US Election 2024 Exclusive: Indian American Star Poorna Jagannathan On Why She's Backing Kamala

I'm for Dragon I'm an indian-american active producer and activist and I am delighted to help vote kamla Harris in as our next PR so Cora I first saw you supporting kamla Harris actually when you interviewed her on stage yes and interestingly the video that they just played was that interview with you yeah so tell me a little how your feeling about that and then we'll dive into the convention that was a very pivotal moment for me to get to interview the vice president of the United States but what I was most struck by when I was interviewing her is that she was too big for a job and that is a feeling I had that I've never had before and but she stepped in to the role and you know I'm Indian so like there's a whole like Divine there's always a Divinity at work there's always a fate at work when she steps into where we are today it justes feel like all the paths of Destiny and fade and Divinity have all conspired to bring us here today so tell me what brought you here like I mean I don't think today I don't think this this politics is I think regardless of the party you're with Republican Democrat independent undecided uncommitted whatever wherever you're at [Music] today this election of course I think a lot of it is been couch for not Donald Trump but what the these days of the convention is is understanding what it is to and it sounds like for me every issue that I care about deeply and every issue that I want to care about but don't have the bandwith is being addressed here I care deeply about Reproductive Rights as a Survivor our sexual violence I care deeply about Justice and how that works I care deeply about a ceasefire relas of POS just I I I want to care deeper about housing I want to care deeper about education and I'm sitting here understanding that she has the vision and the with a multi campaign multi Solutions I think she is bigger than any other candidate that I ever you mentioned Gaza you have been outspoken on this I think since pretty early on in the conflict um I joined the k South Asian women for Harris call yeah you were the first person to mention Gaza on that call which you know can feel like a third rail it comes up obviously at this convention it's come up um tell me how you're feeling about Harris's reaction to Gaza she's called for a ceas hire but you know there's she's what she's called for a cease I mean there is a advocacy of a ceas fire yes I'm not going to try to rephrase this so that it's more like what do you think about um uh oh maybe I'll let me rephrase this too why do you keep bringing up Gaza in the settings where you've been voicing support for Kam har Yeah question I was I had a very different stance with when uh Joe Biden uh was talking about it just felt like he had a very s of agenda and very s plan when it came to gazel and there was no penetrating there was no conversation felt like stubbornness uh his his world view his point of view his actions just felt very um unperceptive to the world to what the world was saying um and of course I deeply deeply want the release of hostages I deeply want the ceasefire and I feel uh a huge St in it because it's my tax dollars being used to kill people who look like me struggled like my people have struggled there there there's there's so much and the truth is even even the last you talk about Humanity values talk about love you talk about coming from the heart there is a dissonance our foreign policy when it comes to Gaza and our what we're saying we want our domestic policy so I don't want dis I would say that it's a blind spot if it's not AUST I think there way too many people who care about this issue not only Muslim dos but young people and so many different people moving for this is a central issue and so she has to uh she has to say something and have policy and have action with that with that with that she has to walk the talk for it to be uh for them to from an uncommitted stance undecided stance people want to V her they've won to they've won her to B to win but it's a it's it's a multi isue this what I say it's a multi-issue election with a very very vulnerable emotional ENT God you mentioned uh Reproductive Rights you know interestingly this week um gender I'll someone just Ted um this week at the DNC gender has taken Center Stage um in India as well gender is once again taken center stage with the sexual assault in C I was wondering if you SE any parallels between these two situations what your thoughts are I always see parallels sexual violence uh is a global issue at the of both things is uh a dehumanization of women that has happened to for a woman here uh there's a lot of sexual violence in America but what we're fighting for today is you know we're all wearing whites we're all fighting for Reproductive Rights and you could only take away a person right to their body when you managed to dehumanize them and in America it manifest certain ways and in India it manifest certain ways and women are the wor of women is is on the balance today the worth of women what people are talking about and so there's a lot of connection the violence manifest ways on the surface but that's what it's at the center [Music] [Applause]