policy
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris' CNN interview was notable since it was her first since President Joe Biden left office and named her as his successor.
Sitting next to her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who quietly endorsed her, Harris deflected questions from Dana Bash on Thursday without causing political harm or giving herself a major advantage.
In the 27-minute interview, she was methodical and risk-averse, acting like a top seed within the early rounds of the U.S. Open tennis tournament attempting to hold serve, survive and advance to the subsequent round – on this case, her Sept. 10 debate with former President Donald Trump.
Here are seven insights from the interview:
She paid tribute to Biden’s political legacy …
The Biden administration's economic record? Great. The president's stance on Israel and Gaza? Hers is similar. His position on the border? She shares it and would sign the bill his team helped negotiate. Fracking in Pennsylvania? Biden is for it, and so is she.
As it seems, Harris is best in a position to market Biden's successes and defend his accomplishments than ever before. Perhaps that's not a giant surprise, considering the president has lost his political skills lately and has trouble speaking coherently.
But if there was any doubt about whether Harris would make a difference between herself and Biden's legacy, she gave a transparent answer on Thursday night.
She won't do it.
… but desires to put an end to each him and Trump.
Harris offered herself as a continuation of Biden's leadership, at the same time as she distanced herself from him.
When Bash asked if she regretted defending Biden's suitability for the office and his ability to serve a second term, Harris said no and praised the president.
Then, in the subsequent breath, she skillfully made each him and Trump disappear into the rearview mirror.
“I am so proud to have served as Joe Biden's vice president,” she said. “I am so proud to run with Tim Walz for President of the United States and to bring America what I believe the American people deserve, which is a new way forward and to close a chapter that I believe was at odds with the true spirit of our country.”
Biden, in fact, has mostly been either president, vice chairman or a number one presidential candidate for the past 15 years.
She is stealing votes from the Republicans.
Since her rise, Harris has moved cautiously toward the political center, abandoning a lot of left-wing positions from her 2020 presidential campaign and pitching Republicans who never backed Trump on the Democratic National Convention last week.
On Thursday, she announced that she would appoint a Republican to her cabinet – a symbolic step to point out that she would govern in a bipartisan manner.
“It would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my Cabinet who is a Republican,” she said.
It was once common for presidents to provide at the very least one cabinet position to the opposite party. President Barack Obama appointed Republican Representative Ray LaHood of Illinois as his Secretary of Transportation. President George W. Bush appointed Democrat Norman Y. Mineta as Secretary of Transportation.
Biden and Trump haven’t appointed any members of the opposite party to their cabinets.
Harris prefers to not discuss her race and gender.
Trump triggered a flood of negative headlines when he falsely suggests that Harris identified as black later in life and for political reasons. It was an absurd claim, and the Vice President tried to chop her off.
“Same old, hackneyed script,” she said when Bash asked her in regards to the claim. “Next question, please.”
When asked if she had anything so as to add, Harris replied, “That's all.”
Even after an easy query a couple of viral New York Times photo As her niece watched her on the Democratic National Convention, Harris refused to embrace the prospect of becoming the primary black woman elected president.
“I'm running because I believe I'm the best person for this job right now, for all Americans, regardless of race and gender,” she said, providing a matter-of-fact description of the photo relatively than revealing any emotions she felt when taking a look at the photo.
“I saw the photo,” she continued. “And it touched me deeply. And, you're right, she is – it's the back of her head and her two little braids and – and then I'm in the foreground of the photo, speaking, of course. It's very humiliating.”
She still finds it difficult to be spontaneous and effective.
Harris' speeches are full of easy, meaningful sentences.
But Thursday's interview was a reminder that, and not using a script, she sometimes delivers long-winded, zigzagging answers.
When Harris spoke about her feelings when Biden told her he was ending his campaign and endorsing her, she said she didn’t initially consider how this momentous turn of events would impact her life and legacy.
“To be honest, my first thought was of him,” she said. “I think history will show us a number of things about Joe Biden's presidency. I think history will show that it was transformative in many ways, whether it was in terms of what we accomplished in finally investing in America's infrastructure, in new economies, in new industries, what we did to bring our allies back together and have confidence in us as America and grow that alliance, what we did to stay true to our principles, including one of the most important international rules and norms, which is the importance of sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
It was not easy and meaningful.
Dana Bash mastered a troublesome night with confidence.
In an environment arranged by Harris' campaign team that was intended to look friendly – just three people sitting together in a restaurant in Savannah, Georgia – it might be difficult for Bash to get much news out of the vice chairman.
Nevertheless, the veteran journalist had a superb evening. In some of the necessary interviews of her profession, she went through an important questions surrounding Harris's young candidacy, including exactly what concrete plans she would pursue and why she had not implemented a few of her proposals during her term as vice chairman.
When Harris dodged a gap query about her plans for “Day 1,” Bash asked it again. When there was still no clear answer, she asked Walz. He didn't really answer either. At some point, every Inquisitor has to maneuver on, and Bash did.
Harris's Republican critics might need wanted a tougher interrogation – or more direct questions on their assessment of Biden's suitability and acumen – but Bash pressured the vice chairman when vital.
It also forced Walz to confess that he had made a mistake in stating the length of his military service: “My grammar is not always correct,” he said.
Walz can sit well and smile.
At their joint rallies, Walz played the role of enthusiastic cheerleader, waving each arms to the group in support of Harris.
However, during a joint interview, his role was quieter. Most of the time he sat in silence, waiting for Bash to ask him to talk. At one point in the course of the first a part of the interview he didn't speak for a full eight minutes.
Bash knew Harris was the necessary person he needed to listen to from, and Walz probably knew that too.
image credit : www.boston.com