Less than a month from election day in the U.S., Vice-President Kamala Harris is on a media spree.
In recent days, the Democratic nominee sat down with CBS’s 60 Minutes, ABC’s The View, the Call Her Daddy podcast and Howard Stern’s radio show. To cap it all off, Harris joined late-night host Stephen Colbert on Tuesday evening in front of a live audience.
Off the bat, Colbert asked Harris if she would crack a cold one with him, referencing the old adage that people want politicians that they can sit down and have a beer with. Colbert disclosed that, of course, he asked the vice-president beforehand if she would be willing to drink with him. She requested they drink “the Champagne of Beers” — a Miller High Life.
“That tastes like the beautiful city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin,” Colbert joked after taking a sip.
Afterwards, the late-night host asked Harris if Donald Trump, indeed, lost the 2020 election, something the former president still denies.
Harris responded: “You know, when you lost millions of jobs, you lost manufacturing, you lost automotive plants, you lost the election. What does that make you? A loser. This is what somebody at my rallies said. I thought it was funny.”
Harris broke out into laughter and added, “This is what happens when I drink beer!”
The interview also tackled serious topics, including a new report that Trump sent COVID-19 test machines to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in 2020. The claims emerged in journalist Bob Woodward’s book War. Trump denies the allegations.
Harris commented on the report, saying: “He openly admires dictators and authoritarians. He has said he wants to be a dictator on day one if he were elected again as president. He gets played by these guys. He admires so-called strongmen and he gets played because they flatter him or offer him favour.”
She reflected on the hardships that Americans faced during the height of the pandemic and condemned Trump for not putting U.S. citizens first, in her eyes.
“And this man is giving COVID test kits to Vladimir Putin? Think about what this means on top of him sending love letters to Kim Jong-un. He thinks, well, that’s his friend. What about the American people? They should be your first friend.”
While Harris has been booked and busy with media appearances, Trump is keeping a relatively lower profile. He recently cancelled his 60 Minutes interview, bucking long-standing tradition.
Ahead of Harris’s 60 Minutes interview, correspondent Scott Pelley informed viewers that there would be no Trump interview. Colbert spoofed this moment for a segment on his show, emulating Pelley’s speech.
“Good evening, it has been a tradition here at The Late Show, since yesterday, that the major party candidates sit down with me for an interview in October. We invited Kamala Harris to be our guest this evening and she accepted. That interview in a moment,” he said.
“In the interest of fairness, we also invited former president Donald Trump to go f–k himself. He declined our offer.”
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‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ airs on Global at 11:35 pm ET/PT on weeknights.