10 Questions I would ask Kamala Harris

If I could interview her

I think it’s fair for the media to want to interview Kamala Harris. The media should not treat Harris with the kid gloves they use on Trump. Of course, they should also skewer Trump relentlessly for his attacks on the media and on democracy. I don’t view Trump’s candidacy as legitimate, so I wouldn’t even want to interview him. But I would love to interview Kamala Harris, whom I’m excited to endorse for President, cards on the table.

Without more ado, here are my ten questions for Vice President Harris.

1. Your parents were both immigrants. You know how central immigration is to the American story. How do you square this with promising to sign the "toughest border bill," one Democratic critics say essentially cedes the MAGA narrative on immigration? Is there room for a movement in the Democratic Party to embrace immigrants and open America to the world, like Emma Lazarus's iconic poem suggests?

2. Governor Greg Abbott of Texas is openly flouting federal authority on the Mexican border. He has justified his actions using the same arguments that the Confederate states used when they attempted to secede, provoking the Civil War. President Biden has chosen to ignore this. How would you deal with secessionist MAGA governors?

3. America is in a tight spot with Israel. We can't abandon an ally, and yet the government led by PM Netanyahu—a man who clearly favors Trump—has prosecuted a war that has led to over 40,000 Palestinian deaths. This against a stark backdrop: Palestinians live in what can fairly be described as an apartheid state. What would it take to consider ceasing arms shipments to Israel?

4. Most Palestinians, like all people, just want to live their lives in relative freedom and security. Most Palestinians are too young to have had any role in the rise to power of Hamas, the organization responsible for the gruesome Oct 7 terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens. By barring any Palestinian American from speaking at the DNC, members of the Uncommitted movement feel their voices are not being heard by the Democratic Party. What reason beyond "Donald Trump is worse"—that's certainly true, but it’s also dismissive and contemptuous—do Palestinian Americans have for supporting you for President? How can they be sure you will treat them as fully respected members of the American polity?

5. Donald Trump directed a violent insurrection against the government of the United States and its peaceful transfer of power following a free and fair election. And yet he is on the ballot for President again. What concrete actions will your Administration take to make sure insurrectionists in the Republican party are unable to try this again? Would you support Democratic leadership in the House and Senate expelling insurrection-supporting members under the Fourteenth Amendment?

6. The MAGA majority Supreme Court has ruled that the President is above the law when it comes to "official acts," a position that could lead a future MAGA president to assassinate his or her political enemies and to deploy the armed forces against civilians. Do you support expanding the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary in order to undo the damage John Roberts has done to the Constitution? Do you support eliminating the filibuster in pursuit of this goal?

7. The Republican Party has lost the popular vote but won the Electoral College twice in the past quarter century. In both cases but especially in the case of Trump's election, American political stability was put in peril. If an antidemocratic authoritarian wins because of voter suppression and the Electoral College, do you really believe the American people should accept that result? Would you support reforms to reduce or eliminate the antidemocratic elements of our Constitution? Is it time to address these structural sources of danger to our Republic from the President's bully pulpit? In the meantime, what moves do you propose to keep the MAGA party on the margins until it recovers from its wanderings in the antidemocratic desert. Do you support DC and Puerto Rico statehood, for example?

8. What concrete steps will you take to ensure reproductive freedom for all Americans and the right to abortion? Do you support recognition of the Equal Rights Amendment in the federal register? Eliminating the filibuster to pass legislation ensuring abortion rights? If you don't have the votes in Congress, what steps can you take by Executive powers alone to protect reproductive freedom?

9. You have stated that you would consider appointing a Republican to your Cabinet. That may make political sense in a race that is still far too close for comfort. But many Americans think that the Republican Party—I call it the MAGA Party—has fundamentally lost its way by going all in on a strongman authoritarian—three elections in a row. Our two party system and political polarization make it nearly impossible for either of the two major parties to perish, even for the gravest misdeeds. What structural reforms do you support—if any—to resolve the democratic dangers our two party system poses? Is it time to consider a constitutional convention to debate the merits of a parliamentary system, one that recognizes the reality of political parties, a rare but glaring oversight of the Founding Fathers?

10. Project 2025 would ban trans people, and treat librarians and teachers as sex offenders for even acknowledging trans existence. Trans people are on the front lines of the struggle for democracy, with as much skin in the game as women and immigrants. What do you say to the trans community? What protections would your Administration offer to trans citizens, for their physical safety, for their healthcare, and for the recognition as free and equal Americans?