Vice President Kamala Harris sat for the most adversarial interview of her campaign on Wednesday, sparring with Fox News anchor Bret Baier over immigration, President Biden’s mental fitness, and whether former President Donald J. Trump poses a threat to American democracy.
For a Democratic presidential candidate, appearing on Fox News is akin to entering the lion’s den. On Wednesday, the lion was Mr. Baier, who repeatedly interrupted the vice president and attempted to talk over her. However, Ms. Harris — giving her first interview on Fox News to reach millions of voters, especially conservative-leaning women — largely steered the conversation in her preferred direction.
For a Democratic presidential candidate, appearing on Fox News is akin to entering the lion’s den. On Wednesday, the lion was Mr. Baier, who repeatedly interrupted the vice president and attempted to talk over her. However, Ms. Harris — giving her first interview on Fox News to reach millions of voters, especially conservative-leaning women — largely steered the conversation in her preferred direction.
She Broke with Biden (A Little)
Ms kamal Harris made her clearest effort to separate herself from Mr. Biden when asked how her administration would differ. “My presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency,” she replied, emphasizing that she represents a different generation of leadership and would tackle issues like housing and small businesses differently.
Republicans have used Ms. Harris’s unwillingness to point out how she differs from the unpopular president as a political point of contention. During a recent interview on ABC’s “The View,” she found it difficult to specify the changes she would make. She did, however, seem more combative on Wednesday, suggesting that Mr. Biden had given her the go-ahead to be more confrontational.Each president must forge their own route. In a recent address, he stated, “That’s what I did.” “As president, I forged my own path, but I remained faithful to Barack Obama.” That is Kamala’s plan of action.When Mr. Baier slyly asked when she first noticed that “President Biden’s mental faculties appeared diminished,” she firmly stated that Mr. Biden is more than capable of leading the nation — in stark contrast to Mr. Trump, whom she labeled as “unfit,” “unstable,” and “dangerous.”
An Aggressive Bret Baier Pushed Right-Wing Arguments
Mr. Baier seemed adamant from the start to discredit Ms. Harris’s talking points, frequently repeating those of Mr. Trump. Within the first twenty seconds, he cut her off, which created a tense atmosphere for the rest of the conversation.
A lot of Mr. Baier’s inquiries echoed points that Mr. Trump has made on a regular basis. For example, he brought up young women that Mr. Trump frequently mentions as victims of undocumented immigrants. Almost half of the 26-minute discussion was devoted to immigration and border security, topics that Ms. kamala Harris finds difficult to address with voters who aren’t sure what to vote for. She was even implied to be “soft on Iran” by Mr. Baier.
At one point, the Fox anchor presented a clip of Mr. Trump defending his “enemy from within” remarks, prompting Ms. Harris to push back. In stark contrast to friendlier interviews she had given on MSNBC and other platforms, she faced a barrage of critical questions.
For Harris, the Interview Was Meant to Appeal to Women
kamala Harris was able to connect with a sizable number of Republican women through the conversation. According to her campaign, a minority of conservative women could be open to her differences in personality from Mr. Trump. Speaking with female voters on the current state of abortion laws in the United States was considered a tactical advantage. But Mr. Baier avoided talking about it, preferring to concentrate on immigration.
Mr. Baier repeatedly asked Ms. Harris if she and the Biden administration should apologize to the families of women slain by illegal immigrants. In addition to mentioning specific names, he played a video of a distraught mother accusing the administration of killing her daughter because of its border policies.
Throughout these exchanges, Ms.kamal Harris expressed condolences but redirected the conversation toward Mr. Trump’s efforts to sabotage a bipartisan border bill, asserting that she was the only candidate with prosecutorial experience against criminals, including cartel members.
“Let’s talk about what is happening right now with an individual who does not want to participate in solutions,” Ms. kamala Harris said, referring to Mr. Trump.
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... And Those Women Saw the Vice President Being Interrupted
The audience, especially the ones Ms. kamala Harris was trying to reach, saw Mr. Baier cut her off several times when she was trying to answer. This back-and-forth mirrored earlier complaints about how female candidates were treated by the media, as demonstrated by Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016.At one point, Ms. Harris said, “You have to let me finish.” “I would like to wrap up the response I’m in the middle of giving to the point you’re bringing up.”Even though he had been the main interrupter the entire time, Mr. Baier apologized for the interruption toward the end of the interview when he admitted their tendency to talk over one another.
The Interview Showed the Limits of Her Outreach to Republicans
Even though Ms. kamala Harris made points that are rarely heard in Fox News programming—such as criticizing Mr. Trump and pointing out how many former officials are in favor of her candidacy—the interview highlighted how skeptical the majority of the Republican Party and its media affiliates are of her.Furthermore, a few younger and more progressive Democrats were wary of her outreach initiatives because they believed that her courting of conservative and moderate voters may stifle liberal enthusiasm.After the interview, Mr. Trump’s team made fun of Ms. Harris by posting the full tape of the conversation on social media and referring to it as his most recent ad.
Harris Flipped a Trump Transgender Attack Back on Him
Mr. Trump has criticized Ms. kamal Harris over her past support for transgender prisoners receiving gender transition care. In the interview, Mr. Baier played a Trump campaign ad that claimed she supported “taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners” and “illegal aliens.” Ms. Harris skillfully turned the tables, asserting, “I will follow the law, and it’s a law that Donald Trump actually followed,” highlighting that federal prison officials under Trump provided gender-affirming treatments during his term.
