Post-debate Kamala Harris heads right back to ‘friends’ at ABC for softball interview but still serves up word salad
Kamala Harris served up a word salad during a lighthearted interview with ABC on Friday, just days after the network was criticized for failing to fact-check her during the debate.
Harris spent 11 minutes talking to WPVIa Disney-owned network in Philadelphia, after ABC national anchors Linsey Davis and David Muir were accused of bias in her confrontation with Donald Trump on Tuesday.
Host Brian Taff asked Harris to describe one or two areas where she stands out from the president in Johnstown Friday.
Rather than offering a policy difference, Harris said, “Well, I’m clearly not Joe Biden,” and “I’m offering a new generation of leadership,” adding that things once taken for granted can no longer be overlooked.
Finally, she tried to explain her plans to help families raise children and reduce child care costs.
Kamala Harris served up a word salad in a softball interview with an ABC affiliate on Friday, after the network’s moderators were criticized for failing to check her facts during the debate.
‘Another plan I have is a new approach, namely expand the child tax deduction to $6,000 for young families in the first year of their child’s life, because that is obviously a very critical phase in the child’s development. That is why I focus my approach on new ideas and new policies that are adapted to the current moment,’ she said.
“And to be perfectly honest, I’m really focused on what we need to do in the next 10 to 20 years to keep up with the 21st century. It’s about capacity, but it’s also about challenges.”
Even when Taff asked how she was going to lower prices, she couldn’t give a coherent, concrete answer.
“Well, I’ll start with this. I grew up as a middle-class kid. My mother raised my sister and me. She worked very hard. We as Americans have a wonderful character. We have ambitions and aspirations and dreams. But not everyone necessarily has access to the resources that can help them fuel those dreams and aspirations.”
Harris used a question about the former president’s appeal and how she would speak to his supporters to criticize Trump and his leadership style.
“I also think I’m right when I say that most Americans want a leader who brings us together as Americans, not someone who claims to be a leader and just wants us to point fingers at each other,” she said.
The vice president suggested that her support came from Republican officials, including the former vice president Dick Cheney and his daughter, a former representative. Liz Cheney, is a result of people being ‘tired’ of Trump.
“I think now, given the hatred and the division that we see with Donald Trump, people are more likely to say, ‘Hey, let’s put country first.’ I think that makes us stronger and healthier as a country,” she said.
Harris spent 11 minutes talking to WPVI, a Disney owned and operated affiliate station in Philadelphia
Republicans were furious with ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis for refusing to vet Kamala Harris for her lies about Donald Trump’s positions on IVF
She gave a number of answers when asked to share one thing people who didn’t already know about her should know.
“It’s probably not that different from anyone watching right now,” she said. “I love my family. One of my favorite things that I haven’t been able to do lately is Sunday family dinner. I love cooking.”
Harris also said that her best friend from kindergarten “is still my best friend.”
Trump, his running mate Senator JD Vance and other Republicans have criticized Harris for largely avoiding media interviews and not communicating openly with reporters covering her campaign events.
She and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, gave a joint interview to CNN last month that was also criticized for lacking real answers.
Her campaign team recently announced that she will be doing more local interviews, and the National Association of Black Journalists announced Friday that several of its members will interview Harris in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
This came after Republicans were furious with ABC News hosts Muir and Davis for refusing to vet Harris for her lies about Trump’s positions on IVF.
Rumors have it that the vice president has close ties to Disney CEO Dana Walden and that Harris and Davis are former members of the same sorority.
Davis even anticipated Trump’s comments on abortion and IVF, saying it was “an obvious thing to put on paper.”
Davis says it was a conscious decision to check the facts after seeing how Trump and Joe Biden performed during the CNN debate in June.
People were concerned that statements could simply stick and not [be] “There was some contradiction at the time from either candidate Biden or the moderators,” Davis said.
Davis even anticipated Trump’s comments on abortion and IVF, saying it was “a logical step to make this public.”
She then admitted that they had tried but failed to get the candidates on the list when they claimed they had told a lie.
Muir and Davis repeatedly attempted to fact-check Trump during the debate, including on the Capitol riots and a claim about migrant crime.
However, Harris falsely claimed that Trump opposed in vitro fertilization during the debate.
The former president said he spoke out in favor of IVF when it was banned at the state level.
Former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer wrote on social media: “ABC is making a huge mistake by trying to fact-check this live. They just prove how biased they are. Harris made up an attack on Trump about IVF. ABC sat there and said nothing.”
A Trump campaign report revealed what debate moderators wouldn’t say: that Harris wasn’t telling the truth.
Linsey Davis claimed Trump lied when he said states would allow executions after birth.
According to Muir, Trump falsely claimed that immigrants in the city of Springfield, Ohio, ate pets.
Harris was not fact-checked by either of them during the debate.
The vice president was apparently pleased with the outcome, as the interview with ABC was her first since the chat with CNN.
Harris has now challenged Trump to a second debate, which will be moderated by both CBS News and Fox News.
Trump has stressed that the two will never debate each other again.
Walz and Vance will face off in New York City on October 1, moderated by CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan.