion of fracking, pointing to the economic and regional importance of American natural gas.
While waiting for his bus downtown, Ron — who declined to give his last name — said he believes Harris supports a secure southern border. On fracking, Ron said he believes Harris is more for it than against it, but supports restrictions and regulations on it. On the debate, he said Harris has trouble with public speaking, but he has a good chance of winning the debate and the election. “I think she’s better than the alternative,” he said.
Meanwhile, Vijay Kumar, also of Pittsburgh, said he believes she leans more toward renewable energy than fracking or fossil fuel extraction. Kumar said that while there is “still room for improvement” in securing the border, he believes Harris has tried to “ask people to play by the rules” when it comes to immigration to the U.S. “I think she’s doing a good job. If the question is, is there anything else that could be done, then the answer is definitely yes.”
Off William Penn Place, near the Drury Plaza Hotel, Anita told Fox News Digital she believes Harris supports a secure border and said she will win both the debate and Penn’s Commonwealth in November.
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Kim, who is from Pennsylvania, speaks with Fox News Digital. (Fox News Digital)
“I think she’s going to do great (in the debate),” added Nancy, who was walking nearby with her friend Lavonte.
When asked what he thought of Harris’ stance on the border, Lavonte instead blamed Congress for torpedoing a recent compromise on border security between Senators James Lankford (R, Oklahoma) and Kyrsten Sinema (I, Arizona).
“They’re using it as a political football,” he said. “Congress needs to get its act together and pass a law that takes care of this … You see what Trump did.”
Trump was accused of lobbying against the law.
Local resident Charlie Cane said he believes Harris will win next week’s debate, calling it a “duel between a prosecutor and a criminal.”
He added that he believes she is the right candidate to reduce inflation in food and housing prices, but that she “can do better” when it comes to border security.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
