I’ve been seeing CNN political correspondent Dana Bash getting, well, bashed, for her interview of the Democratic Party national ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, from both sides.
Either Bash wasn’t hard enough or she was too hard, depending on the point of view of the beholder.
I’ll say it this way: she didn’t chum it up with Harris and Walz the way Fox News and Newsmax does with Donald Trump and JD Vance.
Basically, lay off: she did what she was supposed to do, by and large.
And so did Harris, who, and I know this is a novel concept, but she actually answered the questions – and as I’ve been saying a lot this week, it doesn’t count as answering a question to just say words after the question is asked, which is what you get from Trump.
Some of the highlights:
‘Day 1’
I will quibble with the first couple of questions here from Bash, about what Harris would day on “Day 1,” because, come on, Day 1?
Other than signing executive orders that can’t do all that much, what you do on Day 1 is what you’d been doing throughout the transition – setting your legislative agenda, talking that through with congressional leaders, laying groundwork for what you’re going to do with federal agencies.
The only thing of substance that happens on Day 1 is the swearing-in.
Here was how Harris answered Bash’s first Day 1 foray:
Harris: “I will tell you first and foremost one of my highest priorities is to do what we can to support and strengthen the middle class. When I look at the aspirations, the goals, the ambitions of the American people, I think that people are ready for a new way forward in a way that generations of Americans have been fueled by hope and by optimism.
“I think, sadly, in the last decade, we have had in the former president someone who has really been pushing an agenda and an environment that is about diminishing the character and the strength of who we are as Americans, really dividing our nation. And I think people are ready to turn the page on that.”
Bash: “So what would you do Day 1?”
Harris: “Day 1, it’s gonna be about one, implementing my plan for what I call an opportunity economy. I’ve already laid out a number of proposals in that regard, which include what we’re gonna do to bring down the cost of everyday goods, what we’re gonna do to invest in America’s small businesses, what we’re gonna do to invest in families.
“For example, extending the child tax credit to $6,000 for families for the first year of their child’s life to help them buy a car seat, to help them buy baby clothes, a crib. There’s the work that we’re gonna do that is about investing in the American family around affordable housing, a big issue in our country right now. So, there are a number of things on Day 1.”
Note what Harris didn’t say: that she’d be a dictator for one day.
‘Bidenomics’
I like that Bash tried to draw out Harris on economic policy.
To me, the focus on inflation that we’re seeing in the media isn’t taking into account the decisions made in the final year of the Trump administration to hand out trillions of dollars in free money to pump up the economy to keep us all afloat as the pandemic raged.
I’m not casting blame on Trump or congressional leaders for doing that, because it worked.
What bothers me is seeing Trump and Republicans making the inflation that was a natural consequence of basically printing money to give out to people to keep us from sinking into a second Great Depression into something that is the result of poor management by the Biden administration.
They can’t really think that, because if they do, they don’t understand economics any better than the average college freshman.
Here was Harris on that:
Harris: “Well, let’s start with the fact that when Joe Biden and I came in office during the height of a pandemic, we saw over 10 million jobs were lost. People — I mean, literally we are all tracking the numbers. Hundreds of people a day were dying because of COVID. The economy had crashed.
“In large part, all of that because of mismanagement by Donald Trump of that crisis. When we came in, our highest priority was to do what we could to rescue America. And today, we know that we have inflation at under 3 percent. A lot of our policies have led to the reality that America recovered faster than any wealthy nation around the world.
“But you are right. Prices in particular for groceries are still too high. The American people know it. I know it. Which is why my agenda includes what we need to do to bring down the price of groceries. For example, dealing with an issue like price gouging.”
From here, Harris went into talking about her housing and healthcare plans in the context of the discussion of the economy, which felt like her appending those topics into something unrelated, but perhaps she sensed that she wasn’t going to be asked about those issue specifics and wanted to get them in.
Turns out, she was right: Bash didn’t touch on affordable housing or healthcare in the interview.
Bash did ask Harris if she thinks “Bidenomics” has been a success.
Harris: “I maintain that when we do the work of bringing down prescription medication for the American people, including capping the cost of prescription medication for seniors at $2,000; when we do what we did in the first year of being in office to extend the child tax credit so that we cut child poverty in America by over 50 percent; when we do what we have done to invest in the American people and bringing manufacturing back to the United States so that we created over 800,000 new manufacturing jobs, bringing business back to America; what we have done to improve the supply chain so we’re not relying on foreign governments to supply American families with their basic needs, I’ll say that that’s good work. There’s more to do, but that’s good work.”
Immigration and border security
Bash asked Harris why it took the Biden administration “three and a half years to implement sweeping asylum restrictions.”
Trump thinks this is a winning issue for him, but his push to congressional Republicans to block bipartisan legislation that would have invested billions in border security could come back to bite him.
Harris on this point:
Harris: “Joe Biden and I and our administration worked with members of the United States Congress on an immigration issue that is very significant to the American people and to our security, which is the border. And through bipartisan work, including some of the most conservative members of the United States Congress, a bill was crafted which we supported, which I support.
“And Donald Trump got word of this bill that would’ve contributed to securing our border. And because he believes that it would not have helped him politically, he told his folks in Congress, ‘Don’t put it forward.’ He killed the bill, a border security bill that would’ve put 1,500 more agents on the border. And let me tell you something. The Border Patrol endorsed the bill. And I’m sure in large part because they knew they were working around the clock, and 1,500 more agents would help them. That bill would have allowed us to increase seizures of fentanyl. Ask any community in America that has been devastated by fentanyl what passing that bill would have done to address their concern and a pain they’ve experienced.”
Bash: “So you would push that legislation again?”
Harris: “Not only push it. I will make sure that it comes to my desk, and I would sign it.”
Biden’s capacity
This was one issue where Bash was clearly carrying water for the Trump campaign, which has been making an issue of Harris standing by Biden’s side as critics raised issue with his age and gaffes in speeches and interviews.
Oddly, the Trump campaign is itself standing by its candidate as critics raise issue with his age and gaffes in speeches and interviews, but neither the Trump surrogates fanned out to the cable-news networks, nor Trump himself, have to answer even softball questions on Trump’s obvious age and infirmity.
I digress.
Bash: “Vice President Harris, you were a very staunch defender of President Biden’s capacity to serve another four years right after the debate. You insisted that President Biden is extraordinarily strong. Given where we are now, do you have any regrets about what you told the American people?”
Harris: “No, not at all. Not at all. I have served with President Biden for almost four years now. And I’ll tell ya. it’s one of the greatest honors of my career, truly. He cares so deeply about the American people. He is so smart and loyal to the American people. And I have spent hours upon hours with him, be it in the Oval Office or the Situation Room. He has the intelligence, the commitment, and the judgment and disposition that I think the American people rightly deserve in their president.
“By contrast, the former president has none of that. And so, one, I am so proud to have served as vice president to Joe Biden. And, two, I am so proud to be running with Tim Walz for president of the United States and to bring America what I believe the American people deserve, which is a new way forward, and turn the page on the last decade of what I believe has been contrary to where the spirit of our country really lies.”
Bash: “With the last decade, of course, the last three and a half years has been part of your administration.”
Harris: “I’m talking about an era that started about a decade ago where there is some suggestion, warped, I believe it to be, that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on you beat down instead of where I believe most Americans are, which is to believe that the true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up. That’s what’s at stake as much as any other detail that we could discuss in this election.”
Video: How did Kamala Harris fare in CNN interview?
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Chris Graham
