During an interview that aired as part of CNN’s State of the Union over the weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris put cowardly Republican leaders on the spot over their opposition to the imminent withdrawal of the United States military presence from Afghanistan and their refusal to meaningfully act on gun safety legislation. The Biden administration recently announced an end date of September 11 of this year for the Afghanistan withdrawal, and separately, they’ve pushed for gun safety as mass shootings have unfolded in the U.S. yet again — and Republicans have been in opposition.
Discussing Biden’s decision to go through with an imminent full withdrawal from Afghanistan, Harris rebuffed Republican claims that it was some kind of reckless endeavor, saying as follows:
‘This is a president who has an extraordinary amount of courage. He is someone who I have seen over and over again make decisions based on what he truly believes, based on his years of doing this work and studying these issues — what he truly believes is the right thing to do, and I’m gonna tell you something about him: he is acutely aware that it may not be politically popular or advantageous for him personally… I wish that the American public could see sometimes what I see.’
Watch her comments below:
Vice President Harris says she was the last person in the room with President Biden when he made the decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan: "I have seen him over and over again make decisions based exactly on what he believes is right" #CNNSOTU https://t.co/dcOKYcUCX0 pic.twitter.com/0vs8BNmKU1
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) April 25, 2021
Among other examples of Republican opposition to the Afghanistan move, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has called the withdrawal plans “dumber than dirt.” Meanwhile, prominent Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) have lashed out against Democratic pleas for reasonable gun safety measures in the aftermath of recent mass shootings. During a recent Senate hearing, Cruz claimed that Democrats were engaging in “ridiculous theater” when pushing their proposals for finally enacting popular reforms like universal background checks for gun purchases.
On CNN, Harris commented as follows:
‘There is only so much… that a president can do through executive action. This president, Joe Biden, has a longstanding history of speaking very clearly and unambiguously about the need for smart gun safety laws… Congress has to act, because we have to… make the law that we agree we should have background checks — that’s just reasonable gun safety laws. We should have an assault weapons ban. Assault weapons have been designed to kill a lot of people quickly. They are weapons of war. And Congress has to act.’
Check out her comments below:
Vice President Harris says the Biden administration has taken action on gun reform through executive orders however, there is only so much "that a president can do through executive action… Congress has to act” in order to make laws permanent. #CNNSOTU https://t.co/POtEpdtLGF pic.twitter.com/VBQWqh6aSj
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) April 25, 2021
As referenced by the vice president, the Biden administration has rolled out a slew of executive actions against gun violence. Among other moves, the Biden team announced earlier this month that the Justice Department would be issuing a “proposed rule to help stop the proliferation” of so-called ghost guns, which are assembled from kits and don’t have serial numbers. Biden’s administration also announced that the Justice Department would be releasing “model” red flag legislation for states that, if enacted, would help keep guns from those deemed dangerous.
