Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event at Washington Crossing Historic Park, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania.
By Kos Daily Kos Staff Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris went into the lion’s den at Fox News and emerged in pretty darn good shape. You can see the full interview here.
My original plan was to write a reaction story immediately after the interview, and I’m glad I took the time to digest. That initial reaction was one of anger—Fox anchor Bret Baier was rude, sanctimonious, and wouldn’t let Harris finish her answers. He used right-wing Trumpian frames in every single one of his questions, and even tried to sanewash Donald Trump’s fascist “enemies within” rhetoric.
After receiving relentless criticism from the conservative base for scheduling the interview, Baier had clearly decided to give them what they wanted—a rude, combative, red-themed show. In short, Baier did everything we expected a Fox News host on Fox News would do. F that guy!
Yet Harris didn’t do this interview to make me or you happy. As I wrote on Tuesday, Harris’ media strategy is designed to win, and my feelings had little bearing on whether her Fox News sojourn was successful. So yes, I had to take a pause and reassess once my initial gut disgust had dissipated.
And with that clarity, it’s hard to deny that Harris did herself some real favors.
To be clear, this appearance wasn’t about winning votes, at least not directly. The people watching that interview were mostly either Fox conservatives or liberals checking on our candidate’s performance. At this stage of the game, there’s pretty much nothing that will meaningfully move numbers. The race’s trends have been locked in, unchanged, for months.
So what did Harris accomplish?
1. It blows a Trump narrative out of the water.
In a recent Truth Social screed, Trump claimed, “[Harris] is slow and lethargic in answering even the easiest of questions.” He obviously pulled that out of his you-know-where, and it’s not as if the reality we witness in that Fox News interview will change his mind. Trump is immune to reality. But it is helpful for his supporters to suffer a bit of cognitive dissonance, as the words of their idol fail to match their very own eyes. More scrupulous conservatives might even find it difficult to parrot those attacks, and Trump is most successful when his party is singing from his same choir book.
2. It reminded people of Harris’ toughness.
I was initially disgusted at Baier’s rudeness, but in hindsight, that hostility served Harris well. It showed that she could hold her own against a fierce conservative assault, and even come out ahead. The debate wasn’t that—Trump isn’t a worthy sparring partner. He’s too stupid and cognitively compromised. But Baier isn’t. Of course, we knew this already—Harris was a prosecutor—but it was a nice reminder for everyone trying to pretend otherwise. And that toughness came through loud and clear when she called out Baier for trying to bullshit about Trump’s dangerous “enemy within” rhetoric. Harris was on top of her game.
3. It gives permission to squishy conservatives to consider Harris, or at least sit the top of the ticket out.
Yes, there aren’t many persuadables left, but there are still Nikki Haley primary voters potentially in play. As I wrote Tuesday, 13% of Haley voters are still undecided. And while that number is small, in the low tens of thousands in the battleground states, those voters could still help build a majority in states that could hang on a razor’s edge.
4. It shuts up the media blowhards about Harris and media interviews.
The traditional media is finally focusing on Trump’s cognitive decline, when they’d rather cry about trivial crap on the Democratic side. Harris just took away one of their favorite criticisms about her, that she’s not doing media interviews. It also sets a nice new narrative, as you can see here, here, here, here, and here. Even Fox News gave her some credit. And since everyone loves a Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg hot take, here you go.
5. Has Trump lost his mind yet?
He is increasingly unhinged, and he doesn’t do well when he sees Democrats on Fox, considering it’s his exclusive turf. He kept his cool during the interview, merely posting “Make America Great Again” on his Truth social. But you know it was eating away at him, and chances are 100% that he’ll go on tirades about the appearance in his upcoming rallies.
6. Harris proved she can remain on message in the most hostile environment.
Baier wanted to talk about President Joe Biden’s mental faculties, Harris turned it around deftly and made it about Trump. Time and again, Baier trotted out a Republican talking point, only for Harris to quickly jiu-jitsu it back on Trump. For example, Baier, angling for a “deplorable” moment, asked Harris “are [Trump supporters] stupid?” Harris answered, “Oh God, I would never say that about the American people. He’s the one who tends to demean and belittle and diminish the American people.”
7. She reminded us why we’re fighting for her.
Harris did battle with the enemy, and came out victorious. Hell yeah, let’s go!
8. It reminded everyone that Trump is a coward.
Can you imagine Trump sitting for an interview with Rachel Maddow on MSNBC? Of course not. He won’t even debate Harris again. He bailed on his town hall after four questions and stood awkwardly on stage for 39 minutes listening to his playlist instead. Deep down he knows he’s mentally diminished, and is trying to ride out the clock inside his conservative bubble. The Harris campaign is happily pushing that message.
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