Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) called for a ban on plastic straws but said there needs to be some "innovation" with the paper straws during Wednesday's CNN climate town hall.
CNN host Erin Burnett asked Harris if she would support a ban on plastic straws if she were president.
"I think we should. Yes," Harris responded.
She then mocked paper straws, which have been the alternative to plastic straws in many major cities, including Washington, D.C.
"I'm going to be honest, it's really difficult to drink out of a paper straw— if you don't gulp it down immediately it starts to bend and then the little thing catches it and then you know, we gotta kind of perfect that one a little bit more," Harris said.
"So you ban it but rely on innovation?" Burnett asked.
"Yeah, innovation is a process, right? You don't just do it," Harris said. "Innovation is a process, but you know let's encourage innovation and I think we can do a little bit better than some of those flimsy plastic straws, but we do need to ban the plastic."
It is unclear how other 2020 Democrats feel about plastic straws, but President Donald Trump's campaign has used plastic straws as a fundraising instrument. His campaign raised almost $500,000 in one week by selling 10 straws for $15. The straws say, "Liberal paper straws don’t work."