Jędrzej Bielecki: Kamala Harris’ CNN Interview Failed To Allay Voters’ Fears about a Debate with Trump

If the strategy is working, why change it? That is probably what drove Kamala Harris when she gave her first interview in two months, with CNN. But she has not allayed voters’ fears. The Democratic presidential candidate has trouble facing difficult questions. Or any questions, for that matter.

At the end of July, just before the announcement of his withdrawal from a run for a second term in the White House, Joe Biden was already several points behind Donald Trump in the polls. Today, according to the survey aggregator realclearpolling.com, the Democratic candidate has an advantage over the Republican, even if a small one — of 48% to 46.2%. Although this does not guarantee victory because how many electoral votes each party gets is important, the Democratic candidate has a real chance to win the White House.

What Harris’ Interview with CNN Looked Like

But will her current tactics be effective in the long run? More and more people are starting to sense that something is off when a politician who wants to hold the most significant office in the country avoids answering journalists’ questions, let alone giving a full interview. “In this office, you have to deal with the most brutal people. If someone is afraid of journalists, then he is simply not suitable for this function,” Donald Trump points out.* And Harris, who has never spoken to Trump before, faces the first presidential debate with the Republican nominee in less than two weeks**.

The CNN debate was supposed to be a dress rehearsal before this debate. Set up in a coffee shop-like studio, backed by vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and led by Democrat-friendly journalist Dana Bash, the show was preconceived as a soft-power show.

But even this term turned out to be an understatement. “If you are elected, what would you do on day one in the White House?” the interviewer began. Having received no concrete answer — beyond a few generalities — Bash repeated the question. And when the response was equally vague, she addressed Walz. And when the result was not any better, she gave up altogether.

There were no specifics for the rest of the discussion. Harris kept on speaking in superlatives about every aspect of Biden’s policies. She would follow the same policies toward Israel as the current president. The current immigration policy has been a success story.

When asked why she backtracked on a series of rather left-wing demands she had made in the 2020 campaign, Harris said it was important that her “values have not changed.” And when Bash took up the sensitive issue of Harris’ ethnicity in American terms, she was told, “Next question, please.”

Harris was so cautious, her answers so brief, that after 27 minutes, including commercial breaks, the interview was over. No wonder that in the search for a lead, some kind of leitmotif to describe the interview, the media were left to reach for the announcement that in the event of victory, the new president would appoint one Republican to her administration, even if it is unclear which one, and for what position.

Harris may have a nice smile. She also has the aspect of being a novelty. But she will have to show a lot more to win the fight for the White House.

*Editor’s Note: This quote, though accurately translated, could not be independently verified.

**Editor’s Note: The presidential debate is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 10.