MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle accuses Harris of avoiding tax increases: “She doesn't answer the question”

MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for not answering her question about how she plans to raise taxes in a likely divided government.

In a preview clip of her interview with the Democratic candidate aired Wednesday, Ruhle pressed the question of where Harris would get “the money” to finance her costly economic proposals if Republicans in the Capitol block her efforts to raise the corporate tax.

“Are you still implementing these plans and borrowing money?” asked Rühle.

“But we need to raise corporate taxes,” Harris replied. “We need to make sure the biggest corporations and billionaires pay their fair share. That's it. It's about paying their fair share.”

Kamala Harris will be available for an interview with MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle, just days after the host defended the vice president's policy evasion

Appearing on “Deadline: White House” after the interview, Ruhle admitted that Harris “didn’t answer the question.”

“If Republicans control the Senate and can't raise corporate taxes, where is she going to get the money to raise the child tax credit and do what she wants? And she says, 'We just have to do it,'” Ruhle told MSNBC colleague Nicolle Wallace. “That's great and a campaign promise, but the problem is, if it means we just go back to borrowing, then we're never going to address the deficit. And back when you were proudly Republican, debt and deficits were important.”

MSNBC HOST DEFENDS HARRIS FOR DODING POLITICAL ISSUES: THEY ‘ARE NOT STRIVING FOR PERFECTION’

MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for failing to answer questions about how she would finance her economic proposals in a divided Congress. (Screenshot/MSNBC)

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However, the liberal moderator defended Harris and insisted that former President Trump would inflate the deficit “significantly more” than Vice President Harris.

“It's as if the American people have forgotten or we no longer believe that debt and deficits are important. They will eventually, as they spiral upward. She says, 'It doesn't matter, we're going full steam ahead,'” Ruhle said. “I mean, I don't blame her for that, because the American people don't make it a priority to focus on that. And as little as she focuses on it, Donald Trump doesn't focus on it much more either. And that's the person she's running against.”

Just a few days ago, Ruhle had argued that Harris did not have to face difficult political questions because she was not “looking for perfection. She is running against Trump.”

Just a few days ago, Ruhle defended Harris on the show “Real Time with Bill Maher” for not providing answers to difficult political questions. He said she is not running for “personality. She is running against Trump.” (Screenshot/HBO)

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“We have two options. And so there are some things you may not know your answer to. And in 2024, unlike 2016, for many Americans, we know exactly what Trump is going to do, who he is and what kind of threat he poses to democracy,” Ruhle said on Friday's episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher.”

Ruhle later said that the idea that Harris could sit down for a tough interview to get concrete policy proposals was as unattainable as “Nirvana.”

Fox News' Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi contributed to this report.