Kamala Harris Loses It When Bret Baier Fact Checks Her by Playing a Video Clip of Trump
I’d seen it said elsewhere that “safe and rare” isn’t Vice President Kamala Harris’ position on abortion, but rather her position on interviews. On Wednesday, we found out why.
Harris’ Fox News shindig represented her first foray into territory which would actively fact-check her soundbites, and it came, not exactly fortuitously, as her campaign was shifting its tone from “joy and vibes” to “Donald Trump will arrest you as an enemy of the state and is taking cues from literal Nazis,” which is indeed quite the transposition to pull off in the final weeks of an interminable presidential cycle.
However, roughly 18 minutes into the exchange, she was definitely on message, talking about all “the Republicans who are on stage with me” who say Trump “is unfit to serve, that he is unstable, that he is dangerous, and that people are exhausted with someone who professes to be a leader who spends full time demeaning and engaging in personal grievances and it being about him.”
Never mind the one huge [sic] at the end of that word salad, that’s quite the change from sassy Kamala telling Donald to debate and “say it to my face” and speaking at a rally fronted by Megan Thee Stallion, to saying that, with Donald Trump, you’d be giving a Jerry Springer guest full access to Dr. Strangelove weaponry.
OK, then, Baier noted: If people are so tired of that, “Why is half the country supporting him? Why is he beating you in a lot of swing states? Why, if he is as bad as you say — that half of this country is now supporting this person who could be the 47th president of the United States? Why is that happening?”
Uh-oh. That’s as close to an “if you gave an order that Santiago wasn’t to be touched, and your orders are always followed, then why would Santiago be in any danger?” moment as you’ll get any of these Harris interviews. If this guy is so obviously unfit, why was economic performance under his administration better than under the Biden-Harris administration before the pandemic? Why was inflation better? And, if this guy is so obviously dictatorial, why would people vote in a dictator?
Harris: “This is an election for president of the United States. It’s not supposed to be easy.”
Look, she comes from a middle-class family.
OK, then, Baier said. So things aren’t easy. Why are these people saying they’re voting for her opponent? “Are they misguided, the 50 percent? Are they stupid?”
“Oh, God, I would never say that about the American people,” Harris said. Which isn’t a no, mind you, just her saying she wouldn’t say that about the American people.
Nevertheless, she persisted: “And, in fact, when you listen to Donald Trump — if you watch any of his rallies — he is the one who tends to demean and belittle and diminish the American people,” she said. “He is the one who talks about an enemy within — an enemy within! — talking about the American people, suggesting he would turn the American military on the American people.”
This isn’t true. In fact, we know it isn’t true because Trump was asked about his comments regarding an “enemy within” by Fox News’ Harris Faulkner earlier in the day, and what he said clarified his remarks that what he was talking about was those weaponizing the American government and judicial system against its enemies. Like, you know, the Democrats with Russiagate or lawfare.
“I’m not threatening anybody,” Trump said during the clip that was played. “They are the ones doing the threatening. They do phony investigations — I have been investigated more than Alfonse Capone; he was the greatest gangster — no, it’s true! — it’s called weaponization of government.”
Harris’ response was to fly off the handle.
“Bret, I’m sorry — and with all due respect, that clip was not what he has been saying about the enemy within, that he has repeated when he is speaking about the American people,” Harris said. “That is not what you just showed.”
It was what they just showed, as Baier noted.
“That’s not what you just showed, in fairness and respect to you,” Harris said.
“That was a question that we asked him,” Baier responded.
“You didn’t show that,” Harris said.
Fine, Kamala: Here’s the initial part of the answer to the question, which doesn’t sound much different than the end of it:
THEY’RE THE THREAT TO DEMOCRACY!!! pic.twitter.com/paeyT5OIYO
— il Donaldo Trumpo (@PapiTrumpo) October 16, 2024
Maybe she should have heard that as part of her preparation, you know, before doing the interview.
“Here’s the bottom line,” Harris said. “He has repeated it many times. You and I both know that, and you and I bouth know that he has talked about turning the American military against the American people. He has talked about going after people who are engaged in peaceful protests. He has talked about locking people up because they disagree with him. This is a democracy, and in a democracy, the president of the United States in the United States of America should be willing to be able to handle criticism without saying he would lock people up for doing it.”
Remember: Trump’s the unhinged one. Not Harris. Trump’s the one trying to lock people up, people aren’t trying to lock him up. War is peace, freedom is slavery, etc.
It’s not difficult to understand the signals in terms of a shift in messaging going into the last few weeks; “happy happy, joy joy, vibes vibes” has given way to “LITERALLY HITLER!!” two-exclamation-point all-caps ranting on the Democratic side. Whatever it takes, I suppose — but when you’re asked for back-up to these assertions when Trump himself has given an answer to them, your answer can’t be “what I said before, but in a louder tone of voice.”
This is why interviews stay “safe and rare” on Harris-Walz side of the aisle. I have some good news, madame vice president: If you don’t get elected — and at this pace, it certainly seems like there’s a higher and higher likelihood of that by the day — nobody’s going to be asking you any questions, tough or not.
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