As she steps up her appeals to black voters, Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on a popular black radio show on Tuesday where she said she was still open to reparations for slavery and criticized former President Donald Trump for allegedly I sent Covid tests to Russia “when they were black people”. Dying” at home.

In an extensive live radio event in Detroit hosted by syndicated radio host Charlamagne tha God, Harris fielded pointed questions from the host and his guests with little in return.”

Harris, trying to stem the small but steady decline in Democratic support among voters of color, spoke personally about her upbringing in Oakland, the Black Church and at Howard University, but said she knew they “deserve every vote.” must.

But while she often tells her supporters on the campaign trail that she is the underdog, she said Tuesday: “I'll win, but it's close.”

Harris opened a new line of attack against Trump by linking his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin — an issue that educated white progressives in particular found worrisome — to the well-being of black Americans.

Citing a new book by famed journalist Bob Woodward, Harris criticized Trump for reportedly sending Covid-19 testing equipment to Putin when the equipment was in short supply at home. NBC News could not independently verify this.

She said Trump was someone who “admired dictators” and at the height of the pandemic “sent Covid tests that no one could get to the president of Russia for personal use, when black people were dying by the hundreds every day.” “

“Do you remember the number of people who have lost their grandparents and parents?” Harris continued. “People were looking for resources and needed tests, and Donald Trump secretly sent Covid tests to the president of Russia.”

She tried to disparage Trump — a point that could be an attempt to take away some of the bravado that appeals to male voters, since she has particularly focused on black men.

“The man is really quite weak. He’s weak,” she said. “It is a sign of weakness that you want to please dictators and seek their flattery and favor. It is a sign of weakness that you would humiliate the American military and service members. It is a sign of weakness that you do not have the courage to stand firm.” This man is weak and unfit for the Constitution of the United States and the principles upon which it rests.

She also indicated that she is okay with people saying Trump supports fascism.

“Donald Trump is about pushing us back,” Harris said.

“The other one is about fascism,” Charlamagne interjected. “Why can’t we just say it?”

“Yeah, we can say that,” she said, laughing.

Harris also stood by her early support for exploring the idea of ​​slavery reparations, which she embraced during her first presidential run in 2019.

During this campaign she took a number of progressive positions, which she has since distanced herself from.

But when asked directly Tuesday, Harris replied: “As far as reparations go, that needs to be looked into. There’s no question about that.”

As a senator, Harris supported a bill that would have created a federal commission to study the policy and develop reparations proposals.

“I'm running for president for everyone, but I have a clear view of history and the differences that exist in certain communities, and I won't shy away from that,” Harris said.

Asked about her time as a prosecutor and criticism that she worked to send black men to prison for drug offenses, Harris defended her record and said she did not seek prison time for offenders charged only with marijuana possession become.

“I will work to decriminalize it because I know exactly how these laws have been used to disproportionately impact certain populations, particularly black men,” Harris added of working to change the laws surrounding marijuana.

Harris has a long, but not always equal, relationship with Charlamagne, whose real name is Lenard McKelvey and is himself a prominent personality who appeared with her in the 2019 election campaign, but also criticized her at times and was not afraid to speak to her in interviews to urge.

He didn't ask her about a recent moment of tension over transgender issues that ended up being widespread in pro-Trump circles.

“When you hear the narrator (of a Trump ad) say that Kamala supports taxpayer-funded gender reassignment surgery for prisoners, that one line, I thought, 'Hell no, I don't want my tax dollars going to that.' This ad was effective,” Charlamagne said last month.

The ad references a position Harris took in 2019, when she told the ACLU that she supported gender-responsive care for prisoners and people in immigration detention centers. Her campaign has since withdrawn that position.

In the interview, Harris also pushed back against criticism that she can be careful in the way she speaks, sticks to talking points and often repeats herself in interviews and speeches.

Asked what she says to critics who say she sticks to her talking points, Harris replied: “I would say, 'You're welcome.'

She continued that repetition was necessary to reach distracted voters who didn't already know about her and said her approach showed “discipline.”

Both the Trump and Harris campaigns shared a recent clip on the social platform

On a lighter note, Harris said she approved of Maya Rudolph's impression of her on “Saturday Night Live,” although some pro-Harris voices, like radio host Howard Stern, said they don't like it when people make fun of her.

“I have nothing but admiration for comedy,” Harris said.