After weeks of enduring harsh criticism from Republicans, the Trump/Vance team, and the media (including this one), Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz finally sat down for a joint interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on August 29.
Despite Democrats’ objections that this was not necessary and was in fact a concern limited to the Beltway or the complacent press, the Harris team inevitably seemed to agree that they needed to venture out of the cozy confines of their rallies.
And this is important: Voters have a right to hear from both candidates and to be challenged by an experienced journalist about their past record and their agenda for the future.
But an interview can benefit not only the voters, but also Harris.
First, she can dispel one of the Republicans’ top arguments: that she is too afraid to give interviews.
Former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance have been bemoaning their lack of interviews for weeks, while they themselves sat down with various journalists, friendly and not, including Bash. The contrast became a problem for Harris/Walz, and the credibility of the Democratic surrogates defending their media avoidance began to sound strained.
This topic of conversation loses its appeal as soon as the interview is over.
Second, Harris can make amends for some previous performances that were not so positive for her, namely the 2021 interview with Lester Holt, in which she seemed overwhelmingly unprepared, irritable and dismissive about immigration and the border, an issue that was and still is top of mind for voters.
While her campaign has yet to get into full swing, hopefully she has had time to prepare thoughtful answers to the questions she will face, not just on the border but also on the economy and crime. This time, she cannot ignore voters’ fears, but she must acknowledge that their concerns are real and she must listen to them.
Hopefully she can also avoid some of the word-salad answers of the past. By simply speaking clearly and directly, she can reassure voters that she knows what she’s talking about.
What about her flip-flops?
Third, it must address its differences of opinion.
Bash will no doubt ask you about one or more of her notable political “developments” over the years, including:
On the border wall: She once called it “un-American” and a “medieval vanity project” of Trump’s and has now promised to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a wall along the southern border.
On the subject of fracking: She was once a passionate opponent, but now her campaign team has declared in a statement that she will not ban fracking.
On the Biden economy: As vice president, she naturally supported the Bidenomics movement and is now reportedly trying to distance herself from policies that have contributed to inflation.
On the subject of policing: She once praised a movement to cut police funding, but now says she is against it.
On the subject of health care: She once supported abolishing private health insurance in favor of “Medicare for all.” Her campaign team now says that this is not on her agenda.
While everyone has the right to change their mind, including politicians, the “why” must be explained.
And instead of contorting herself and inventing substantive reasons for her development, which might expose her to criticism of her previous judgment, I would advise her to simply say that she is campaigning to be president of everyone, not just the far left, and that she wants her policies to reflect the opinion of the majority of Americans. And that, unlike her opponent, she will not impose unpopular measures on voters.
This would achieve a fourth point: she would appeal to moderates. The left, with its newly strengthened Democratic base, is already behind Harris. She still needs to win over undecided, moderate and independent voters in the swing states. She can do this by showing that she thinks more practically than ideologically.
Fifth and finally, she can get on Trump’s nerves. As we all know by now, he cares about two things: audience numbers and ratings. If she gets a lot of viewers, as I suspect she will, that will bother him more than any insult or accusation.
There are less than two weeks until the Sept. 10 debate in Philadelphia – a lifetime in politics and a vacuum that Harris is wise not to leave to Trump alone. If this interview is used effectively to accomplish these five things, it could be the bridge event her campaign needs to keep the DNC momentum going until the debate.
Either way, this will be the first serious test of her campaign and candidacy, and whether she fails or succeeds could make all the difference in November.
SE Cupp is the host of “SE Cupp Unfiltered” on CNN.
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