Vice President Kamala Harris delivered one of her strongest moments in a recent interview with Fox News, defending democracy and countering Donald Trump’s increasingly dark rhetoric, according to New York Times reporter and CNN contributor Lulu Garcia-Navarro.
Garcia-Navarro shared her analysis on CNN’s OutFront with Erin Burnett after Harris’s interview in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state. Reflecting on the encounter, Garcia-Navarro said the interview went “really well,” despite the challenging platform. “She went into hostile territory and in our media environment, it’s a Rorschach test,” she noted. “Everyone’s going to take from this what they want.”
One of the most powerful moments, according to Garcia-Navarro, came when Harris firmly stood up for democracy, particularly in response to Trump’s recent statements. “There were very strong moments that she had, specifically on defending democracy and on the statements that Donald Trump has made,” Garcia-Navarro said. “That is going to be clipped and sent around, and people who are persuadable will look at that and say, ‘She did well.’”
Garcia-Navarro referenced a recent interview she conducted with Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) in which Vance, Trump’s running mate, dodged questions about whether Trump lost the 2020 election. This moment went viral and highlighted the ongoing tension surrounding Trump’s false election claims. Harris’s clear stance in her Fox News interview stood in stark contrast to Vance’s evasiveness.
However, Garcia-Navarro also acknowledged the divided nature of today’s media landscape. She noted that while some viewers might praise Harris for her defense of democracy, others might focus on different aspects of the interview, particularly on immigration, and think “she did poorly.”
“But I do agree that this is a very good thing for her to do because, at this point, she needs to go on as many platforms as she can,” Garcia-Navarro added. With no debates or major events on the horizon, Harris is in a critical phase of her campaign, needing to fight for every vote.
Garcia-Navarro concluded that the interview was a significant move for Harris and one that she believes was a success. “This was a really good interview,” she said, emphasizing the importance of Harris continuing to engage with voters across different media platforms.