Kamala Harris showed how she plans to deal with Donald Trump and win the presidency in CNN’s exclusive first interview with the vice president since becoming Democratic nominee, avoiding slips that could slow her momentum.
Harris went into the interview on Thursday under enormous scrutiny, with Trump and his allies accusing her of dodging the press and predicting she’d fizzle under pressure, be undermined by her own policy switches and burst the bubble of joy around her campaign.
The vice president preferred sweeping themes and aspirations rather than detailed policy blueprints and declined to fully explain reversals on issues like immigration and energy. But she was a more deft, disciplined and prepared political figure than she appeared in her short-lived bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination or in accident-prone moments early in her tenure as vice president. Harris smoothly countered questions and follow-ups about her vulnerabilities by pivoting to safer talking points as she failed to do in a damaging interview with NBC in 2021.
Harris also steered clear of any obvious errors that would knock her campaign off track and require her to perform damage control in the vital build-up to her debate showdown with the former president on September 10 in Philadelphia. And a week after her keynote speech at the Democratic convention expanded on her core argument that it was time to “turn the page” from Trump’s divisiveness, she also refused to be drawn into her Republican rival’s provocations over her racial identity.
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She dismissed the issue by simply telling CNN’s Dana Bash: “Same old tired playbook. Next question, please.” Her response showed that she has no intention of allowing the campaign to be overtaken by questions about race, even though her potential as the first Black woman and Indian American president will form a constant backdrop to the rest of the campaign.
A contrast with Trump
Harris was at ease and pragmatic, contrasting with the tetchy self-obsession and bombast of her opponent. Her demeanor, as she tried to appeal to available voters who were unenthusiastic about former President Joe Biden, probably fulfilled most of her campaign’s goals for the interview and was in keeping with her apparent strategy of providing a safe harbor for any American disgusted by Trump.
She also debunked claims by Trump and conservative media that she was using running mate Gov. Tim Walz as a crutch in the interview and was unable to answer questions herself as she dominated the time and was clearly the senior partner in their double act.
She used the interview to develop her core attack on Trump’s character and conduct, which is the foundation of the case she’s making to voters. “I think sadly, in the last decade, we have had in the former president someone who has really been pushing an agenda and an environment that is about diminishing the character and strength of who we are as Americans, really dividing our nation,” Harris told Bash.
Later, at a rally in Savannah, Georgia, where the interview was conducted, she warned her crowd that the US Supreme Court’s recent ruling carving out significant immunity for Trump from criminal prosecution meant that the ex-president would seek vengeance against people who disagree with him. “Understand: This is not 2016 or 2020. This is different.”
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