Vice President Kamala Harris brought a combative tone to her Fox News sit-down on Wednesday night, marking a stark contrast to her previous softer interviews and campaign trail appearances. Harris, who has been criticized for her limited press access since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, was met with a tough questioning style from Fox anchor Bret Baier.
The interview was billed as one of the most adversarial Harris has faced since the start of her campaign, and Baier’s questioning style was designed to push her beyond her typical talking points. Harris, at times, appeared to be on the defensive, demanding that Baier let her finish her answers and not interrupt her. Baier, who consistently addressed Harris as “Madam Vice President” or “ma’am,” apologized at one point for the crosstalk, but the exchanges continued throughout the interview.
Despite her best efforts, Harris struggled to articulate clear policy differences with President Joe Biden, instead emphasizing generational change and her own experience. She defended Biden’s mental acuity, despite the fact that she had to replace him atop the Democratic ticket, and returned to his “democracy” theme as the election enters its final stretch. Harris’s biggest smile came when the interview finally came to a close.
Harris’s performance was met with mixed reviews, with some praising her for flashing righteous anger at Trump and Fox News, while others criticized her for giving thin answers to tough questions. Her biggest challenge may come from her own words, as she told Baier, “You gotta take responsibility for what happened in your administration,” a line that could be used against her by Republicans in the coming days.
The vice president’s appearance on Fox News was seen as a bid to attract more Republican supporters, with whom she has appeared in battleground states like Pennsylvania. Harris has been trying to flip the script on Trump by doing more interviews, including a sitdown with 60 Minutes, and has received generally positive reviews for her debate with Trump.
However, Trump himself has been doing his own damage control, sitting down with a top Bloomberg editor to discuss his economic plans and mocking Harris’s interview with Baier. Trump’s spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, described the Harris interview as a “train wreck,” and conservatives on social media had peppered Baier beforehand with questions about whether the interview would be edited or Harris would know the questions in advance.
As the election approaches, Harris and Trump are locked in a tight race, with early voting already underway in some parts of the country. Harris leads Trump by 1.7 points in the national RealClearPolitics polling average, but Trump is ahead of her by a smaller margin in the top battleground states. Harris’s next move may be to venture into Trump-friendly territory, potentially by doing an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, who is known for his softer questioning style.
