HARRIS-WALZ CNN INTERVIEW TAKE-AWAYS: Harris Paints Her Leadership As Race and Gender Neutral in First Joint Interview
By Mona Austin
(TSN): Vice President Kamala Harris resisted questions about the two things that have held people like her back in American society during an interview with CNN's Dana Bash Thursday night--race and sex. She sat down jointly with her running mate Tim Walz to let voters hear more about their personalities and policies.
When asked about comments her opponent Donald Trump made doubting her Blackness, she simply said, "That's the the same old play book." Expecting more, Dash pried further, "That's all?" And Harris said, "That's all" refusing to give oxygen to Trump's tired tactics.
She also refused to entertain any reference to the rarity of being a woman ascending to the top of the Democratic ticket. Exactly one week earlier she accepted the Democratic nomination to be their official candidate.
When asked about the striking viral photo that captured the back view of her niece in pony tails gazing at Auntie Kamala accepting the historic nomination, she admitted to being moved by the image but did not elaborate about the significance of young girls being inspired by it.
Harris is setting out to remove the doubly negative barrier of being Black and a woman that has long been viewed as a curse in climbing the professional ladder in the United States.
With the wind of popularity propelling her political sails, Harris appears to have avoided personal attacks that have grasped media attention at this stage of her campaign. Walz however, was asked to address remarks about using a weapon in a combat zone when he was in the military. He did not apologize of directly admit he'd made a mistake but says he wears his feelings on his sleeves and will continue to speak out on children having access to weapons.
Policies are a different story. She once was against fracking but now says she supports it, a shift in thought that aligns with Pres. Joe Biden. And she said she is open to hiring a Republican to serve on her staff, embracing diversity of thought.
But Harris' "Day One:" priorities are about fixing an economy that continues to suffer the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
"My agenda focuses on what we need to do to bring down the price of groceries," she offered along with stating she plans to address price gouging.
When Bash gave Trump credit for having a better economy the Vice President quickly stated the economy/inflation was worse under the former president. "I am very proud of the work we have done to bring inflation down to less than 3 percent," she said, which is currently at 2.9 percent, the lowest since March of 2021.
On the immigration question, another prime issue in the election, blamed the dysfunction at the border on Trump saying he killed a bi-partisan bill in Congress that would have added more border agents and allowed an increase in fentanyl seizures.
Donald Trump's response to the interview was that CNN should "be ashamed" for not asking hard questions. He will debate Harris on ABC on September 10.
So what kind of leader will Vice President Kamala Harris be if elected to the presidency? Her actions in this interview convey that she wants to be known for her leadership regardless of race and gender and she will design policies to lift up working families.