'It's good for the party:' Kamala Harris praises Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on 'The View'

Senator Kamala Harris is a guest today, January 8, 2019 on ABC's "The View." Senator Kamala Harris is a guest today, January 8, 2019 on ABC's "The View." Photo: Lorenzo Bevilaqua/ABC Photo: Lorenzo Bevilaqua/ABC Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close 'It's good for the party:' Kamala Harris praises Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on 'The View' 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, hasn't been afraid to break ranks with the old guard of her party in her first days in Congress, whether it's participating in a sit-in at Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office or voting against the speaker's new House rules. She's inspired both ardor and annoyance in her own party and vitriol from the right-wing media.

And she found a defender on Wednesday in Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.

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In an appearance on 'The View' Wednesday morning, Harris came to Ocasio-Cortez's defense when asked if she felt the New York congresswoman's bold positions would divide the Democratic Party.

"I wanted to ask you, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the new darling of the party," began host Meghan McCain. "She's on '60 Minutes' this weekend proudly calling herself a radical, and she's promoting policies like saying that every single carbon emission in the country — every car — should be eliminated within the next 11 years, everything from a 70 to 80 percent tax rate. Do you agree that she could possibly, and this ideology of the socialist left, could splinter your party?"

"No," replied Harris. "You know, I think that she is challenging the status quo. I think that's fantastic."

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Harris went on to say her background in teaching left her with an appreciation of examining premises and questioning if they're still relevant and meaningful.

"And I think that she is introducing bold ideas that should be discussed," she went on. "I think it's good for the party and I think it's frankly good for the country. Let's look at the bold ideas! And I'm eager that we have those discussions. And when we are able to defend the status quo let's do it, and when there's not merit to that, let's explore new ideas."

Elsewhere in the interview, Harris opted to avoid criticizing Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., for using an expletive to describe the president. She also said the country is ready for a female president of color.

"Listen — I'm not saying that about myself, but I am saying that about the capacity of the American public," she said

"This is how realignments and major transformations happen," tweeted Waleed Shahid, a former staffer for Ocasio-Cortez who now runs communications for the Justice Democrats, of Harris's comments on the congresswoman from New York. "Change the political weather and people will follow the winds."

Filipa Ioannou is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at fioannou@sfchronicle.com and follow her on Twitter