‘She’s not great in those settings’: Ex-CNN analyst says ‘there’s a reason’ Harris avoids interviews

Former CNN political analyst Chris Cilizza on Friday said Vice President Kamala Harris is not conducting many interviews because of her weak performances.

Harris on Wednesday sat down for her first national solo interview since becoming the Democratic Party’s nominee with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle. Cillizza, responding to an audience question on his YouTube channel, said he “didn’t think she was great” in the MSNBC interview and noted Harris has struggled in past interviews as well.

WATCH:

[rumble]https://rumble.com/embed/v5ebos5/?pub=3rtroj[/rumble]

“I thought Stephanie Ruhle was exactly who I thought she would be, which is, I thought she was pro-Harris but fair, right? When Harris didn’t answer a question, I thought she was like, ‘Well, that’s not really answering the question.’ So she clearly prefers Harris to Trump — Ruhle does — but I didn’t think it was like over-the-top ridiculous,” Cillizza said.

Ruhle on Sept. 20 downplayed the importance of Harris answering policy questions because of the “threat” former President Donald Trump poses “to democracy.”

“But I didn’t think Harris was great. I thought on tariffs her answer wasn’t particularly good, on the economy her answer wasn’t particularly good,” Cillizza added. “I just — she’s not great in those settings, like she wasn’t great in the CNN interview, she wasn’t great in the MSNBC interview. There’s a reason she’s not doing a lot of those interviews.”

Ruhle reacted to her interview with Harris on Wednesday by justifying the vice president’s failure to provide a “clear, direct” answer to her question about where she stood on tariffs.

“Well, part of it is, you just don’t throw around the idea of tariffs across the board. That’s part of the problem with Donald Trump. Frankly, I’m going — I say this in all sincerity — he’s not very serious about how he thinks about some of these issues,” Harris said in part. “And one must be serious and have a plan and a real plan that’s not just about some talking point ending in an exclamation at a political rally. But actually putting the thought into what will be the return on the investment. What will be the economic impact on everyday people?”

Harris also repeatedly asserted that wealthy Americans and corporations need to “pay their fair share” of taxes during the interview. Pollster Frank Luntz on Thursday criticized Harris’ use of that phrase.

“Some of what she has said in the last few weeks are exactly what voters want to hear. That is not. ‘Pay their fair share.’ We’ve heard it now for how many years, 30, maybe 40? What exactly is fair share? … And the issue for that is it’s a sound bite, it’s a slogan. And I know that I’m a messaging person so that’s my job,” Luntz said. “However, the public demands a detailed plan of action and they’re not getting it from her.”

All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!