Savannah, Georgia - Kamala Harris declared Thursday that Americans are ready to turn the page on Donald Trump as she outlined some of her policy stances in her first interview since her dramatic entry into November's presidential election.

The 59-year-old Democrat insisted on CNN that she would be tough on immigration and support controversial oil and gas fracking while pledging a fairer economy.

"I am the best person to do this job," Harris said in a joint interview with her running mate Tim Walz while on the campaign trail in the swing state of Georgia.

The first female, Black, and South Asian vice president described Trump as "diminishing the character and the strength of who we are as Americans, really dividing our nation."

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"I think people are ready to turn the page on that," she said. "People are ready for a new way forward."

The Democrat also said that she would name a Republican to her cabinet if she wins, in another sign that she is reaching to the right in her campaign.

Trump branded the interview "BORING!!!" in a post on social media.

The Republican former president called Harris the "greatest flip-flopper" as he addressed a rally in the swing state of Michigan, before mocking her appearance in the interview.

"She didn't look like a leader to me," he said later.

Harris rejected criticism that she has shifted positions on politically sensitive issues including fracking, which she once opposed but now supports, and migration over the Mexican border, where she has taken a harder line.

"As president I will not ban fracking," she said – clearly aiming to settle the controversy in fossil fuel-rich Pennsylvania, one of the vital battleground states in what both candidates admit will be a tight election.

Fracking is a method to boost oil and gas extraction which has been linked to water contamination, pollution, and negative health impacts. Environmental activists have long called for an end to the harmful practice.

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In the latest anti-immigration message – also a core part of Trump's right-wing campaign – Harris said that as president she would sign tough legislation that would further militarize the border region.

The vice president also urged a ceasefire in Gaza, but told CNN that she would not change President Joe Biden's policies toward Israel, including deliveries of weaponry.

"No, we have to get a deal done," Harris said, adding that she was "unwavering" in her support for Israel but that "far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed."

The statement follows months of protests – including at the recent Democratic National Convention in Chicago – calling for an arms embargo on Israel to protect Palestinian lives.

Harris, meanwhile, described for the first time how she was flipping pancakes and frying bacon with her family when Biden rang her on July 21 to say he was ending his White House bid.

"He told me what he had decided to do. And I asked him, 'Are you sure?' And he said, 'Yes,'" she said.

Republicans had criticized Harris for not giving any interviews since Biden abruptly dropped out, following mounting concerns over his health and age at 81.

She has enjoyed a honeymoon period with surging polls and record fundraising, but has also faced scrutiny for keeping many of her policies vague as she pulls her campaign together at record speed.

Harris has also been cautious with the media since a widely panned interview on migration in 2021.

Harris gave the CNN interview while on a campaign bus tour of Georgia, one of the seven battleground states that are expected to decide the November 5 election.

A number of polls out Thursday showed Harris ahead of Trump, if only marginally, with several of them finding increased support for Harris in battleground states.

Trump has himself been hitting the campaign trail hard in recent days, after a period where the 78-year-old former president appeared to struggle to find his footing against a new, younger, female candidate.

Speaking at the event in Potterville, Michigan, on Thursday, Trump targeted Harris on her immigration policy shifts, saying: "Where has she been for three and a half years?"

Harris and Trump are set to face off in their pivotal first debate on September 10 in Philadelphia.