In this exclusive interview, senior journalist Rohit Kulkarni provides a deep dive into the high-stakes 2024 U.S. presidential race. As the battle intensifies between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, Kulkarni analyses the shifting dynamics, key strategies, and emerging trends shaping the contest. Gain valuable insights into the latest developments, campaign strategies, and voter sentiments that are defining this pivotal election. Don't miss Kulkarni's expert perspective on the critical factors influencing the race and what they mean for the future of American politics
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#USElections2024 #HarrisVsTrump #ElectionFaceOff #RohitKulkarni #PoliticalAnalysis #USPresidentialRace #2024Election #KamalaHarris #DonaldTrump #ElectionDynamics #PoliticalInsights #CampaignStrategies #VoterSentiment #USPolitics #ElectionUpdate #PoliticalExpert
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00:00The economy is not as stable as it should be. It's still very difficult to buy groceries and gas and
00:07you know day-to-day expenditure hasn't really come down. Throughout the debate I think she
00:13was more positive in her approach. She looked really well prepared to answer every question.
00:19Kamala Harris was given the responsibility of, she was also called quote-unquote the border czar
00:25and her approach was that they are doing everything to control the borders.
00:29Hello I am Aarti Kulkarni and welcome to One India English. This year is full of election
00:34seasons world over. We have seen Britain election, France election, then Indian general election and
00:42now we are looking forward to US election, American presidential election. Recently we
00:48watched presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and to talk about this debate we
00:55have very special guest Mr. Rohit Kulkarni joining directly from Washington DC, America. Welcome Rohit.
01:04Thank you so much. Rohit is senior journalist, he is media consultant and he has also worked as
01:11managing editor of the channel Voice of America. So Rohit, after this presidential debate between
01:18Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, what is atmosphere in America? What is the feedback? What is the
01:24reaction and what is excitement? Thank you so much for having me. First and foremost I think
01:30after the debate, I mean everyone was surprised to see the performance put together by Vice
01:36President Harris. She not only exceeded the expectations but she won the debate hands down.
01:43Now it would be interesting to see what kind of effect it has or her performance has on the
01:49outcome of the elections. Early polls have shown that she didn't get a great deal of bump
01:56after the debate performance but no one expected her to do as well as she did and she really
02:02bamboozled Donald Trump for almost 1 hour 45 minutes where he wasn't himself, he wasn't able
02:08to talk about the issues that he wanted to talk about and he was left defending most of the time.
02:14She set the tone early in the debate when she went across the podium to shake hands with him
02:19and the mic was switched on and you could hear her saying that, hello I am Kamala Harris,
02:24almost like introducing herself and I think it must have taken him by surprise because
02:30throughout the course of the debate for almost an hour and 45 minutes,
02:34he looked like a deer caught in the headlights and he wasn't his usual self.
02:39Kamala Harris was Attorney General of California. She is a professional lawyer
02:44so she did, her performance was as expected in this debate but how was her body language
02:51and what was Trump's response to her body language and questions?
02:56I think there are lots of memes about her body language and the way she was looking at Trump
03:00and the way she was mocking Trump. I think she had a more playful approach to this debate whereas
03:06Trump looked like an old man who was very serious throughout. He didn't bother to look at her,
03:12only I think there were a couple of occasions where he tried to make a statement where he said,
03:17oh sound familiar, you are disturbing me and that kind of stuff. But throughout the debate,
03:22I think she was more positive in her approach. She looked really well prepared to answer every
03:28question and she set the tone right at the beginning when she said that you are going
03:31to hear a lot of lies and a lot of garbage coming out from her opponent and which really set the
03:38tone. I mean she didn't allow herself to be bullied by Trump and Trump never got into the
03:45second gear throughout the debate. In that debate, Trump said immigrants eat pet animals,
03:52such kind of lies. So what is the reaction in US?
03:56I think it was very childish of him and even his camp or even his supporters, they realized that
04:03he shouldn't have said those things because he relied on some news coverage and you know,
04:07to be honest, even I had read some reports like that, but there was no authenticity to those
04:12reports. It was very childish to bring it on the national stage, especially when you're talking
04:17about a serious issue like immigration, which is actually his strong point. I mean, immigration and
04:21economy, even to an extent, you know, some of the things he says about the foreign policy aspect,
04:27they were his strong point, but he wasn't able to make those points because I think he got
04:31sidetracked by the way Kamala Harris started this debate and the way Kamala Harris approached
04:37this debate and he wasn't able to make, so he went on to say these stupid things that he should have
04:42never said. I mean, there was no authenticity to saying that these Haitian immigrants started
04:47eating pets and started eating those pets. You mentioned economy and illegal immigration.
04:54Trump blames Kamala Harris for illegal immigration, porous borders. So what is Kamala Harris's stand
05:01and defense on this issue? Well, I mean, this issue has been
05:08one of the mainstream issues for the last three and a half years. In very recent polls,
05:13it was shown that this issue now is the primary issue or one of the most, I would say the number
05:19one issue for the elections. Kamala Harris was given the responsibility of, she was also called
05:26the border czar and her approach was that they are doing everything to control the borders,
05:32but this has to be passed into legislation. This immigration issue is not, it's a very complex
05:38issue. Both parties have been at it for the last 10 years or more, maybe 20 years or so.
05:44The problem is that this year there has been a huge deal of immigrants or a huge number of
05:49immigrants have entered the US from the Mexican border. By some estimates, it was 11 to 15 million.
05:56According to Trump, it is more than 20 million. And these illegal immigrants have, you know,
06:01flocked American cities throughout from Seattle to Washington to LA to New York. And it's causing
06:07a lot of problems in these cities. And there are the Haitian immigrant issue, I think,
06:11was in the state of Ohio. Harris has been a little weak on this issue because
06:18she has previously not been able to control the influx of these immigrants. Now, they have put
06:25some strict measures in place. So, you know, the number of immigrants coming through the porous
06:29borders had decreased. So, immigrants are coming to America via Mexico. So, there are some Indians
06:37also in these immigrants? Well, these immigrants are, illegal immigrants are coming from all over
06:42the world. You know, it's difficult to pinpoint, you know, the kind of, you know, how many immigrants
06:48are coming from which country, but there were reports that even some of, you know, some illegal
06:53Indians who entered the country, they entered through Mexico. And mostly these immigrants are
06:58from, you know, poor countries in Latin America, or, you know, his Spanish speaking countries like
07:04El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and so on. But there have been immigrants from other places like
07:11Africa, Asia, and so on. And it's much easier to come through the Mexican border. So, I won't be
07:16surprised if there are illegal Indians who are also entering from these places.
07:23Important issue is economy, unemployment, cost of living. So, what is the situation in America?
07:29I think economy is by far the second most important issue. I mean, as you know,
07:34the inflation was really high about three years ago. It had almost reached 8, 8 and a half percent.
07:39Now, the inflation has gone down. But the fact still remains that what holds in the future, I
07:45mean, how the economy is going to do in the future, and what is going to happen to the job market.
07:50I mean, the job market has been, you know, both administrations, even Trump claimed that he
07:55created many, many, many jobs, the greatest presidency in the history of America. And same
08:00with Biden administration, where they claim that they have created the highest number of jobs.
08:06But it's difficult to say because, you know, the economy is not as stable as it should be.
08:12It's still very difficult to buy groceries and gas and, you know, day to day expenditure hasn't
08:20really come down. And it's especially difficult for low income, middle class or lower middle
08:26class families to deal with, you know, the rising prices of day to day groceries. So it is
08:36going to be an important issue. And both are trying to say that they will control the economy.
08:41Obviously, you know, Kamala Harris was trying to say that that is that's what she's going to do
08:45from day one. And then Trump eventually came back in his closing remarks to say that, okay,
08:50you want to do it from day one, but what were you doing for last three and a half years?
08:54Why didn't you fix it?
08:56You should have fixed it because you are in power. So it is going to be...
08:59Barack Obama had said, yes, we can. Trump said make America great again. Now Kamala Harris is
09:07offering freedom and opportunity to American people. So what will be American people's
09:12response to Kamala Harris appeal? Well, America has always been the land
09:17of opportunity. And she is saying that she believes in the core values of the American
09:22constitution or the American system, which is, you know, obviously values of freedom.
09:28And America is a land of opportunity, and it will remain to be a land of opportunity.
09:32So she is just trying to reiterate the American values. She doesn't have a slogan like Trump has
09:37that he, whereas Trump's approach is that America is on the decline. And he wants to make America
09:44great again and again, because it's not doing as well as it should have been or it's not doing as
09:49well as it was doing during his regime. So the response is that, you know, look, when this
09:55election cycle started with Joe Biden as the nominee from the Democratic Party, you know,
10:02no one expected this to happen. And Kamala Harris's nomination was a big surprise in that sense.
10:09And, you know, initially, it was thought that it would be a cakewalk for Trump.
10:14But now it looks like it's going to be a neck to neck race. And we are going to see,
10:18you know, I think it will, it will go all the way to the end. I mean, something that I don't
10:22think Donald Trump expected. About abortion issue, do American women prefer Kamala Harris
10:28than Donald Trump? Absolutely, because, you know, abortion is a, abortion rights is the
10:34strongest issue for the Democratics. You know, since Trump's nominees created a Supreme Court
10:40majority to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion, Kamala Harris's sharp arguments
10:46provided a vivid contrast to Joe Biden's rambling comments on the issue during the previous debate.
10:53And you know, what Trump did that his Supreme Court nominees, they overturned
10:57Roy v. Wade, which allowed, which paved the way for 22 states to ban abortion. And I think it's a
11:05very, very important issue for almost, they did a recent poll of almost 60% Americans,
11:10out of which 76% support Kamala Harris. And Harris is a very, very strong proponent of
11:18the state or the government should not be telling women what what they should do to their bodies.
11:23So I think when it comes to abortion, it's not only an important issue for the Democrats,
11:28but it's also an important issue for a lot of women, you know, especially in urban and suburban
11:34areas. Rohit, Kamala Harris is African American, and she has Indian origins. Do Indians in America
11:42love her for this reason? I think the Indian community is extremely excited about her
11:47candidacy, especially women. You know, she is biracial because, you know, her father was from
11:53Jamaica, mother from India, and she was practically raised by a mother. So you know, she identifies
11:59as both and Trump tried to make a big deal about her background. And eventually, he obviously said
12:04that, oh, he loves both. But he said she's not sure whether she was recently she was an Indian
12:09American now election time, she's an African American. But I think the Indian community is
12:14excited with with her candidacy because a she's a brown skin person, the first brown skin woman to
12:21run for the office, first Indian American to run for the office. So you know, there is an excitement,
12:28Indian Indian Indian community. And you know, people actually love her biracial background.
12:34Okay, Rohit, there are two more serious issues, Russia-Ukraine war and Israel-Palestine conflict,
12:41violence in Gaza. So Kamala Harris has said violence in Gaza should be stopped. What is the
12:47difference between stands by Donald Trump and by Kamala Harris on this issue? Well, Trump has been
12:54saying saying that under his and when he was the president, there were no wars under his regime.
13:00Whereas, you know, under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, there have been, you know,
13:04the Russia-Ukraine war and obviously the conflict in in the Middle East. He has been making it a
13:11big issue that if he he's elected president, even before he takes the oath, he will try to stop the
13:17war in Ukraine. And he says that he has a great relationship with Putin, which will allow him to
13:21stop the war in one day. Whereas, you know, the other conflict, he says that he'll offer a
13:27solution and he'll be able to stop it. Kamala Harris on the other side, you know, they have
13:32been trying for last, last, I don't know, few months, maybe six months to stop the conflict
13:38in Gaza. They have offered a solution to both parties. And I don't think it has been agreed yet
13:44because Netanyahu wants, you know, Hamas to return the hostages. So it's a more complex issue,
13:51the Gaza conflict. And also there is now, you know, the whole whole issue of Iran trying to
13:56intervene. Yes, it's a more complex issue. But whereas Ukraine and Russia, I think Donald Trump's
14:03approach is that it's it's it's a war that that should be stopped. Innocent people are getting
14:08killed. And also it is putting a burden on the American economy because US has provided more
14:12than 250 billion dollars to Ukraine. And he wants European countries to take some of to pay some of
14:20that money to Ukraine and not just ask America to do it. So both parties have different approaches
14:26and, you know, both want somewhere even, you know, both want these conflicts to end. But on one side,
14:33when it comes to Russia, Ukraine, obviously Kamala Harris wants Ukraine to win the war.
14:38Whereas on the other side, I think the mindless killings, especially the killings of kids
14:43in Gaza and, you know, innocent civilians being killed, I think that conflict needs to stop. And
14:49I think they are committed to stopping it. It is the month of September. In American election,
14:55there is one phenomenon called October surprise. So what it will be?
15:00It's very hard to say right now, because, you know, there are no skeletons in the closet,
15:04as they say. We both know everything about Donald Trump. And most of the things about
15:09Vice President Harris are also also very, very well known. So I don't think there will be any
15:14surprise as such unless something drastically goes wrong with the economy or something
15:19drastically goes wrong in terms of the foreign policy aspect, if there is a more, there is a new
15:24conflict that emerges somewhere in the world. Or if there are no more cases of criminal activity by
15:34illegal immigrants or something of that nature. Right now, it pretty much looks like both are
15:40going to continue to hold their rallies and try to gather more support, especially in the swing
15:47states. And, you know, it will continue until November. You know, so I don't see any surprise
15:58in October. But you can never know. I mean, there have been occasions where things have happened.
16:05So let's see what happens. Rohit, what do you feel? What do you think?
16:10Finally, will America get woman president? The chances are there. I mean, this election
16:16is really neck to neck. You know, and a lot of polls have shown with given the margin of error,
16:22sometimes Harris is up by a few points, sometimes Trump is up by a few points.
16:26And even in the swing states, they are running neck to neck. So it's it's going to be a great
16:31contest. And, you know, I think it will it will go all the way to the end, because I feel that
16:37this is going to be one of the most, it will be one of the closest elections we have ever seen.
16:43And again, it will it will depend on what happens in the next two months,
16:47how the independents and how the swing states look at these two candidates,
16:51and what kind of support they gather. Rohit, you are originally from Pune,
16:56Maharashtra, India, and now you have become American citizen. So how excited you are
17:01about this election? And how excited all the people about this election?
17:06Election season is obviously a really exciting season. And especially when you get an
17:10opportunity to go and vote, it makes it even more exciting. Personally, I love going going the
17:17traditional way where I go to the booth, I meet some people there. And, you know, they check my
17:22ID card, and then I vote. And in the US, we still vote the traditional way where we are using a
17:28pencil to circle the name of the candidate. So I sort of enjoy that process. You know,
17:34so I'm very excited for this election. And I'm looking forward to voting on on November in
17:38November. Yes. Rohit, thank you so much for talking to us, talking to One India English.
17:44Do subscribe and share our YouTube channel, One India English.