NBC White House correspondent Peter Alexander recently traveled to Michigan for an interview with Kamala Harris that aired on Friday’s Nightly News and an extended version that aired on Saturday’s Today. During the interview, Alexander would mostly stick to softball questions such as wondering if Harris’s strategy was effective.
Alexander began, “At the convention, you passed yourself as a joyful warrior, but in the recent rallies, you’ve increasingly attacked former President Trump as unstable and unhinged. Is that an effective closing –”
Harris jumped in to make sure to add “and unfit,” as Alexander repeated himself, “Is that an effective closing argument?”
After Harris claimed “these things are not in conflict,” Alexander worried, “The critics who say the joy is gone. You respond?”
Harris replied, “Oh, I'm having a great time.”
Alexander reported in a voiceover, "We pressed her about the widening gap. The latest NBC News poll shows Harris leads Trump among women by 14 points, but Trump has a 16-point advantage with men. Just this week, her campaign expanded advertising on websites that draw largely male audiences, like the sports betting site DraftKings. The vice president downplaying the divide.”
If this was a question about Republicans and the female vote, the Republican would surely be grilled on abortion or comments about childless cat ladies. Instead, Alexander asked that rather dull question of, “Why do you think there is a disconnect for you with men right now?”
Harris dodged, “Well, let me tell you, you can look at the audience and see there are people of every background and gender who are showing up by the thousands, and I think it is because they know I intend to be a president for all Americans, and that's how I'm campaigning to earn the vote of every American.”
Alexander interrupted to try again, “So, what explains it?” After Harris finished her response, Alexander tried a third time, “Just to be clear though, men still say by a 16 percent margin they’re supporting Donald Trump right now. Why do you think that is?”
Again, Harris dodged, “It’s not the experience I'm having to be honest with you.”
Alexander then narrated, “The vice president has been reluctant to distance herself from President Biden, now casting it as a matter of loyalty.”
Back with Harris, he inquired, “President Biden said this week that “every president has to cut their own path.” What is one policy that you would have done differently in the last three-and-a-half years than President Biden?”
Harris, again, dodged by claiming it is not healthy for vice presidents to attack their presidents, but Alexander persisted, “He’s given you that green light with his comments, that you can carve your own path, so now that you have this ability to say.”
This time Harris was more willing to answer and cited various ideas surrounding Medicare, housing affordability, and small businesses.
For his final question, Alexander lobbed another softball. First, he reported, “Harris turns 60 tomorrow with campaign stops in Georgia,” and then asked, “You talk about generation change; what does generational change mean to you?”
Harris replied with a typical Harris-ism, “I think it’s about a state of mind and it is about understanding that we should be focused on this moment, and this is a very particular moment where there's a lot happening in our country that is about innovation that are really new approaches to longstanding challenges, and it's a new generation of thinking as much as anything else.”
Here is a transcript for the October 19 show:
NBC Today
10/19/2024
8:07 AM ET
PETER ALEXANDER: At the convention, you passed yourself as a joyful warrior, but in the recent rallies, you’ve increasingly attacked former President Trump as unstable and unhinged. Is that an effective closing –
KAMALA HARRIS: And unfit. And unfit.
ALEXANDER: Is that an effective closing argument?
HARRIS: I think that one is not to the exclusion of the other. I have a great deal of optimism as do the people who are here about the future of our country. That is not in conflict with also being clear-eyed about the danger that Donald Trump poses based on the language that he has used and his admiration for dictators, his inability to really focus on the needs of the American people, particularly working people. These things are not in conflict. They all exist at the same time.
ALEXANDER: The critics who say the joy is gone. You respond?
HARRIS: Oh, I'm having a great time.
ALEXANDER: And we pressed her about the widening gap. The latest NBC News poll shows Harris leads Trump among women by 14 points, but Trump has a 16-point advantage with men. Just this week, her campaign expanded advertising on websites that draw largely male audiences, like the sports betting site DraftKings. The vice president downplaying the divide.
Why do you think there is a disconnect for you with men right now?
HARRIS: Well, let me tell you, you can look at the audience and see there are people of every background and gender who are showing up by the thousands, and I think it is because they know I intend to be a president for all Americans, and that's how I'm campaigning to earn the vote of every American.
ALEXANDER: So, what explains it?
HARRIS: Not only about their gender, but about their geographic location and unburdened by who they voted for in the past.
ALEXANDER: Just to be clear though, men still say by a 16 percent margin they’re supporting Donald Trump right now. Why do you think that is?
HARRIS: It’s not the experience I'm having to be honest with you.
ALEXANDER: The vice president has been reluctant to distance herself from President Biden, now casting it as a matter of loyalty
President Biden said this week that “every president has to cut their own path.” What is one policy that you would have done differently in the last three-and-a-half years than President Biden?
HARRIS: I mean, to be very candid with you, you know, including Mike Pence, vice presidents are not critical of their presidents. I think, really, actually, that in terms of the tradition of it and also just going forward, it does not make for a productive and important relationship.
ALEXANDER: He’s given you that green light with his comments, that you can carve your own path, so now that you have this ability to say—
HARRIS: No, going forward, there’s no question I bring my own experiences and my own life experiences.
ALEXANDER: Is there a policy that stands out to you in particular either—?
HARRIS: Sure. My approach to what we need to do around Medicare covering home healthcare, born out of my experience of taking care of my mother. My priority on housing, one, because I know what it means, affordable housing and the ability to buy a home. I know for so many young people, the American dream is just really out of reach, so my policy about $25,000 down payment assistance to help them get their foot in the door.
The work I've been doing and bringing to the presidency around emphasizing small businesses is part of the real backbone of the economy.
ALEXANDER: Harris turns 60 tomorrow with campaign stops in Georgia.
You talk about generation change; what does generational change mean to you?
HARRIS: I think it’s about a state of mind and it is about understanding that we should be focused on this moment, and this is a very particular moment where there's a lot happening in our country that is about innovation that are really new approaches to longstanding challenges, and it's a new generation of thinking as much as anything else.
