Welcome to the whole story. I'm anderson cooper, after vice president kamala harris became the democratic nominee, she launched an aggressive campaign to reintroduce herself to the country but with the election looming, many remain undecided and are looking at where harris stands on the issues that matter to them before casting their ballots. Over the next hour, cnn's audie cornish looks at harris's record and her promises on five key issues in this election reproductive rights immigration, foreign policy, the state of democracy, and one that most american side is they're our priority. The economy one day after president joe biden announced his decision to drop out of the race and endorsed his vice president, kamala harris, addressed a campaign staff at the wilmington, delaware headquarters building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency in her first interview as candidate, she doubled down on that commitment. If you are elected, what would you do on day one in the white house? first and foremost, one of my highest priorities is to do what we can to support and strengthen the middle class. And when harris gave her first policy speech, that too was centered on the economy. As president i will be laserfocused on creating opportunities for the middleclass that advanced their economic security stability, and dignity. Biden campaign was focused on economic data that showed overall growth the idea was that voters just weren't getting the message. The harris version of the campaign took a different tack, emphasizing cost like health care. I'll take on the issue of the cost of health care housing provide firsttime home buyers with $25,000 to help down payment on a new home. And in raising a family, $6,000 in tax relief to families during the first year of a child's life republicans hammered her on the costs of her proposals. This is absolute socialism. All of these ideas are very the inflationary, even the nonpartisan committee for a responsible federal budget said the plan could increase the federal deficit by $1. 7 trillion over a decade. One thing she did not say this, how any of this would be paid for. These are some expensive policies but harris is following the lead of progressive lawmakers who blamed companies reaping post pandemic profits to republicans. The plan sounds like government overreach economic experts are skeptical as well. There is not great economic evidence thus far that the bulk of the inflation we have seen or anywhere close to it is caused by corporate profits here democrats seemed happy to embrace the new language kamala harris has articulated a very important plan to make sure that we are lowering costs for everyday americans. You think it's smart policy, governor, any effort we make to keep more money in americans pockets is worth walk in the path. When we think about young folks and what is top of mind for them, it's the cost of their groceries and they're gas and child care. When we're talking about the middleclass, i think that the vice president thinks about her own family. I grew up in a middleclass household for most of my childhood. We were renters my mother saved for well, over a decade to buy a home. How do you describe her political personality, care? it centers around care. She has the skills of a prosecutor. She knows how to analyze the facts facts put together case, but her case starts with the care of others vice president harris has made a focus of championing what we might call the care agenda pushing these that were part of president biden's proposals early on, their build back agenda which will cut the cost of childcare by more than half extend the child tax credit and expand paid leave. But also things like medical debt relief, student debt relief, helping smaller businesses, minorityowned businesses, get better access to capital. We have secured tens of billions of dollars in private sector investment for small businesses and communities across america. Things like supporting, it'll look class families, and kind of creating the infrastructure of support around them. And a lot of her work also has been designed to help not only families with children but those who are responsible for the caregiving i've seniors and people with disabilities. She talks about the sandwich economy. People who take care of their children, and people who take care of their aging parents. That's always been something of a focus for her when she was attorney general, her mother was diagnosed with cancer i spent many hours with her at the hospital fortunately, however, i had the type of job than where i could take the time i needed to be with my mother but far too many others cannot harris economic agenda for 2024, it would have a lot of those same kara economy components but the vice president must convince voters she is better equipped on this issue than the business my detroit and so the challenge will be can she get them to be more confident and how she would be as an economic policy steward, the biden administration feels like it has a good economic story to tell and vice president harris was part of that they did after all, defy economists predictions of a fullon recession and by many measures, the u. S. Pandemic recovery was among the strongest in the world. They want to tout the economic numbers that they think are good but that didn't help americans stuck on the numbers that we're not so good in 2022, inflation reached a 40 year high. And the current administration has battled to bring it down. There are many economists who lay the blame, at least in part, on the historic and expensive legislation passed by the biden/harris administration ration in the aftermath of the pandemic, when trump left office, inflation await was oneandahalf percent and then 18 months later after biden and harris spent 5 trillion, we at a 9% inflation rate. I think there are some economists who argue that it was still a mistake because of the additional contribution it had to inflation. And inflation there's definitely a huge vulnerability for her especially as she tries to run on the biden white house record. One republicans are seizing on vice president harris was the deciding vote on the american rescue plan and also the inflation reduction act that led to inflation going up more than 20. 1%. The economy was certainly biden's biggest weakness the question will be whether harris receives the same level of blame for inflation what will be seen from vice president harris so far is an effort to both project optimism about the economy and pride in the policies you have done. We were facing one of the worst economic crises in modern history. And today by virtually every measure our economy is the strongest in the world while also empathizing with voters feeling their pain for high prices still, we know that many americans don't yet feel that progress in their daily lives is a very difficult balancing act, but she's been trying to navigate that in the time since her campaign started up, next, the leak decision of dobbs changed. I think the trajectory of her vice presidency women in america no longer have a constitutional right to an abortion well, we say, how dare they are you, certain that's our ride? yeah. Let's go are you foreign print certain certainty matters. So when you need the right highquality promotional products printed perfectly, and guarantee arrive on time. That's this certainty of four imprint. So while your clients they all your next event or inspire your team by checking out for imprint. Com in brand for certain ever since we introduced him to the farmer's dog, it's changed his quality of life feels number twos are really getting better, better poo, better, you should go take a pea sized amount, apply it like a lotion hits under boob pfeifle about cracks, feet, this waterbased cream. I'm telling you it's invisible on the skin. It works like a dream. Why didn't someone think of this sooner on sunday night nbc and peacock, looking for a way to stretch the dollar with ensure phi, you can cut your car insurance bill and half, scroll through, doesn't a prices and tap to switch online that's it. No phone calls and no wasted time. Go to terrify and save today i am tony hawk and like many of you, i take a statin to reduce cholesterol, but statins can also deplete cookie ten levels that so my doctor recommended qn all coc uten, kuno, husband number one cardiologist recommended form of coke. You tim kunal, the brand i trust. Its pods biggest sale of the summer, safe up to 25% on moving in storage for a limited time in cy pods has been trusted with over 6 million moves, but don't wait, use promo code big 25 to save visit hot. Com today the day of the leak dropped about the dobbs decision was really an earthquake inside the white house what we have seen tonight is not just a draft, we believe this is a roadmap for how they will take rode down the leak decision of dobbs changed. I think the trajectory of her vice presidency in may of 2022, political who published a leaked draft of a supreme court opinion, not just any opinion it was dobbs versus jackson women's health organization the decision to overturn roe versus wade. I think everybody remembers where they were when they saw the actual words come down we were all outraged. Vice president harris was outraged. The vice president was due to speak that night at emily's list, one of the big political groups in the country that focuses on women and reproductive rights. So as the vice president began talking through which harkens sirens were some point, she started to go into a riff and that roof led to how dare they do this, how dare they come for women's rights? how dare they change this law? those republican leaders who are trying to weaponize the use of the law against women well, we say how dare they. She gets up on that stage and she absolutely just blows the house down. How they tell a woman what she can do and cannot do with her own body and it felt like a shift in the room. This incredibly focused person is in credibly focus politician who used fighting these restrictions on abortion as her north store it's interesting to me that she would embrace this, not for just the obvious reasons of being a woman politician, et cetera. But it's right at the moment when in some states, abortion would be criminalized specifically, right? now, it makes sense that the prosecutor wants to jump in the rolling back of roe was an abject attack on people, women who actually needed to get reported deductive care. And so her comments about how dare they the rejection of this sentiment that other people, min, can make decisions about what rights women have about their own bodies. And so when those rights were stripped away, of course, the prosecutor in her showed up. That's the place where her legal mind really kicked in and you saw how the application of this decision would go into so many other areas of americans lives that maybe most people didn't anticipate how majority of five justices overturned the landmark roe versus wade decision month later, the conservative majority on the supreme court officially overturned nearly 50 years of federally protected access to abortion. The historic nature of today's five to four decision by the courts, conservatives cannot be emphasized enough. She immediately got on the road after dobbs meeting with lawmakers first meeting with providers, she met with faith leaders. She talked to college presidents. She talked a student government leaders. She was the hub for all these different groups that we're thinking about these questions, this statement has been made that the government has a right to come in you're home until you as a woman and as a family, what used to do with your body vice president harris was betting the issue would grab the attention of voters. Others weren't so sure she says, the last supper panels of cable news pundit saying it's the economy poll after poll says that the economy will motivate a red wave, red wave, or red tsunami in the midterm elections. And what she says is, i am talking to people every day about this and i know that abortion rights are top of mind for them. And you really saw her for the first time in her vice presidency meaningfully trust her own instincts, and it's not a surprise that everywhere that reproductive freedom was on the ballot, we won the abortion rights side has won every single time because people across the political spectrum codify roe, people across geographies, fundamental the right people across faith without having the religious beliefs of others for step on her and generations were outraged the vice president traveled the country on what she called a fight for reproductive freedoms tour harris is believed to be the first sitting vice president or president to visit an abortion clinic is sending a clinic that's something politically that was seen as like a fascinating moment. Yeah and she also took the message into those suburban areas that we typically don't go into with her on that tour, her future running mate, minnesota governor tim walz was really impressed her by being by her side in that moment and so i think it is a doubling down on the understanding that this campaign is in so many ways about reproductive rights we trust women to know what is in their best interests and not have abortion rights are quite literally on the ballot. And so for a lot of people, that is going to be just as motivating for a reason to come to the polls as anything else. Recent polling says two thirds of americans oppose the supreme court's decision on abortion if elected, vice president harris is promising to secure federal abortion protection. And when congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the united states, i will proudly sign it into law. But it's not when congress passes the bill. It's if, even if democrats won both the house and the senate again they need 60 votes. Shoot across whatever thresholds required, right to escape a filibuster what are more realistic expectations for what a harris presidency would do on abortion rights? i think the realistic expectations have to be the restoration of the rights of roe. It is realistic for women too expect that they can make their own health care decisions i believe that if kamala harris wins, we will likely have the votes in the senate to change the rules in order to codify roe versus wade. And i think the vast majority of americans will demand, will demand that the senate change the rules it's not 100,000 coming up. Is this an issue she can run from? i don't think it's an issue. She can run from immigration is the most difficult issue for her a cnn special event, abc news presidential