EXCLUSIVE: VP Kamala Harris on AAPI businesses, first 2 years in office and 2024 election
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- In this exclusive interview, ABC7 News anchor Dion Lim was the only TV journalist to go one-on-one with Bay Area native and Vice President Kamala Harris as she spent part of her day in San Francisco at the Him Mark Lai Library in Chinatown.
There she held a roundtable discussion with the mayor and other elected leaders and a number of Asian-owned small businesses.
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The small businesses make up 50% of the country's workforce and she and I spoke one-on-one about their hurdles to success, specifically for the AAPI community which has dealt so much with the pandemic of hate in recent years.
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"I brought together these Asian small business owners... to really uplift the importance of the work they do. They're varied. They are software startups, they are focused on a clean energy economy, restaurants, a chocolate maker and the Wok Shop. They represent the diversity of the community and community's needs," said VP Harris, adding:
"They talk about the challenges of receiving appropriate funding and investment. So many of our small businesses...Asian owned in particular, first generation and on, don't necessarily have access to capital when it comes to their family. (We are) strengthening community banks to strengthen the financial we can put into small businesses."
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During this International Women's Month, we also asked for her to reflect on her past two years in office to get her perspective lessons learned as the nation's first female vice president and as a woman of color.
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"So my mother had lots of advice for me and one piece of advice was she would say calmly you may be the first to do many things make sure you are not the last and I think it is incumbent on each one of us that is a first to do what we can to make sure the door is open and stays open and that the path is wider. So I think of that for me is a sense of personal responsibility to make sure that I do what I can to create that kind of opportunity for others."
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President Biden sat down exclusively with David Muir one week ago who said he has every intention to run.
When asked Harris if we'd see a Biden and Harris ticket in 2024?
"The president has been very clear on his intentions to run and I will be running with him."
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