Staff Reports
In an attempt to showcase her prowess as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris recently graced MSNBC for her first solo interview. One might expect an interview like this to be a walk in the park, especially with a friendly face like Stephanie Ruhle. However, it turned out to be more like a stroll through a minefield, with Harris dodging questions much like she dodged actual responsibilities during her time in office.
When the vice president attempted to pin economic woes on former President Trump, claiming he left behind the worst economy since the Great Depression, Ruhle was quick on her feet. She fact-checked Harris’s claims and reminded her that the pandemic played a pivotal role in the economy’s state, and it wasn’t exactly Trump who shut it all down. The truth is that the economy was still growing when Trump left office, but in the alternate reality the vice president inhabits, the facts seem to take a backseat to partisan talking points.
Asked what she’ll do if Republicans don’t agree w/ her plan to raise taxes on American consumers, Harris appears confused & repeatedly says they “have to pay their fair share.” pic.twitter.com/MUstGTUPTJ
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) September 25, 2024
As if this weren’t enough, Harris tried to convince viewers that Trump’s 2017 tax cuts only catered to the wealthy. However, Ruhle put a stop to that nonsense by pointing out that the tax cuts included provisions for individual taxpayers as well. With someone like Ruhle, who seemingly was in Harris’s corner, asking these crucial questions, it’s clear that the vice president stumbled over her own fabrications and was left flailing like a fish out of water.
Then came Ruhle’s pointed questions about Harris’s proposed plans to expand the child tax credit and assist with mortgage down payments. Harris struggled to explain how she’d pull this off without Congressional support, which is crucial given the expected GOP resistance. One has to wonder if the vice president even realizes that passing these grand ideas requires more than just wishful thinking and a wave of a magic wand. When Harris was pressed on where the funding would come from if Republicans controlled the Senate, she managed to dodge the question altogether, making it a clear indication that the plans are more shell than substance.
Another awkward moment arose when Ruhle questioned how Harris intended to tackle price gouging without resorting to price controls. This stumped her more than a pop quiz would. Rather than provide any actual policy proposals, she opted for repetition over specificity, a classic play from the Democratic playbook. While Ruhle tried her best to put Harris at ease, the glaring reality was that the vice president could not articulate a coherent economic strategy to save her life.
Harris’s remark about the American dream being dead felt particularly ironic. After four years of a Democrat administration, one wonders how she intends to revive dreams when many Americans can’t even afford the basics due to policies crafted in part by her own party. And when Ruhle pointed out that local regulations make housing scarce, Harris agreed without acknowledging her home state, California, which has some of the worst housing policies in the nation.
Despite Ruhle’s evident courtesy, Harris’s inability to navigate substantive questions made it clear she was the one in need of a lifeboat. Casual laughter about her past working at McDonald’s was a nice distraction, but the lack of a follow-up question—like, which McDonald’s was that?—left a lot to be desired.
It’s almost amusing to think that in a friendly interview setting, the vice president cannot muster coherent responses to basic economic queries. For many watching, even the liberal audience of MSNBC, it seemed to confirm that Harris may not be the serious contender the Democratic Party wishes she were.
