It’s almost as if the media had rehearsed their reactions before Vice President Kamala Harris even sat down for her Fox News interview with Bret Baier. I mean, come on, they practically had their scripts in hand the moment she stepped off set. Within hours of her appearance, the legacy media outlets were parroting the same line: Kamala is a symbol of “toughness” and “strength.” Really? Showing up 20 minutes late to dodge tough questions makes her a beacon of bravery?
Let’s not kid ourselves—this interview was anything but a showcase of Harris’s strength. It was an exercise in pivoting, filibustering, and, of course, trying to drag Donald Trump into every single response. Bret Baier did what any journalist worth their salt should do: he pressed her for actual answers. But instead of tackling the tough questions, Harris pivoted and defaulted to what’s become her go-to move—criticize Trump, because when all else fails, blame Trump!
The left-wing media didn’t waste any time jumping to her defense. CNN’s Brian Stelter, in a particularly groan-worthy moment, declared that Harris showing up on Fox News at all was a sign of “toughness.” Yep, you heard that right. Just appearing on a network that doesn’t coddle her like MSNBC is now considered an act of courage. Stelter didn’t even bother to highlight any substantial points from the interview because, let’s face it, there weren’t many. Instead, he was more impressed that she had the nerve to show up in the first place. Talk about low expectations!
Stelter said, “I think this strategy from Harris was a Google strategy. She wanted Fox Viewers to start to Google some of the things she was saying because some of the comments she was making this interview are foreign to the Fox audience. For example, General Mark Milley saying Trump is a fascist to the core, that’s barely been covered on Fox News. She was able to get some of those talking points in this was the most adversarial interview, Kamala Harris has probably ever done, instead of getting to debate Trump again, she got the debate Bret Baier. And a lot of viewers are going to come away saying, ‘Wow, she’s willing to do that.’ That’s a sign of toughness and strength.”
Even Alyssa Farah Griffin, the ever-reliable Trump critic, chimed in with the usual tired talking points, attacking Trump’s character while ignoring the lack of substance in Harris’s responses. It’s the same song and dance we’ve seen before. When you can’t defend your candidate’s performance, just resort to attacking the opposition.
And then, like clockwork, the usual suspects on social media took their shots at Bret Baier for being “rude” or “misleading.” Former Senator Claire McCaskill claimed that Baier was “scared” of Harris. Really? Is that what we’re going with now? Apparently, asking straightforward questions is now considered a sign of fear. The irony here is that Democrats are quick to accuse Fox of being biased, but when someone like Baier treats Harris the same way he treated Trump, suddenly, it’s a case of sexism or rudeness.
I figured @BretBaier would be tough. I didn’t think he would be downright rude and disrespectful. The VP did great. She is strong. He is scared.
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) October 16, 2024
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign is sitting back, probably laughing, and letting the media tie itself in knots trying to spin Harris’s performance as some kind of victory. They posted the entire interview, unedited as if to say, “Here, judge for yourselves.” And that’s the thing—anyone watching that interview with an ounce of objectivity could see that Harris was floundering, deflecting, and desperately trying to keep the focus off her own record and on Trump.
NEW: CNN’s Brian Stelter says Fox News viewers are going to think Kamala Harris was super tough and strong after her interview with Bret Baier.
Stelter argued that Harris was using a “Google strategy” during her interview.
“Some of the comments she was making in this interview… pic.twitter.com/oPeCla7W42
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 17, 2024
But hey, when the media’s only metric for success is whether a Democrat can survive a Fox News interview without breaking down, I guess that’s what they’ll call “strength” these days.
