Kamala Harris’ CNN interview was too sane to be great TV. And that’s a good thing

https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/media/2024/08/29/harris-walz-interview-cnn/74973222007/

38 comments

  1. Exactly. And that probably will soothe people’s minds about it.

  2. My main complaint was the commercials. One question + followup per commercial break. Thanks, CNN, for reminding me why I stopped watching cable TV over a decade ago.

  3. It’s just a bit genius that the Trump campaign built up this huge anticipation for a Harris interview and she sailed through it with presidential grace and clarity. The Trump team was definitely Jedi mind-tricked by Harris.

  4. Unfortunately it’s asymmetrical warfare. Kamala has to be absolutely perfect or she’ll get blasted by the media. Trump can shit his pants, praise Hannibal Lector, and trash Medal of Honor recipients, but if he manages to complete a whole sentence he’s treated seriously.

  5. Why does the title need to sound so defensive? Why can’t they just say “the CNN interview went well” or something like that

  6. Lots of pointless gotcha questions instead of actually seeking information.  Harris and Walz did well.

  7. Wait, Harris didn’t call Bash “a nasty woman” and stormed out of the interview?

    I guess they didn’t get a single “gotcha” out of that interview.

    The huge controversy swirling around Trump right now is his despicable behavior at Arlington, where he did a shit grinning thumbs up over the graves of fallen soldiers, his goons pushing a female employee who was reminding them of the rules of this sacred place. Why not a single question about this gigantic issue that is currently dominating the headlines? Really, really strange.

  8. So, I just listened to Ben Shapiro’s reaction.

    He was struggling to find any takeaways for his audience other than.

    “My values haven’t changed” will be a disaster and be used in campaign ads.

    Not supporting fracking and now supporting fracking hurts her.

    If this is the best he can come up with, when they’ve built this up to be “the stupidest person ever about to show she can’t complete a sentence” then it must have been amazing for Harris.

  10. I watched it. She did pretty well I thought. B+ She needs to work on making her answers shorter, and less circuitous.

    I thought her worst answer was on Israel/Gaza. “We need to get a deal done” is an obvious statement, and kind a “well, yeah, duh” kind of answer. She will need more for the debate.

    I thought she was at her best when taking about her family, the “viral” picture, etc. Also, the “same tired playbook, next question” answer was dead on. Loved it.

    I understand the reasoning behind asking them about all the weird “gotcha” GOP talking points, but I sure wish Dana Bash had asked more substantial policy questions. C- for her as an interviewer.

    Walz’s role doesn’t get a grade, it’s a pass/no pass kind of deal here. He passed.

  11. Kamala Harris doesn’t have to move Heaven and Earth. She just has to be normal and, in so doing, achieve one simple goal: get Trump to react.

    Most Americans are just waiting for Trump to shuffle off. And the more he talks, the more support Harris gains.

    If Trump starts regaining his footing in the polls, Harris can take more risks. But why say anything divisive or risky if Trump continues to slide in the polls week after week? His lack of discipline is tanking his campaign and all Harris has to do is keep things respectful, upbeat, and professional to have the best chance at success.

  12. Just finished watching the 3 parts on YouTube. Jesus, fuck CNN.

    Regarding the interview – it was refreshing to have discussions about *actual* things that matter, and Harris handled that “turned black” with perfection. She said what everyone was thinking.

    Overall not bad, but the fracking discussion was pointless. I got the distinct inference that banning fracking isn’t necessary, without saying it would be a fringe market anyway(and pissing off fracking workers). Well done, IMO. No idea why rational people would have a problem with it. Even Fox News had nothing.

    Best outcome is that Biden has refined her foreign policy work. Rational people get the reality of the Israel/Palestine conflict. Allies fucking matter y’all.

  13. Did she answer the questions well or nah? So many contrasting opinions out there

  14. Does anyone know where I can watch the interview? I’ve been looking all over and can’t find the full video

  15. I love how all the conservatives are trying to call it “cringe” or a “disaster” like they do with everything. They know their base won’t actually watch a second of this interview. Their programming prevents them from being able to watch anything that has a CNN logo on it.

  16. Politics need to get boring so the stupid people will get tired of it and ignore it.

  17. In conservative world this was an absolute train wreck and she dropped 5 points in polls from this. No seriously, I just read this. They live in a totally different world. 

    Edit: The other half are claiming this was a set up interview to make her look good. Need some time to get their messaging together I guess. 

  20. Love the tax on unrealized capital gains. The only people critiquing it are the same ones who don’t understand tax brackets.

    Literally saw a tweet say Bill Gates will need to pay $10s of billions in his first year. Thousands of retweets. The stupidity.

    This tax will hit only the ultra-rich class, and hard, they’ll not be able to evade taxable realized capital gains by simply borrowing their way to even more riches.

  21. I pray for the day when politics in general is too sane to be great TV.

  22. I asked a friend how it was going and they responded that they got bored and did something else. I breathed a sigh of relief

  23. VP Harris did a great job on the interview. Ignoring Trumps statement about her being black was priceless and must have made him throw his hamberder at the wall!

  24. I missed it. Sounds like the feral Trumpers are beyond pissed she didn’t bring up the late great Hannibal Lector?

  25. They demand policy specifics from her- and for Trump, they accept unhinged word salad and treat him like he is a genius.

  27. I cannot believe I got multiple NYT news alerts about this one CNN interview.

    They just need to flood the zone with these until the press loses interest.

  29. It really illustrates a powerful juxtaposition too that while Harris and Walz are giving a composed and clearheaded interview, Trump is ranting on Truth Social like an insufferable child.

    And it’s too much to ask his supporters to reflect on this because they’re the ones enabling him.

  31. In a world where what you say matters more than what you do, we present to you…

  32. Politics should never be “exciting”. If something is exciting in politics, it is either going very bad, or it is finally fixing something that is already very bad.

  33. A smart, overqualified, and creative person did a normal interview where she gave quick and fairly specific answers to normal (for the most part) questions that showed depth of knowledge, even expertise, alongside related experience, a seriousness of the task at hand and a sense of humor and normality required to understand the public at large, and confidence. Exactly what should be in an interview with someone who wants to be President.

    Lets see Trump do the *exact* same interview, same interviewer, location, time, and general questions.

  34. It still makes me wonder though why the media still continue to be so subservient to Trump. It’s not doing their credibility any good, right ?

  35. I thought she was great. It wasn’t cringe. Answers were thoughtful and she got her point across.

  37. Wall St Journal Editorial Board, as usual is having a moment for Dana Bash being too soft and not pressing Harris. Okay. Wonder if they’ve expressed equal amount of dismay over Fox being a lot more accommodating of DJT?

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