In The Belly Of The Beast: Kamala Harris Fights To Get A Word In During Inimical Inaugural Fox News Interview
Editor’s Note: In an earlier version of this article, it said that Vice President Harris called Fox News’ Bret Baier a “real journalist.” In fact, the Democrat referred to Baier as a “serious journalist.” We apologize for the error & have corrected it.
“I’m in the middle of responding to the point you’re raising, and I’d like to finish,” Vice President Kamala Harris sternly told Fox News’ Bret Baier today in her first appearance on the Rupert Murdoch-owned outlet as the anchor repeatedly spoke over her.
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Jumping into the belly of the beast at the conservative cable newser for the first time in her long career, Harris found herself being pilloried by Baier, especially over illegal immigration and border security. At the same time, having been roasted online by the MAGA base in anticipation of softball questions, “serious journalist” (as the VP called him at one point) Baier barely let the VP get a word in during the opening part of the sit-down.
It wasn’t a good look for Fox, and a gift to Harris who got to play tough in Trump’s media backyard and lean into her rival’s mental decline. Raising her voice several times, the VP once again went hard on her default position that Trump is fundamentally “unstable” and dangerous to have back in the Oval Office.
Trump has declined to debate Harris again after the VP bested him in their September 10 cage match. To that end, today’s appearance by Harris on Fox News Channel’s Special Report is as close the VP may have to getting up-closer and personal with Fox’s ratings-topping audience.
As Baier played largely to the MAGA base and his core viewership, the veteran anchor appeared largely out of his depth. Challenged on his questions and wanting to flex his own muscles, Baier ended up fumbling his line of questioning and losing control of the interview to the well-prepped VP as he got caught up in centering over and over on culture war issues and Joe Biden’s mental acuity.
Announced on October 14, after a media blitz week by the VP, Harris’ interview with Fox and Baier was filmed just a couple of hours beforehand in Pennsylvania’s Washington Crossing Historic Park after a campaign event.
With Trump slightly ahead in the latest national polls going into the last three weeks of the campaign, Harris’ Fox News interview was a show of grit by the VP for almost everyone except those who regularly watch Fox News. In many ways, today’s antagonistic face-off resembled debates Joe Biden and Harris have had with Trump where the latter tried to dominate with long-winded put downs and exaggerations.
Which Harris alluded to near the end of the 30-minute sit-down.
“I would like that we would have a conversation that is grounded in full assessments of the facts,” the VP told Baier after several more interruptions and a whitewashing of Trump’s threat of using the military against “radical left lunatics.”
“I think this interview is supposed to be about the choices that your viewers should be presented about this election, and the contrast is important,” she said at the conclusion of Wednesday back and forth.
As the conversation progressed, Harris started to flip the script, raise her voice and talk over Baier to get her points across. “It’s not supposed to be easy, it’s not supposed to be a cake walk,” the VP sternly said to the anchor of how close the election is. She went on to criticize Trump’s attacks and insults against Americans who don’t support him and threatening to take revenge upon his enemies if he gets back in the White House. “I would never say that about the American people,” Harris emphasized, noting all the former members of the Trump administration and the military who say his potential return to office could be a disaster for the nation.
RELATED: VPTV: Kamala Harris’ Media Tour Into Uncharted Territory Could Prove To Be Her October Surprise
During one exchange, Harris shoved back hard at a clip Baier played of Trump laughing off his “enemy within” statements and accusing the Democrats of weaponizing the government against their political enemies. “Bret, I’m sorry, and with all due respect, that clip was not what he has been saying about the enemy within that he has repeated when he is speaking about the American people,” the VP insisted in what may be the clip of the interview for her supporters. “That’s not what you just showed,” Harris added, with a swipe at the media echo chambers.
Back in the battleground Keystone State once again, Harris held a rally Wednesday with GOP supporters like former Congressman Adam Kinzinger who are backing her against Trump. Self-declared “father of IVF” Trump was on Fox News earlier in the day in a rambling pre-taped town hall with host Harris Faulkner in front of an all-female audience. Trump appeared at a pre-taped Univision town hall earlier today, with Enrique Acevedo moderating – as he did for the Veep’s town hall last week.
As early voting kicks off with record-breaking numbers in states like Georgia, neither candidate has media appearances scheduled for tomorrow, for now.
Harris is set to appear in a CNN town hall next week. Trump was asked to participate on the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned network, but said no, for now.
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