Vice President Kamala Harris was pilloried by critics over her Thursday performance in her first sit-down interview since becoming the Democratic nominee.
Top Republicans and conservative influencers — many of whom have been goading Harris into finally giving such an interview — mercilessly mocked the presidential candidate on everything from optics to some of the answers she offered up when pressed on key issues by CNN’s Dana Bash.
Harris, 59, had used that interview in part to deliver an olive branch to Republicans, asserting that she intends to appoint a member of the GOP to a Cabinet post if she prevails in the Nov. 5 election, arguing that there’s value in diversity of opinion.
Still, critics from her right glossed over that and found plenty of fodder in that interview to use against her.
“Kamala Harris values diversity of opinion so much—she’s held every position on every issue herself!” Washington Reporter editor-in-chief Matthew Foldi quipped on X.
“Kamala Harris is so incompetent that she’s completely falling apart during a very friendly CNN interview There is a reason that the Harris campaign hid her for roughly 40 days, allowing her to do no interviews She’s a disaster,” DailyWire reporter Ryan Saavedra posted on X.
“Off the bat @KamalaHarris makes it sounds like @realDonaldTrump had been running the show for the past four years but she was very weird,” Fox Business correspondent Charles Gasparino griped.
“Kamala Harris said Dana Bash’s name wrong…She must be a racist,” self-described conservative Republican Kevin Smith said.
Some of Harris’ allies have bashed her critics who mispronounce her name which she pronounces as “KA-ma-la” but others articulate it as “Ka-MA-la” or even “KUH-ma-la.”
“Why does Kamala Harris look hunched over? Her answers are strong but weird body language of looking down?” media personality Colby Hall pondered.
“Body language experts are going to have a field day with this Kamala Harris interview. The lack of confidence is staggering! Kamala keeps looking down and away is conveying a great deal of weakness. The hiding from record is amazing too,” user Andrew Paino chided.
Former 2024 GOP presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy seized on Harris’ response to a question about her past support for a ban on fracking during her 2020 campaign for the presidency.
“In 2019 Kamala Harris said she would absolutely ban fracking. At present, she says she won’t ban fracking. Tonight on CNN, she said her position on a fracking ban hasn’t changed,” Ramaswamy wrote on X.
“At least 1 of those 3 statements has to be false. That’s not a partisan point, it’s just logic.”
Former President Donald Trump also chimed in and chastised his Democratic foe.
“I look so forward to Debating Comrade Comrade Kamala Harris and exposing her for the fraud she is. Harris has changed every one of her long held positions, on everything,” Trump sniped on Truth Social, later calling the interview “Boring.”
Trump and Harris are set to square off on Sept. 10 in Philadelphia for a debate hosted by ABC News.
The 45th president and his allies had spent weeks throwing shade at Harris for sparingly taking questions from reporters on the record. Trump and his running mate JD Vance had upped their media portfolio, holding more press conferences and doing more interviews to draw a sharp contrast with Harris.
Harris waited some 40 days since President Biden dropped out of the race to do a sit-down interview.