NBC's Chuck Todd asks Vice President Kamala Harris if 'threat from within' is a bigger threat than 9/11
Vice President Harris slammed Republican 'election deniers' during the interview
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NBC's Chuck Todd asked Vice President Kamala Harris in an interview that aired on Sunday if the "threat from within" the U.S. was a bigger threat than the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Todd noted that Sunday was the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and added "not quite 20 years after 9/11 the Capitol came under attack from domestic terrorists."
"With the 9/11 anniversary in mind, I sat down with Vice President Harris on Friday at the Johnson space center in Houston. She was there to talk about the space program in general and speak with some astronauts on the International Space Station. I began by asking about how over two decades our focus has had to shift from foreign terror to the threat from within," Todd explained during Sunday's episode of "Meet the Press."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Todd began the interview by saying that the U.S. was now battling a "threat from within." He asked Harris if the "threat" was "equal or greater to what we faced after 9/11."
Harris said it was "very dangerous" and "very harmful" and that it "makes us weaker."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the National Education Association 2022 annual meeting and representative assembly in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, July 5, 2022. Photographer: Tannen Maury/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Tannen Maury/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The vice president criticized GOP "election deniers" and emphasized the role of the U.S. on the world stage.
"The rest of the world — like to any role model — watches what we do to see if it matches up with what we say," Harris told Todd. "So, we look at the fact that there are 11 people right now running for Secretary of State — the keepers of the integrity of the voting system in their state — who are election deniers."
"You couple that with people who hold some of the highest elected offices in our country who refuse to condemn an insurrection on Jan. 6," she added. "And I think what it sends is a signal that causes people to question, ‘Hey is America still valuing what they talk about?’ which is the integrity of democracies which means protecting rule of law and the sanctity of these systems. And speaking up when they are attacked."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former President Trump stressed the importance of restoring law and order in America in his first speech in Washington D.C. since leaving office. (Getty Images)
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Democrats have been called out for casting doubt on election results in recent weeks, including White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Jean-Pierre tweeted in 2016 that the election was "stolen" after former President Donald Trump won. President Biden hesitated to say that the 2022 midterm elections would be legitimate in January.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a surprise visit to the site of a shooting which left seven dead in Highland Park, Illinois, on July 5, 2022. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP) (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images) ( KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
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Todd also asked Harris, "what is a semi-fascist?"
"Let’s not get caught up in politicizing the fact that most people in America know that it is not helpful to our country when we have people who are denying elections or trying to obstruct the outcome of an election where the largest number of people of our country voted for the president of the United States. When I think about what we’ve been seeing as far as the attacks from within, I wish that we would approach it the same way instead through some partisan lens," Harris told Todd. "I think that it is a threat, and I think that it is very dangerous, and it makes us weaker."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Todd was referencing Biden's recent comments where he likened "extreme MAGA philosophy" to "semi-fascism." Biden and the administration have ramped up attacks against "MAGA Republicans," arguing that they are threats to democracy.