One wonders, what was the problem? She was slow, she balked, she resisted. Yet in her first major interview since replacing Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris handled it well.
• Also read: Kamala Harris’ first interview: ‘My values haven’t changed’
• Also read: Joe Biden’s withdrawal: Kamala Harris knew nothing about it before the day of the announcement
Let’s be clear, while Americans who were planning to vote for her will continue to do so, nothing she said will change the minds of those who weren’t planning to support her; while the enigmatic undecideds probably didn’t watch the interview.
The vice president has nonetheless confirmed the trust that Democrats place in her. She has mastered the issues, at least those that Dana Bash, the very uncombative CNN journalist, has tackled. And she has done so without getting hung up on herself, which has often happened in the rare interviews she has had with the media since 2020.
It’s the impression that counts
What we have seen is that Harris goes by gut feeling and wants us to follow her without asking too many questions. Americans, she believes, “deserve a new path (and that we) turn the page on the last decade that has been contrary to the spirit of our country.” That her boss, Joe Biden, has occupied a third of this “last decade” apparently does not matter.
Asked whether she would appoint a Republican to her cabinet, “Yeah!” she responded spontaneously, adding that “it’s important to build consensus and find common ground on which we can actually solve problems.”
As feelingshe could hardly have better established a contrast with the Republican candidate who only evokes his adversaries by grumbling and insulting them.
Nothing noticed about Biden, really?
Kamala Harris is also going to feeling as for these famous about-faces over the years: for and against the frackingfor and against the Green New Dealfor and against a hardening of the US-Mexico border. “The most important and significant aspect of my thinking and my political decisions is that my values have not changed.” Who knows what that means exactly, other than that she would like us to guess that she is not a Machiavellian opportunist.
The respect expressed for President Biden and her willingness not to distance herself from the policies of his administration demonstrates a commendable loyalty. But to suggest that no, she had not noted troubling signs about the vitality, the mental health of the commander-in-chief, I have the feeling that it doesn’t tell us everything.
As a White House reporter, I watched, with my own eyes, as the president moved more and more slowly, mumbling his words more and more often, to the point of being incomprehensible some mornings. If she worked so closely with him, it was hard to believe she hadn’t noticed before the debacle of his debate with Donald Trump.
Trump is still looking
Speaking of Trump, the initial reactions from his campaign to his rival’s interview show that the killer argument against her has yet to be found. It’s not clear that there’s a well-thought-out strategy behind statements like “If Kamala’s goal was to confirm that she’s a radical leftist nutcase, mission accomplished!” and “Kamala is the biggest liar to ever campaign for president.” Someone, clearly, hasn’t looked in the mirror.
The only real revelation from this interview is that she and Trump have never met face to face. It is clear that they have no sympathy for each other. The debate on September 10 promises to be all the more explosive.
