Vice President Harris, in a combative interview with Fox News, made her most concerted effort yet to distance herself from President Biden, making clear that her administration would not be a “continuation” of his policies. She also refused to say if she’d noticed his cognitive decline, and also would not say whether she supported government-funded transgender surgeries for prisoners.

“Let me be very clear: My presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency,” she told host Bret Baier. “Like every new president that comes into office, I will bring my life experiences, my professional experiences, and fresh and new ideas. I represent a new generation of leadership.”

The most notable “change” Ms. Harris articulated was that, unlike Mr. Biden, she has not spent her entire career in Washington. She said that as president, she would invite outside perspectives from beyond the Beltway. 

“I, for example, am someone who has not spent the majority of my career in Washington, D.C.,” Ms. Harris said. “I invite ideas, whether it be from the Republicans who are supporting me, who were just on stage with me minutes ago, and the business sector and others who can contribute to the decisions that I make.”

When Mr. Baier asked Ms. Harris whether she’d noticed Mr. Biden’s mental decline during their interactions over the last three years, she would not answer, trying to pivot to what she described as President Trump’s own lack of energy and recent slip-ups on the trail.  

When Mr. Baier tried to press her on that question, she seemed reluctant to offer a full-throated defense of her boss. 

“I have watched from the Oval Office to the Situation Room, and he has the judgment and experience to do exactly what he has done in making very important decisions on behalf of the American people,” she said after a brief pause. 

When pressed further about Mr. Biden’s fitness, Ms. Harris shot back: “Joe Biden is not on the ballot.” Donald Trump, she said, is.

The most fiery moment in the interview came when Ms. Harris forcefully denounced Trump for his rhetoric about “an enemy within” America and what she said were his stated plans to go after these enemies. 

When Mr. Baier asked Ms. Harris if she supported prison inmates getting transgender surgeries at government expense, she simply replied “I will follow the law” and would not give an opinion.

Ms. Harris seemed eager to convey to Fox News viewers that she would be tougher on the border than Mr. Biden has been, and that Trump cannot be trusted with the powers of the presidency. 

The first video Ms. Harris posted to her campaign X account following the interview was her answer on border security, where she declined to say that specific mistakes had been made during her tenure.

She made clear that the immigration system has been broken for too long, and argued that Trump would not be serious enough to deal with it. 

“I’m the only person who’s running for president who has prosecuted transnational criminal organizations from the Sinaloa Cartel to the Guadalajara Cartel to the people who have trafficked in guns, drugs, and human beings,” she said in a clip of the interview that she later posted to X. 

Pressed by Mr. Baier on whether she owed an apology to the families of Americans murdered by immigrants who entered America due to Biden immigration policies, Ms. Harris said she grieved for the murder victims.