Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) said she has “no concern” about Vice President Harris’s reversals on policy issues, saying the Democratic nominee is “a human being.”
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, anchor Dana Bash pressed Butler on how voters should view Harris’s policy reversals in just the last four years — on issues including defunding the police, “Medicare for All” and a ban on fracking, all of which she once supported. She now also supports President Biden’s tougher approach to border policy, a pivot from once supporting decriminalizing border crossings.
“Voters should think that she’s a human being who learns new things every single day and has the ability to take the time and effort to hear the concerns of all people,” Butler, a former Harris aide, said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“I think that they should be certain that she is a fighter and a leader who’s going to do the work on their behalf to ensure that there is an economy that ensures that no one is left behind, that … we’re going to continue to address the climate crisis in a way that ensures that there is an Earth here for young people and for next generations of leaders,” she continued. “I think that they should absolutely believe that she is a leader who cares about people, who’s going to put them first, as she has done her entire career.”
Pressed on whether she has concerns about flip-flopping, Butler said, “No, no concern about flip-flopping.”
“Our country changes every single day. The conditions of our country change every single day,” Butler said. “The vice president has been consistent in her values, and there are lots of different ways to solve the challenges that are in front of us. We’ve got to make sure that we have a candidate who is listening, and a candidate and a leader who, frankly, again, puts the people first.”
Since Harris became the clear front-runner for and then confirmed Democratic presidential nominee, her campaign has sought to distance herself from a series of policy positions she took when she was a candidate in the 2020 presidential primary. Republicans say the policy pivots give them another arrow in their quiver for the three-month sprint to November.