Critics pan Kamala Harris' TV interview, bewildering answers: 'Talk is cheap'
Lawmakers, pundits share reactions after Vice President Harris was criticized Friday for a lengthy, rambling response about the economy.
The backlash continued to mount following Vice President Kamala Harris' televised interview Friday, with critics calling out her unwillingness to give clear and specific answers.
In her first solo sit-down TV interview since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris seemed to filibuster to avoid direct answers. One example came when the interviewer, Brian Taff of the Philadelphia ABC affiliate, asked for her "specific" plans to bring down prices for Americans.
"Well, I'll start with this. I grew up a middle-class kid," Harris responded. "My mother raised my sister and me. She worked very hard. She was able to finally save up enough money to buy our first house when I was a teenager.
"I grew up in a community of hard-working people, you know, construction workers and nurses and teachers. And I try to explain to some people who may not have had the same experience. You know, a lot of people will relate to this."
Critics have slammed Harris on social media, saying she gave confusing answers to a number of questions.
"Kamala Harris did her first local sit down interview after prepping for 53 days and it was a nightmare[.] She couldn’t even name 1-2 things she would do to bring down inflation," Karoline Leavitt, Donald Trump's press secretary, wrote in post on X following the interview.
California state Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones told Fox News Digital if Harris becomes president, the entire nation would suffer.
"Kamala Harris has spent decades in public office, with a track record defined by rising costs and inflation. During her tenure in California, prices soared, and the affordability crisis has only worsened since she became Vice President," Jones said. "Talk is cheap, and while she promises to lower costs, her actions have repeatedly resulted in the opposite.
"Californians struggled under her leadership, and now the entire nation is bearing the brunt. America simply can't afford a Harris presidency."
Conservative podcaster Benny Johnson added that Harris's answers made no sense.
"Kamala Harris: "My focus is very much about what we need to do over the next 10-20 years to catch up to the 21st century around, again, capacity, but also challenges." What does this even mean?" Johnson wrote in a post. on X.
Harris' answer resembled the response she gave during the ABC News presidential debate against former President Trump Tuesday, when she was asked by moderator David Muir whether Americans are economically "better off than they were four years ago."
"So, I was raised as a middle-class kid," Harris told Muir. "And I am actually the only person on this stage who has a plan that is about lifting up the middle class and working people of America. I believe in the ambition, the aspirations, the dreams of the American people, and that is why I imagine and have actually a plan to build what I call an opportunity economy."
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Although Harris drew praise from pundits for her debate performance, her sometimes unresponsive answers there foreshadowed Friday's sit-down, particularly on economic matters. In the debate, Harris went on to tout the same proposals without answering whether Americans are better off now than they were four years ago.
"Kamala Harris was very clearly and directly asked: Are the American people better off now than they were 4 years ago? She could not say yes because the answer is no — the American people are worse off today because of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s policies," former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard posted on X following Tuesday night's debate.
Harris and running mate Tim Walz have only done 10 unscripted interviews for the Democratic presidential ticket thus far, while Republican presidential nominee Trump and vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, have sat down for at least 49 interviews.
Harris still has not held a formal press conference since replacing President Biden as the Democratic nominee. Trump took questions at a news conference on Friday in California, his third extended presser in recent weeks.
USA Today Washington bureau chief Susan Page said she believes Americans deserve to hear both candidates answer tough questions.
"I think part of the job description of being president is answering questions, not because reporters have a right to ask them, but because Americans have a right to hear them," Page told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.
Fox News Digital's Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
