VP Harris: Democracy Is Our Biggest National Security Challenge

Vice President Kamala Harris said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that “our democracy” was the biggest national security challenge.

Partial transcript as follows:

MARGARET BRENNAN: What do you see is the biggest national security challenge confronting the U.S.? What is the thing that worries you and keeps you up at night?

HARRIS: Frankly, one of them is our democracy. And that I can talk about because that’s not classified. It really does. I-I- there is I think no question in the minds of people who are foreign policy experts that the year 2021 is not the year 2000. You know, I think there’s so much about foreign and domestic policy that, for example, was guided and prioritized based on Sept 11, 2001. And we are embarking on a- a new era where the threats to our nation take many forms, including the threat of autocracies taking over and having outsized influence around the world. And so I go back to our- our point about the need to fight for the integrity of our democracy. In addition, it is obviously about what we need to do in the climate crisis. We just did the meetings around COP and recognizing- you know, some used to laugh and say how can you say that the climate crisis is about national security? Well, of course it is. And I can go through the details of why. But what we must do then in- in the face of any and all threats is recognize that one of our greatest strengths is to strengthen our relationship with our allies and partners around the world. And that has been one of the highest priorities of our administration. It has been to re-enter, for example, the Paris Agreement. It has been to-to do the work of working with our European allies. It is the work of building back the trust that is necessary for us to be a member of- of- of a community of nations that share values and priorities. And I think one of the greatest threats that we saw recently is that when we pull out of the- those relationships, we weaken our standing as a nation and therefore weaken, I believe, our security.

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