Kamala Harris’ former opponents reveal the secrets to her debate style
Scott Olson/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Forty-two years ago, Lita Rosario-Richardson was the only woman on Howard University’s debate team. She made sure that changed — successfully recruiting Kamala Harris.
“I noticed Kamala’s analytical skills and critical thinking skills and that she had a very cogent way of making arguments,” said Rosario-Richarson.
Rosario-Richardson and Harris’ former debate opponents are some of the people who know her debating style best. Many of them are now expressing for the first time how Harris’ earlier debates could impact her upcoming one on Sept. 10 against former President Donald Trump.
The ABC News presidential debate will take place on Sept. 10 at 9 p.m. ET and air on ABC and stream on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu.
Seizing a moment
When then-San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris took the stage against Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley in the general race for California attorney general in 2010, Harris was trailing in the polls.
A reporter asked Cooley about accepting both his pension as a former LA district attorney and an attorney general salary, which would bring him over $400,000 from taxpayers.
“I definitely earned whatever pension rights I have and I will certainly rely upon that to supplement the very low – incredibly low salary that’s paid to the attorney general,” Cooley responded.
Harris’ campaign turned Cooley’s answer into a campaign ad.
Her former aides tell ABC News that Harris had hoped to focus the race on her accomplishments and vision, but she signed off on the ad regardless.
In an interview with ABC News, Cooley said “I think she had very good consultants who constructed an ad,” but added he thought Harris “was not smart.”
On election night, Cooley was narrowly ahead and initially claimed victory, but Harris emerged as the winner when the votes were fully counted weeks later.
Cooley said he had not watched the debate since it happened, but he predicted that in the upcoming debate against Trump “a lot is going to depend upon the rules of the debate, and if she is there for an hour and a half on generally important issues and the questions are fair, she will not be well in a debate setting. She needs her teleprompter. She needs her notes that are probably written by someone else in order to do well.”
Cooley and Harris’ former aides both said neither had a teleprompter during the AG debate and both had notes on stage.
Former California Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico, who lost to Harris in the primary for the AG race, said it would be a mistake for Trump to assume Harris is “dumb” going into the debate. “She’s not dumb, and she’s going to prosecute him. She’s not going to debate him … She’s going to treat him like one of the defendants that she prosecuted when she was a rank and file DA in Oakland.”
A perceived Achilles’ heel
Just a few months before the 2010 general election debate, Torrico, former Facebook executive Chris Kelly, Congressman Ted Lieu, former LA City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and former state assembly member Pedro Nava were among Harris’ opponents in the AG primary race.
Congressman Lieu remembered, “She came from a law enforcement background, and that really came out. She didn’t take any crap. I wouldn’t want to debate her.”
Nava was one of the five men who faced Harris in the primary debate held by Los Angeles ABC station KABC. He described her as unfazed, saying, “There’s nothing more scary than a woman who doesn’t fear men.”
Delgadillo, who was next to Harris at the debate, said what stood out to him most was a call she made to him after the race. “She was extraordinarily magnanimous and gracious after defeating all of us,” he said.
Torrico said he knew Harris was the frontrunner going into the race.
He said, “The question that I always had in my mind was, can we trap her? Can we get her to say something? Can we get her to lose her cool?”
Torrico said in one forum they were seeking the Service Employees International Union’s endorsement. Torrico said he reminded the members in attendance that he had represented many of them, and knowing many spoke Spanish, answered part of a question in Spanish. “They went crazy … and I just looked at her and I thought, ‘Okay, bring it now.'”
He said Harris deflected the original question. “She just went after corporate America and the rich,” he said. “She just totally diffused all of the enthusiasm.”
“I was just sitting there fuming and saying, ‘She’s not answering the question at all. I just answered the question. I hit a home run … and everyone’s clapping for you.'”
Torrico said, “I always thought it was an Achilles’ heel for her … she’s very good at saying a lot of things without answering the actual question.”
He said once at a forum, when he didn’t know she was in attendance, he initially felt he had a great response on stage to a question about criminal justice. “I said something like, whoever the next attorney general is, he would have to do such and such.” Torrico said Harris “just popped out of nowhere, threw her finger in the air and declared, ‘or she will have to!'”
“I was like, ‘Oh God, what are you doing here? Where’d you come from?'” said Torrico.
“The room loved it,” he said.
Torrico said he grew reflective at the DNC. “I’m among the many people she vanquished on the path to where she is now,” he said.
Changing a moment
During her first public office debate for San Francisco district attorney, Harris had been in single digits in the polls, but her former campaign manager says that would change during one of the forums.
Someone in the audience asked Harris how she’d lead independently of the current mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown. Harris had dated Brown about a decade before when he was the Speaker of California’s State Assembly. Harris responded by walking over to her opponents, Bill Fazio and the current DA, Terrance Hallinan, and mentioned the scandals that had been highlighting about each other.
Then she said, “I want to make a commitment to you that my campaign is not going to be about negative attacks.”
Former Harris aides say moments like that helped her beat Fazio, and got her to the runoff.
Fazio said he doesn’t recall that specific moment, but told ABC News that he had more experience as a trial attorney than Harris. But “she certainly was a much more accomplished and natural politician than I ever was. It’s probably the reason I lost.”
“She didn’t back down”
As the only woman at the time on Howard’s debate team, Rosaro-Richardson noticed how Harris challenged men.
“Oftentimes men use their physical prowess and the strength of their voices to win an argument. But I noticed that she didn’t allow that to deter her,” she said.
She remembers one specific moment when Harris was debating a man during her time on the Howard team.
“She was in cross examination, and [the opponent] hit her hand … I don’t know if it was intentional,” she said.
She said Harris stated out loud, “He hit my hand.” But Harris, according to Rosario-Richardson, did a “good job of it at the time … it didn’t throw her off. She was able to gather herself back after a few seconds and get back to the point.”
Rosario-Richardson said she will be watching Tuesday’s debate with other Howard alums and believes Donald Trump will be her most unpredictable opponent yet.
“I would say this is a unique situation because of the unpredictability of how Donald Trump will approach this debate and whether or not she can focus on substantive issues or focus on personal attacks,” Rosario-Richardson said.
She added that regardless of having known Harris’ debate style for over four decades, she has little idea of what to expect like everyone else. “I’m going to be excited. I’m going to feel some of the anticipation,” she said.
After endorsing Kamala Harris on X Sunday, former Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona praised the vice president’s grasp of foreign policy and her proposal for tougher border restrictions on ABC News’ “This Week.”
With 37 days until Election Day, Flake said he made his endorsement now since he couldn’t participate in political activities in his role as ambassador to Turkey, which he stepped down from on Sept. 1.
“I think Republicans believe in the rule of law in particular, and it’s difficult to support a candidate who, having lost an election, tries to use the powers of the presidency to overturn that election,” Flake told ABC “This Week” anchor Martha Raddatz. “That is anything but respect for the rule of law.”He said that other conservative Republicans feel similarly.
In his endorsement, Flake wrote that he believes Harris will unite the country and “respect the will of voters.” He also discussed his endorsement in an interview with the Arizona Republic.
The former congressman and senator joins other prominent Republicans who have endorsed Harris, including former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.
Flake is one of a handful of Republicans who have served in President Joe Biden’s administration, along with Cindy McCain, the widow of former Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Since leaving the Senate in 2019, Flake has been an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump and urged Republicans to “move away from Trump-ism.”
Flake also endorsed Biden in 2020 on the first day of the Republican National Convention along with dozens of former GOP members of Congress.
He said that Harris “ought to court all voters,” particularly moderate and conservative Republicans.
Asked about his interactions with Harris during his time as an ambassador, Flake said that she is ready to serve as commander in chief.
“We have to support and work with our allies,” Flake said. “And she understands that.”
He pointed to Harris’ speech at the Munich Security Conference and each candidate’s approach to foreign policy during the ABC presidential debate.
“It was really stark watching the debate the other day and hearing the former president not be able to even cheer for Ukraine,” said Flake. “That’s a big issue for me.”
Raddatz pressed Flake on whether his endorsement would make inroads with voters in Arizona who are a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, of which he is a member. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah., another high-profile Mormon Republican opposed to Trump, has not endorsed Harris.
Flake demurred, responding that “I can only speak for myself and where I am.”
Raddatz asked Flake about his thoughts on one of the vice president’s biggest vulnerabilities after her visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday, her first in three years. A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll found that voters thought Trump was better suited to handle the border over Harris by 10 points.
Flake said that he was glad to see Harris visit the border and propose stricter asylum restrictions. He pointed to her work as a prosecutor and attorney general, saying, “She knows what it takes.” Harris’ campaign is looking to gain ground on an issue of high importance to voters.
While in Congress, Flake backed a bipartisan immigration proposal that failed to pass. When pressed by Raddatz on the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the southern border, Flake said there needs to be stricter asylum policies.
He applauded Harris for saying she would sign the immigration bill that failed in the Senate after Republican opposition led by Trump cratered the legislation.
“She knows how to work on a bipartisan basis, and if we do immigration reform that endures, it’s going to have to be bipartisan,” said Flake.
U.S. Republican Presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on July 27, 2024 in St Cloud, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris is back in Washington and is preparing to roll out her economic plan on the road in North Carolina on Friday, which will mark her first major policy rollout since becoming the Democratic nominee. As Donald Trump looks for a campaign reset, he spoke with Elon Musk live on Tuesday and will deliver remarks on the economy in North Carolina on Wednesday.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Harris, Walz to tour Pennsylvania ahead of the DNC
Vice President Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will take a bus tour through Pennsylvania on Sunday right before their appearance at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), ABC News has confirmed.
Sunday’s tour, first reported by CNN, will begin in Pittsburgh and will be the first time Harris, Walz and their spouses will appear on the campaign trail together. According to the campaign, they aim to have a cluster of intimate events with voters, ranging from canvass kick-offs to stops at local retail shops.
Trump to deliver remarks on economy in North Carolina
Former President Donald Trump is set to deliver remarks on the economy in North Carolina on Wednesday as the campaign works to recenter its campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The election’s coming up, and the people want to hear about the economy,” Trump said during an interview with Elon Musk on X Monday, directly blaming the Biden-Harris administration for the current state of the economy.
The economy has been one of the Trump campaign’s central election issues this cycle — the former president often spending a considerable amount of time discussing inflation, gas prices and the job market.
“I just ask this: Are you better off now, or were you better off when I was president?” Trump said Monday night as he was wrapping up his conversation with Musk.
Omar decries ‘shameful’ opponents in primary race
Following her Tuesday night primary victory, Rep. Ilhan Omar told supporters: “We run the politics of joy, because we know it is joyful to fight for your neighbors.”
“We know it is joyful to want to live in a peaceful and equitable world,” she added, per ABC News’ St. Paul affiliate KSTP-TV.
Omar also had harsh words for her main primary opponent Don Samuels, though did not mention him by name.
“I hope that they reflect in the shameful way they decided to divide our district and the incredible people we are grateful to represent,” she said of her challengers.
Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar wins primary
Rep. Ilhan Omar has won her Congressional primary in Minnesota, multiple media outlets projected Tuesday night.
Omar’s win follows defeats by two of her fellow squad members in their primaries — Cori Bush from Missouri, and Jamaal Bowman of New York.
Omar had been expected to win in her district despite a challenge from former Minneapolis city council member Don Samuels.
Bush lost her primary earlier this month to St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell. He was backed by more than $8 million from the pro-Israel United Democracy Project.
Bowman lost to Westchester County Executive George Latimer in June. Per AdImpact, the race was the most expensive House primary on record, with most of the funding coming from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) United Democracy Project PAC in support of Latimer. Latimer was recruited to run by AIPAC.
Walz says he’s ‘damn proud’ of military record, thanks Vance for his service
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in his first solo campaign appearance, defended his military record and thanked his vice presidential opponent, Sen. JD Vance, for his service.
“I am damn proud of my service to this country,” Walz said to applause at the AFSCME convention in California. “And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service record. Anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words: thank you for your service and sacrifice.”
Vance has repeatedly criticized how Walz has talked about his military record, which included 24 years in the Army National Guard before he retired to run for Congress in 2005. Vance served as a combat correspondent for four years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Read more about Vance’s comments and Walz’s background here.
Biden says he would attend Trump’s inauguration if he were elected
President Joe Biden on Tuesday, as he was departing the White House, said he would go to Trump’s inauguration in January if he were to win this year’s election.
“I have good manners, not like him,” Biden told reporters after being asked if he’d attend. Trump did not attend Biden’s inauguration in 2021.
Biden also defended his calling Trump “a genuine danger to American security,” a comment he made during his CBS News interview over the weekend. Asked whether that contradicted his calls to cool heated political rhetoric, Biden shot back: “That’s just a statement. That’s a factual statement.”
-Fritz Farrow
Judge’s ruling means independent Cornel West can appear on North Carolina ballot
Independent presidential candidate Cornel West will be allowed on the general election ballot in North Carolina following a judge’s ruling that reversed a decision that would have kept him off the ballot in the battleground state.
In a ruling on Monday, U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle ordered the North Carolina State Board of Elections to certify Justice for All North Carolina as a political party in the state. That party, started by West’s campaign, is nominating him as its candidate in North Carolina and some other states. The board had previously voted to deny certifying the party over concerns about how signatures were gathered for its petition to become a certified party.
Justice for All North Carolina called the decision a “monumental day for our party” but West’s campaign still faces headwinds. The Democratic National Committee filed a complaint with the FEC alleging that West’s campaign received “illegal In-Kind Contributions” from firms it used to collect signatures for ballot access petitions in Arizona and North Carolina — allegations West has pushed back on.
“We’ve always said we’re going to ensure the third party candidates are playing by the rules, and it’s clear his campaign isn’t playing by the rules,” DNC spokesperson Matt Corridoni told ABC News after the complaint was filed.
-Oren Oppenheim
Walz to make his 1st solo campaign appearance
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday will embark on his first solo Harris-Walz campaign event as Harris’ running mate with a stop in Los Angeles for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) international convention.
Walz is set to speak at 3:35 p.m. ET.
Walz emerged as a popular candidate among labor unions during Harris’ search for a vice president pick, sources said. AFSCME represents 1.4 million public service members, and the union’s president, Lee Saunders, previously released a statement endorsing Harris for president.
Harris to roll out economic plan on Friday
Harris will outline her economic policy in a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday, her campaign announced, making it her first major policy rollout since jumping into the race.
Harris’ speech will detail her plan to “lower costs for middle-class families and take on corporate price-gouging,” a campaign official said.
The vice president has heavily focused her stump speech on the economy while on the campaign trail in recent weeks, saying over the weekend she would look to eliminate taxes on tips earned by service workers — a proposal Trump announced earlier this summer.
Harris’ college sorority creates PAC
The historically Black Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., of which Vice President Kamala Harris counts herself a member, started its own political PAC last week, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission posted Monday.
The committee is named Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority PAC, Inc., or AKA 1908 PAC, the filing shows.
Harris has been an AKA since her days as a student at the historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C. Harris on Monday visited the campus, her office confirmed to ABC News, but it’s not clear why she was there.
In July, before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Harris spoke at the AKA’s annual Boulé in Dallas, Texas. Since then, as a candidate, she’s also addressed similar national gatherings of two other historically Black sororities, Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Gamma Rho.
Trump says he will return to Butler, Pennsylvania after assassination attempt
After discussing the assassination attempt made against him in Pennsylvania in July, former President Donald Trump said he’s planning a trip back to Butler in October.
“We’re going back to Butler; we’re gonna go back in October,” Trump said, adding, “Butler is a big, great area.”
Addressing what he’ll say when he returns, Trump told Musk, “I think I’ll probably start by saying I was so horribly interrupted.”
Trump discusses assassination attempt with Musk, says he turned head at ‘perfect angle’
During his conversation with Musk, former President Donald Trump addressed the assassination attempt made against him during a campaign rally in July.
“It was amazing that I happened to be turned just at that perfect angle,” Trump said of the bullet, which grazed his right ear while his head was turned.
During the discussion, Trump mentioned the man who was killed in the shooting, saying, it was a “very sad situation.”
“We lost somebody that was firefighter, a great Trumper,” Trump said of Corey Comperatore, adding, “He was a just a fantastic family [man] and a fantastic man.”
Trump and Musk’s conversation on X appears to be delayed
The conversation between former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk appears to be delayed, with many X users reporting they cannot access the Spaces conversation.
“This Space is not available,” appeared for some users on X.
The conversation was scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Judge orders RFK Jr. off New York ballot
A New York judge ruled Monday that the thousands of signatures gathered by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign in the state were “invalidated” after a Democrat-aligned group argued he misled voters by listing as his home an address he rarely visits.
The judge, Christina Ryba, ordered the New York Board of Elections to not include Kennedy’s name on the ballot this fall.
A lawyer representing Kennedy told reporters last week they would appeal any ruling that went against them.
The ruling could prompt Democrats to bring similar lawsuits against Kennedy in other states where he gathered signatures from registered voters to appear on the ballot.
The FBI is investigating alleged attempts by Iran to target the then-Biden-Harris campaign, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.
The alleged targeting via spear-fishing emails occurred before Biden announced he would exit the 2024 presidential race, the sources said.
While the campaign was targeted, the alleged hack was not successful, sources added.
The FBI is investigating a purported hack of the Trump campaign, according to a brief statement from the agency earlier Monday.
The FBI did not attribute the hack to anyone in its statement.
A source familiar with the matter told ABC News that Trump adviser Roger Stone has also been informed that his email accounts have been compromised, and that he’s cooperating with any investigation into the matter.
The Washington Post first reported the news.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Will Steakin and Katherine Faulders
Biden, Obama, Clintons tentatively slated to speak at DNC: Sources
President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, and Bill and Hillary Clinton are all tentatively slated to speak at the Democratic National Convention next week, sources familiar said.
The working speaking schedule, which can always change, is as follows, according to the sources:
Monday: President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday: Former President Barack Obama Wednesday: Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, former President Bill Clinton Thursday: Vice President Kamala Harris
-ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks and Fritz Farrow
Trump posts on X ahead of Musk interview
Trump posted on X for the first time in nearly a year ahead of his conversation with Elon Musk scheduled for Monday night.
The video posted is a previously released campaign ad referencing his multiple indictments and telling supporters, “They are not coming after me, they are coming after you.”
The last time Trump posted on X was Aug. 24, 2023. It was a picture of his mugshot from Fulton County, when he turned himself in to authorities following his election interference indictment in Georgia.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Kelsey Walsh, Soorin Kim
Trump to be interviewed by Elon Musk tonight
Trump, in a post to his conservative social media site Truth Social, announced he will be interviewed live by Musk on X at 8 p.m. ET.
It will mark a major return for Trump to X, formerly known as Twitter, since he was banned from the site following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump was reinstated in late 2022 but declined to become active on the site again, despite boasting 88 million followers.
Musk endorsed Trump following the July 13 assassination attempt against the former president. Recently, Musk has amplified misinformation about voting and elections on his X feed.
Walz discusses ‘whirlwind’ 1st week on the campaign trail
In a video posted on his X account, the Minnesota governor discussed what he called “not a normal week” since being named as Harris’ running mate.
Walz confirmed some details reported previously by ABC News and others, including that he informed Harris’ vetting team that he had not used a teleprompter before.
“Not a normal week, which is a good thing. Started by missing a call from the Vice President, pretty important one. And then got that call and honored to join the ticket with Kamala Harris to take us in a great direction,” Walz said.
“After that, it has been a whirlwind. We got on a plane and we flew to Philly, and they told me that in an hour I’d be giving a speech and there would be a teleprompter, something I had never used in my life, so certainly terrified, but was lifted up by the folks in Philly.”
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
Harris wraps battleground state blitz, Vance makes rounds on Sunday shows
Over the weekend, Harris closed out a cross-country tour that included stops in battleground states Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Arizona, as well as North Carolina and Nevada.
New polling released Saturday showed Harris taking the lead over Trump in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin among likely voters. The New York Times/Siena College polls showed Harris at 50% among likely voters in each state, while Trump polled at 46%.
Vance, too, campaigned in key 2024 states and made the rounds on the Sunday shows. During his cable news appearances, Vance reiterated campaign talking points on immigration and repeatedly hit Harris for not sitting down for extensive media interviews and laying out her agenda. Harris has done brief gaggles with reporters and said she’d unveil an economic policy platform this week.
Vance responds to mass deportation plan: ‘Let’s start with one million’
Sen. JD Vance told ABC News he blamed Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden administration’s policies, such as ending “Remain in Mexico,” for the ongoing migrant crisis.
When asked how he and Trump would accomplish their stated goal of mass deporting as many as 20 million immigrants — a proposal experts previously told ABC News would be a “nightmare” — Vance said they would take a “sequential approach.”
“I mean do you go knock on doors and ask people for their papers? What do you do,” Karl asked.
“You start with what’s achievable,” Vance said. “I think that if you deport a lot of violent criminals and frankly if you make it harder to hire illegal labor, which undercuts the wages of American workers, I think you go a lot of the way to solving the illegal immigration problem.”
“I think it’s interesting that people focus on, well, how do you deport 18 million people? Let’s start with one million. That’s where Kamala Harris has failed. And then we can go from there,” Vance said.
Harris cautions donors to ‘not take anything for granted’
Vice President Kamala Harris attended a fundraiser in San Francisco Sunday where she maintained her campaign “will win this election,” but cautioned donors to “not take anything for granted.”
“I know there’s a lot of enthusiasm out there,” Harris said, adding, “And you know, I’ve never been one to really believe in the polls — whether they’re up or they’re down.”
“What we know is the stakes are so high and we can take nothing for granted in this critical moment,” she continued. “So we will fuel our campaign as we have, with enthusiasm and optimism, but also with a deep commitment to the hard work it’s going to take, and to campaign.”
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi introduced Harris at the event, touting the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration and the background of vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, several times calling the Harris-Walz ticket “the freedom ticket.”
“[Harris] makes us all so proud. She brings us so much joy. She gives us so much hope,” Pelosi said, calling the vice president “politically very astute.”
(WASHINGTON) — Amid rising tensions in the Middle East, White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said Sunday that the Biden administration is doing “everything we can to try to prevent this from becoming an all-out war there with Hezbollah across that Lebanese border.”
Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah traded fire earlier Sunday morning, with an Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson saying that Hezbollah launched 150 rockets toward Israel, reaching deeper into the country than many previous strikes. In response, the IDF said it was striking “Hezbollah terrorist targets” in Lebanon. The IDF struck 400 targets on Saturday and said that the attacks will only intensify.
The fresh strikes come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledges to “take whatever action is necessary to restore security and to bring our people safe back to their homes” near the Lebanese border in the north of the country.
Asked by ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos if escalation in the region is inevitable, Kirby said the White House believes a “diplomatic solution” is still possible.
“We believe that there are better ways to try to get those Israeli citizens back in their homes up in the north, and to keep those that are there, there safely, than a war, than an escalation, then opening up a second front there at that border with Lebanon against Hezbollah,” Kirby said.
But Stephanopoulos pushed back, noting it seems like Netanyahu is not listening to the United States’s consistent pleas for de-escalation.
“Look, the prime minister can speak for himself and what — and what — what policy he’s trying to pursue, what operations he’s trying to conduct. We’ll, of course, recognize that the tensions are much higher now than they were even just a few days ago. … But all that does, George, is underscore for us how important it is to try to find a diplomatic solution,” he said.
Hezbollah called the Sunday assault an “initial response” to attacks from Israel earlier this week. In Lebanon and Syria, thousands of people were injured Tuesday by exploding pagers used by Hezbollah members as part of an Israeli operation. Another round of attacks targeting two-way radios used by the group followed on Wednesday. The two attacks killed at least 39 people and injured more than 3,000, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Kirby reiterated that the U.S. was “not involved” in these attacks, but refused to say much more than that, saying he would not “get into the details.”
“I will just say, though, George, that we are watching all of these escalating tensions that have been occurring over the last week or so with great concern, and we want to make sure that we can continue to do everything we can to try to prevent this from becoming an all-out war there with Hezbollah across that Lebanese border,” he said.
A panel of United Nations specialists in international law and human rights has condemned Israel’s use of the exploding devices as illegal “booby traps” with the potential of harming civilians.
Israel had a hand in the manufacturing of the devices with this type of “supply chain interdiction” operation having been planned for at least 15 years, a U.S. intelligence source confirmed to ABC News.
In response to a question about the security of U.S. supply chains, Kirby said that President Joe Biden “has made it clear that he wants the American supply chain to be as resilient and as vibrant as possible.”
The attacks, including Israel’s Friday strike on a Beirut suburb that took out a top Hezbollah commander, signal a new stage of escalation in the Middle East and raise fears of that they will increase the likelihood of an expanded conflict in the region.
How these recent attacks impact the efforts to achieve a cease-fire between Israeli and terrorist organization Hamas in Gaza remains an open question.
Kirby conceded to Stephanopoulos that, “We are not achieving any progress here in the last week to two weeks,” and said that Hamas’ leader, Yahya Sinwar, doesn’t appear to be negotiating in good faith.
“But it doesn’t mean that we’re not trying,” he added.
Kirby’s response follows a report from The Wall Street Journal that U.S. officials believe an Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal is unlikely before the end of Biden’s term. When asked Friday about the likelihood of a deal, Biden replied, “A lot of things don’t look realistic until we get them done.”
Stephanopoulos also asked Kirby about alleged election meddling efforts by Iran that U.S. security agencies warned about last week. Kirby said there is “a very robust interagency effort all across the government to deter and to defeat foreign malign actors.
“The American people ought to know that the federal government is working hand in glove with their local and state officials to ensure the safety and security of their ballots and their election day activities,” Kirby said.
