Kamala Harris says Donald Trump is 'unstable and dangerous'

The American people are 'exhausted' with former president, US Vice President tells Fox News

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris at a campaign event at Washington Crossing Historic Park on Wednesday. AP

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US Vice President Kamala Harris had a fractious interview with Fox News on Wednesday, telling the conservative channel that her presidency would not be a continuation of President Joe Biden's administration and that her opponent Donald Trump is mentally “unstable”.

The interview, in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, came amid a media blitz in which Ms Harris, who has faced criticism for avoiding the press, took questions from a hostile news network for the first time.

Fox News, owned by Rupert Murdoch, is largely pro-Trump and has spent months criticising the Biden-Harris administration on key issues, particularly immigration and the economy.

Ms Harris repeatedly defended her record as Vice President by turning questions into barbs against Mr Trump, attacking him for recent statements in which he spoke of an “enemy within” the country and raised the prospect of sending the military to root them out.

“If you listen to Donald Trump, if you watch any of his rallies, he’s the one who tends to demean and belittle and diminish the American people,” she said. “He’s the one who talks about an enemy within, talking about the American people, suggesting he would turn the American military on the American people.”

When asked how she would differentiate a Harris White House from the Biden administration, Ms Harris said should would “bring my life experiences, my professional experiences, and fresh and new ideas".

“I represent a new generation of leadership,” she said, after claiming in a previous interview that there was “not a thing” she would have done differently to Mr Biden.

“Let me be very clear: my presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden's presidency.”

On the Middle East, Ms Harris said she would continue to ensure that Israel has the “resources to defend itself against attack” by Iran and its proxies in the region.

“My commitment to that is unyielding and unwavering,” she said.

Iran launched an attack on Israel this month after the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon. Ms Harris has previously said that Iran is America's greatest adversary.

The interview was part of a direct appeal by Ms Harris to Republican voters in this year's US presidential election and she stressed that several former Trump officials now support her.

“Certainly the Republicans who are on stage with me … [say] he is unfit to serve, that he is unstable, that he is dangerous, and that people are exhausted with someone who professes to be a leader, who spends full time demeaning and engaging in personal grievances,” she said.

Ms Harris accused Mr Trump of using “rhetoric and an approach to leadership that suggests that the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down instead of … who you lift up”.

The American people are “exhausted” with Mr Trump, she said in summation.