Vice President Kamala Harris says threat to democracy ‘keeps her up at night’

Vice President Kamala Harris told CBS in an interview on Face the Nation on Sunday that the threat to democracy is the biggest national threat to the United States today.

Harris appeared to misspeak at first, accidentally citing ‘democracy’ as the biggest threat to the United States when interviewer Margaret Brennan asked to name the biggest security threat that keeps the Vice President awake at night. Harris then clarified, “… when our kids look back five- ten years from now, at this moment it will be on our watch that we either stood for and fought for our democracy or not. And that I think that is all at stake right now.”

The interview covered many topics, including the seemingly stalled Build Back Better legislation, which has Congress at an impasse currently, after key voter Senator Joe Manchin (D-Wv.) said last weekend on Fox News that he would not vote for the Biden administration’s $2 trillion package.

When asked if Harris felt Manchin had betrayed the Biden administration, the Vice President answered, “No …I don’t have any personal feelings about this. This is about let’s get the job done. Let’s get it done. Let’s see it through.” Harris later promised to continue fighting for the bill until an agreement was reached on behalf of the Americans who “can’t afford to do the basic things,” like afford medication, take care of their elderly relatives, and pay for childcare.

The Vice President also discussed the administration’s goals to “creatively” address the strain put on those with student debt, but did not commit to student loan forgiveness, a key issue upon which the Biden/Harris campaign relied on heavily for votes.

Harris emphasized the importance of addressing the student debt issue, saying, “Students across- well graduates and former students across our country are literally making decisions about whether they can have a family, whether they can buy a home.”

The Vice President also repeated the importance of passing the Build Back Better legislation, telling Brennan the economy “has been the fuel behind our insistence that we find common ground in Congress to pass the Build Back Better Act so we can bring down the cost of living for- for real Americans, working people.”