There are plenty of reasons why Kamala Harris's first interview since she took Joe Biden's place at the top of the ticket was underwhelming at best — or a train wreck at worst — for her. I thought it was really bad. Kamala got a lot of softball questions that she couldn't answer, and Tim Walz didn't help much either.
But how do we know that the interview was a bust for Kamala? Let me explain.
As you know, Kamala has been under significant pressure to stop hiding behind scripted campaign events and speak to the media in interviews and press conferences. When her interview with CNN was announced, there was little reason to believe that it would satisfy her critics — between choosing a friendly network with an anchor who was gonna give her the softest of softball questions, the deck was going to be stacked in Kamala's favor to come out looking pretty good after the interview.
She didn't, and that's not because I said so. Kamala's performance Thursday evening didn't exactly floor CNN pundits.
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Former Obama advisor David Axelrod said he thought Kamala did well, but "It wasn't a huge — I don't think she moved the ball that much forward."
AXELROD: I don't think she moved the ball that much forward.pic.twitter.com/duf8OcAncp
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 30, 2024
Ashley Allison, a former Obama White House staffer, similarly tried to paint the interview in a positive light, by falsely claiming that Kamala "answered every question" but added, "Now, you might not like the way she answered them. But she answered them as a capable, qualified leader. And I do think she — I think she moved the ball forward a little bit. Maybe she didn't score a touchdown, tonight. But she definitely moved down the field."
*ANOTHER* CNN PANELIST: You may not like the way she answered [the questions]... maybe she didn't score a touchdown tonight.
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 30, 2024
This was a total failure for Kamala. pic.twitter.com/iZVGJNCRFk
One goal that Kamala wants to achieve in the campaign is putting distance between her and the Biden-Harris administration. CNN political analyst Astead Herndon clearly doesn't think she succeeded.
"I don't think there's a policy separation that they've created with Biden. Obviously, she gave a kind of personal defense of him. But they're also very clearly trying to position her as a change candidate," he said.
CNN PANELIST: I don't think there's a policy separation that they've created with Biden.
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 30, 2024
When you've lost CNN... pic.twitter.com/2Xqjec3CjE
Another devastating blow for Kamala is that even CNN's fact-checker Daniel Dale admitted that she was being dishonest about her flip-flopping on fracking.
WATCH: CNN fact checks Kamala’s claim that she “made it clear on the debate stage in 2020” that she opposed banning fracking.
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 30, 2024
It’s almost comical how blatantly she tells lies. pic.twitter.com/hrTLA7eW7V
Remember, this is CNN. This network wants Harris to win, yet its attempts to put lipstick on the pig that was this so-called "interview" let enough truth come through to make it clear that nobody really thought she did that great of a job.
