Harris pledges marijuana reform, defends record in Charlamagne interview | ABS-CBN News

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris defended her record as a prosecutor, pledged to decriminalize marijuana and push for police reform as she aimed to shore up support among Black men in an interview with radio host Charlamagne tha God on Tuesday (October 15). Charlamagne, a Black comedian and author who hosts radio program "The Breakfast Club," is known for his blunt interviews of celebrities. Although he is a Harris supporter, he has been critical of her and President Joe Biden in the past and called Democrats "cowards" for ineffectively prosecuting a case against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. In one of his first questions he asked Harris to address a rumor that she disproportionately locked up Black men over her more than a dozen years as San Francisco's district attorney. "It's just simply not true," Harris said, adding she was described as "one of the most progressive prosecutors" on marijuana cases. She said as president she would work to decriminalize marijuana because she knew how the laws have hurt certain populations, especially Black men. Some polls show that fewer Black men support Harris than they did Biden in the 2020 election. Harris said one of the biggest challenges she faces is misinformation from the Trump team aimed at Black voters. "They are trying to scare people away because they know they otherwise have nothing to run on," she said. Asked about how she would curb police brutality and murders of Black men, Harris said she would work to pass the George Floyd Policing Act, which stalled in Congress in 2021. Charlamagne countered that Harris probably could not get the votes, a reference to the sharply divided U.S. Congress, and asked why she should push on that. "I don't subscribe to that approach," Harris said, adding that it took a lot of work to pass voting rights and other acts through Congress and that she would help elect legislators who would support it. She declined to answer directly whether she thought Attorney General Merrick Garland should have put Trump in prison for his role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. "I think that the court should handle that," she said. "I'm going to handle November." Audience callers said they feared that the U.S. election might not be free and fair or that Trump would try to spark another Jan. 6-style event. Harris avoided calling those fears unfounded, and instead accused Trump of failing to stand up for the Constitution. "This man is weak and he is unfit," she said. She also listed her economic proposals aimed at Black men, and other policies aimed at small-business owners and lowering drug prices. (Production: Eva Weininger) For more ABS-CBN News videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmgUHWUpi2ioSp4xAP1SmAaf For more Breaking News & Live Coverage videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmgG2ln-vtKXb-oLlGEZc3sR For more latest news and analysis from ABS-CBN News videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmg4pcvfM9a96rbUcLD_0P_U For more News Digital News Raw Cuts, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmivfD9aJD-8k0SNcMqG2xdA Subscribe to the ABS-CBN News channel! - http://bit.ly/TheABSCBNNews Watch full episodes on iWantTFC for FREE here: http://iwanttfc.com Visit our website at http://news.abs-cbn.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abscbnNEWS Twitter: https://twitter.com/abscbnnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abscbnnews #KamalaHarris #LatestNews #ABSCBNNews