The long-awaited and much anticipated Harris-Walz interview happened last week on CNN. So, was it worth the wait?
Politics :
For what seemed like an eternity, the national news media constantly complained that Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris had not sat down for an in-person interview with them. Never mind the fact that President Joe Biden removed himself from re-election consideration only a few weeks ago — and that, in addition to being the sitting US vice president, Ms. Harris was tasked with selecting a running mate, vetting him, campaigning with him, helping to restructure the Democratic Convention with her name at the top of the ticket, writing an acceptance speech, and more. Still, that didn’t deter the media from picking up on the GOP’s demands that Kamala Harris MUST do an interview… or else.
So, she did it.
Last Thursday, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz sat down with CNN’s Dana Bash for an hour-long segment that included 27 minutes of interview questions.
So, how was the Harris-Walz interview? Blah!!!
To clarify, Ms. Harris was exceptionally prepared — as was Mr. Walz. The new Democratic nominee for president was on top of the issues and prepared with factual evidence. She was also extremely confident, personable, and appeared very presidential. However, the interview was simply unnecessary.
Republicans prodded the media into shaming the vice president into a sit-down interview. They hoped that she would appear on camera and choke in the moment for all the world to see. To her credit, she did not — which not only denied Trump video footage of her looking foolish but effectively made the evening worthless.
According to The Daily Beast:
A big question was answered during the CNN interview of Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Viewers saw for themselves why the Democratic standard-bearers did not rush to do such an interview earlier.
This message came through loud and clear not because Harris and Walz were in any way challenged by the questioning they faced from CNN’s Dana Bash. Quite the contrary, they handled all of them with flying colors. But rather the insipidity and formulaic nature of Bash’s questions—queries that for the most part merely echoed, and thus inadvertently lent credibility to, the limp GOP critiques of Harris and Walz—made it clear why such interviews add so little value to voters.
“What do you intend to do on Day One in office?” was the very first question from Dana Bash.
Was this a question undecided voters had been dying to know to make their final decision? Was it a question any candidate for office could or would have answered before being elected? Was this what the media has been rushing Ms. Harris to sit down and tell them?
As she proved savvy in doing throughout the interview, Kamala Harris did not take the bait. Instead, she spoke about her overall goal to create an opportunity economy focused on helping to uplift middle-class Americans.
Later in the interview, Dana Bash asked the vice president what she thought of Donald Trump questioning her ethnicity. Once again, Ms. Harris chose the high road and refused to take the bait.
That’s just his “same old, tired playbook,” she responded.
“That’s it?” Dana Bash asked, expecting more and likely hoping for television fireworks.
“That’s it. Next question, please,” Ms. Harris responded.
In another segment of the Harris-Walz interview, Gov. Walz was asked how he felt about Republicans mocking his special needs son. He was also asked to clarify his military record. Mr. Walz responded to each question with knowledge and grace and refused to get pulled into a reality TV show-style catfight.
As expected, Donald Trump responded to the Harris-Walz interview with his usual derogatory dismissals.
“I think she would’ve been better off if she just did interviews, even if they weren’t great it woulda been better … because now everyone’s watching and now we see, she’s defective,” Trump said Friday.
“She’s a defective person. And we don’t need another defective person as president of the United States,” Trump said while alluding to President Biden. “We just had that.”
Or, in other words, the news media did Donald Trump’s bidding by goading Kamala Harris into an interview just so he’d have new material to use against her.
All in all, the Harris-Walz interview was a home run for the Democratic team, but a failure for the news media.
Granted, it was yet another box checked in the list of “crucial tests” facing Kamala Harris the candidate. However, if this is the interview that the media has complained the very busy sitting vice president of the United States (who’s also now the Democratic nominee for president) would not agree to during the first 4 weeks of her candidacy — and if regurgitating Republican talking points as questions were all they were wanting to do, then the Harris-Walz interview was a colossal waste of time.
OK WASSUP! discusses Politics:
Reviewing the Harris-Walz interview.
The Hill: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) pushed back on criticism of Vice President Harris’s interview with CNN last week, suggesting it was difficult to include everything in a short interview. Fox News’s Shannon Bream pressed Kaine on “Fox News Sunday” about criticism from New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, who wrote that Harris “was vague to the point of vacuous” in her interview with CNN’s Dana Bash last week. Bream asked Kaine whether Harris’s plan for her campaign was to “ride this out on vibes,” noting Harris did not answer during the interview whether her policy positions have changed. “I think vibes and accomplishments. I remember that first interview that I did with Hillary Clinton,” Kaine said. “We did it, you know, right after the convention or maybe the day before the convention, and it was similar. You can’t get into everything in a short interview. In that case, it… Read more »