EDITORIAL: Harris flails, flops and fades in first interview

On Thursday, the Democratic presidential nominee sat down for a taped interview with CNN’s Dana Bash. It was the first time Ms. Harris engaged in a substantial back-and-forth since becoming the Democrats’ presumed nominee more than one month ago.

During the primary process and on the campaign trail, most presidential candidates do dozens or hundreds of interviews. Ms. Harris even did many in 2019 when she ran for president. This process helps voters judge candidates, their views and their character. It also helps candidates grow comfortable talking to voters and about their positions.

This year, voters didn’t get that opportunity with Ms. Harris. She spent more than a month dodging the press since becoming the presumptive and now official Democratic nominee.

The portion of the interview that CNN aired was less than 30 minutes long. It’s not clear how much CNN cut in editing. Refusing to do a live interview doesn’t project much confidence. What little was shown left many questions unanswered.

Ms. Bash asked Ms. Harris about her position on the Green New Deal and banning fracking. Previously, Ms. Harris supported both of those things. But now Ms. Harris said that she doesn’t support banning fracking.

“In 2020 I made very clear where I stand. We are in 2024, and I have not changed that position, nor will I going forward. I kept my word, and I will keep my word,” Ms. Harris said.

“What made you change that position at the time?” Ms. Bash asked.

“Well, let’s be clear. My values have not changed,” Ms. Harris responded.

See if you can follow this. Ms. Harris flip-flopped on a fracking ban, but she won’t flop back in the future. Also, her values have not changed.

That answer is like a choose-your-own-adventure story.

Then there’s the economy. Ms. Bash started the interview with an easy one. It wasn’t a softball question. It was a beach ball.

“What would you do on day one in the White House?” she asked.

Ms. Harris’ answer was so full of platitudes that Ms. Bash asked her again, “So, what would you do day one?”

Eventually, Ms. Harris had to face an obvious, yet important question. If your ideas are so great, why haven’t you implemented them?

“We had to recover as an economy, and we have done that,” Ms. Harris said before furiously dodging the question.

That’s unlikely to impress the many families struggling to afford groceries.

The optics of the interview didn’t do Ms. Harris any favors either.

For one, Ms. Harris insisted that her VP pick and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accompany her. It was an odd decision. Yes, she wants to shatter the glass ceiling as the first woman president. But don’t worry, voters. When she’s meeting with something who makes her nervous — whether it’s a CNN anchor or foreign dictator — she’ll have a man there to support her. It would have been better to do a joint interview after she had done a dozen or so solo interviews.

Visually, the setup made Ms. Harris look small and diminished. The three of them sat awkwardly around a small table in what looked like an empty restaurant. The arrangement emphasized the height difference between Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz. The lighting made the background seem sterile. The wide shot made Ms. Harris appear like a teenager trying to explain herself to a disapproving mom and dad.

The easiest way to tell how it went is that Ms. Harris’ campaign has given no indications they want her to do another interview.

You might have witnessed Ms. Harris give two interviews on Thursday — her first and last as the Democratic presidential nominee.