Over a month after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential election and endorsed her, Kamala Harris finally sat down for an interview Thursday night.
After Biden’s withdrawal, the Democratic Party was quick to rally behind Harris and she has begun to outpoll her opponent, former President Donald Trump. It appears in an attempt to hold on to this sugar high, the Harris campaign has avoided intense questioning at all costs. Democrats likely fear that Harris’s early success has been somewhat of a honeymoon phase which will fade with time; after all, she had the lowest approval rating of any modern vice president.
Facing pressure, Harris agreed to an interview on CNN with Dana Bash. It appears this may have been a mistake. The interview was set up to be as advantageous for Harris as possible. It was on a friendly network, was pre-recorded, and Harris was flanked by her running mate, Tim Walz. On paper, this interview should have been easy.
Early in the interview, Harris was asked if she supported a ban on fracking. She responded by saying that in her 2020 presidential campaign, she opposed a fracking ban. When Bash then recalled Harris’ promise to ban fracking during her 2020 campaign, Harris doubled down on her mistruth, claiming that she did not support such a ban in 2020. This is another effort by Harris to distance herself from the far-left policies she supported in the past in an attempt to gain the votes of moderates.
Later in the interview, Walz, who is the current Governor of Minnesota, was questioned about his claims that he had carried weapons in a war zone. When confronted with the information that he had never been deployed during his time in the military, Walz first avoided the question, saying he was proud of his time in the military. When Bash asked the question again, Walz blamed the claim on his grammar not being correct. Maybe Walz just misspoke when making this claim, but it certainly is not a good look.
When she was asked her thoughts on President Trump’s claims about her racial identity, Harris seemed rattled. After dismissing the question, Harris began to laugh awkwardly. If she can’t handle these jabs from Trump any better, she will struggle on the campaign trail.
Eventually, Harris was asked about the elephant in the room. She and many others had spent months telling the American people that Joe Biden was healthy and fit to run the country. After his debate with Trump showed that this was clearly not true, Biden was replaced. When asked if she regretted telling Americans this falsehood, Harris said she was not. This will likely become a larger talking point as the election goes on as many Americans feel that they were lied to by Harris and the rest of the Biden campaign.
Overall, republicans must feel good about what happened Thursday night. Harris, who had been the mysterious, new candidate was finally thrust into the spotlight. Throughout the interview, Harris struggled to answer difficult questions. She and her running mate’s seemingly likable characters were called into question when confronted about various mistruths. Harris had the lowest approval rating of any vice president in modern history for a reason: when she speaks, Americans don’t like what they hear. The goal of Republicans for the short time left in this presidential election cycle should be to force Harris into the spotlight while keeping Trump out of it. In other words, make the election a referendum on Harris, not Trump, because quite frankly, their approval ratings show that Americans don’t like either of them.
While I don’t think this interview will have a huge effect on the polls, it does give a glimpse of what the presidential debate may look like. On Sept. 10, Harris and Trump will face off in their first presidential debate. This is Trump’s chance to turn the tide of the election, and if Harris can fend off his attacks, she will probably win.
Commentary Writer Caleb Neitzel can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @caleb_neitzel
