Takeaways From Kamala Harris’s First Interview As Democrat Nominee On CNN

OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
4:38 PM – Friday, August 30, 2024

On Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris, alongside her VP pick, participated in their first significant interview as the presidential 2024 Democrat ticket.

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CNN‘s Dana Bash spoke with Harris and her running mate, Democrat governor of Minnesota Tim Walz, while the two were stopped in Georgia campaigning. The cable network aired the interview on Thursday night after it was recorded earlier in the day.

The “full” interview has been released by CNN, clocking in at just under 27 minutes. However, sources at CNN who reached out to other news outlets informed reporters that the network allegedly had to cut and edit out a good chunk of the discussion. However, this information has not been confirmed.

Harris Disputes Claims Of ‘Policy Shifts’

Many critics have highlighted a glaring weakness of Harris: her tendency to backtrack and shift positions on a number of topics, which has led to more widespread skepticism about her sincerity and authenticity.

In the interview on Thursday, she attempted to retaliate by asserting to Bash, “My values have not changed.”

She emphasized her “core conviction” that climate change poses a real and current threat and, in an attempt to paint herself as being tough on crime, she also referenced her prosecution of gang members charged with human trafficking during her tenure as California’s attorney general from 2010 to 2017.

However, Harris had some of her least compelling moments in the interview when Bash pressed harder for the details.

In response to Bash’s question about whether she still wanted to outlaw fanning as she had voiced in the past. Harris chimed in and interrupted her by saying, “No, and I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020, that I would not ban fracking,”

Naturally, Bash read aloud a remark from 2019 in which Harris declared that there was “no question” that she would outlaw fracking.

“In 2020, I made very clear where I stand,” Harris responded. “We are in 2024, and I’ve not changed that position.”

However, the justification did nothing but highlight the fundamental contradiction, which conservative social media users highlighted in their responses to the sit-down discussion.

Similarly, when asked if she still believed that illegal border crossings should be decriminalized, as she stated before the 2020 primary, Harris backtracked by vaguely responding, “I think there should be consequences.”

Although Harris steered farther away from the defensive tone that she’s known for in her other past interviews, it’s unlikely that her responses persuaded many skeptics.

Discusses Biden Dropping Out Of The Presidential Race

For the most part, Harris strangely strengthened her commitment to President Joe Biden.
She argued that his presidency will be seen as “transformative” by history and that his service to the American people had been “quite selfless.”

Harris praised Biden’s, in her words, “intelligence,” “judgment,” and “disposition,” and took a second to criticize Trump once more, saying “the former president has none of that.”

When Bash questioned Harris about whether or not she requested Biden’s support during the call he made to inform her of his dropping out, Harris said that it was clear the president would back her.

“My first thought was not about me, to be honest with you. My first thought was about him,” she said.

However, after being questioned about whether she believed that “Bidenomics” was truly successful, she skirted away and did not answer directly.

Rather, she highlighted the administration’s capping of the cost of prescription drugs for seniors, as well as claiming that she and Biden boosted employment specifically in manufacturing.

“I’ll say that that’s good work,” Harris said. “There’s more to do, but that’s good work.”

Harris Tries To Win Over Independent And Undecided Voters

Roughly seven battleground states are home to a percentage of undecided voters who will likely decide the election.

Harris is working hard to appeal to moderate voters as well as those who lean Republican but have reservations about Trump.

When Bash questioned Harris during Thursday’s interview if, in the event of an election, she would name a Republican to her Cabinet, she claimed that she would, but she did not mention any specific candidates.

“I think it’s really important. I have spent my career inviting diversity of opinion,” Harris said to Bash.

Walz Chimes In On The Interview

The 2024 Democrat campaign’s choice to interview Walz alongside Harris garnered much criticism, particularly from conservatives who argued that the presidential candidate should have a solo interview, especially as a female candidiate with not many accomplishments who wants voters to take her seriously. 

Online users and politicians like GOP Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders expressed how her choice to have a “babysitter,” Tim Walz, gave off the impression of weakness, fear, and unprofessionalism. Add that to the fact that more misogynistic-minded Americans have now been given even more ammunition in their criticisms of Harris with her inclusion of Walz in the interview.

“Aw, little Miss Kamala can’t do interviews on her own…She needs a man to be there alongside her to help her out,” said one X (Twitter) user.

In general, Walz’s performance was neither exceptional nor subpar.

In spite of never having been in combat, the governor of Minnesota was questioned about a previous claim in which he claimed to carry firearms “in war.”

Walz skirted the issue by arguing that “I speak candidly” and “people know where my heart is.” However, he did admit that his wife, an English teacher, had told him that his “grammar” was “not always correct.” So, he essentially blamed his blatant lie on the fact that he has bad grammar.

When asked what specific kind of fertility therapy he and his wife Gwen had undergone, Walz responded in a similar manner. However, he appeared to be more grounded in that area when he asserted that the majority of individuals are not “cutting hairs on IVF or IUI.” The Minnesota governor falsely claimed prior that his wife had gone through IVF treatments.

Meanwhile, Trump commented on the taping on Truth Social, highlighting the Harris interview as “BORING!!!”

However, political analysts have maintained that Harris’s campaign is more worried about noticeable blunders and embarrassing moments of any kind than being boring.