Kamala Harris refuses to call Netanyahu 'close ally' during 60 minutes interview

Democratic presidential nominee and United States Vice PresidentKamala Harris refused to call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a close ally during an interview with American broadcaster CBS, covering wide-ranging issues, aired on Monday (Oct 7).

Speaking aboutthe Russia-Ukraine war, the current vice presidentsaid she would not meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin for peace talks if Ukraine were not also represented. She ruled out a bilateral meeting with Putin, saying, "Without Ukraine? No."

Further, she defended her economic plans while getting grilled during CBS'60 Minutes prime-time election special.

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As the presidential race between Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Harris tightens ahead of the November elections, the VP has increased her media presence and recently appeared for podcasts, talk radio, a battleground state town hall, daytime television, and late-night shows.

Before the interview was aired, CBS correspondent Scott Pelley detailed his attempts to secure a similar 60 Minutes sit-down with Trump.

Pelley said, "Unfortunately last week, Trump cancelled", adding that the Republican candidate'scampaign provided “shifting explanations” for why he declined to participate, including that the former US presidentdid not want to be fact-checked.

Harris, during the interview with CBS'Bill Whitaker, was pressed on how she would pay for her economic proposals, including her plans to build millions of new housing units, tax breaks for new parents, and $25,000 down-payment assistance for new homebuyers.

She vowed to raise taxes on the country's billionaires and biggest corporations.

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However, Whitaker found it dubious and said, "We’re dealing with the real world here."

He asked how Harris would persuade Congress to raise taxes on the country’s highest earners. To this, Harris said there were lawmakers who would listen to her pitch if she were president.

“I cannot afford to be myopic in terms of how I think about strengthening America’s economy,” the Democratic presidential candidatesaid in the interview. “Let me tell you something. I am a devout public servant. You know that I’m also a capitalist, and I know the limitations of government.”

Shifting to the question of whether Netanyahu was “a real close ally", Harris said, "The better question is: Do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people? And the answer to that question is yes.”

She added Israel had a right to defend itself, but went on to say that “far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.”

Israel’s war has levelled Gaza and killed almost 42,000 Palestinians, according to the Gazahealth ministry.

(With inputs from agencies)