Following Kamala Harris’ decisive defeat in the presidential election, veteran journalist Katie Couric expressed frustration with her media engagement, highlighting her continued failure to give concise answers during key moments throughout her three month campaign.
On the latest episode of her podcast Next Question with Katie Couric, Couric sat down with MSNBC host and former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. During the discussion, the two delved into several aspects of Harris’ performance during the election cycle, with Couric zeroing in on her media savvy (or lack thereof).
In one of the final weeks of the campaign, Harris lined up a series of softball interviews that didn’t seem to move the needle in her direction at all. Polling revealed that her interviews actually had the opposite of the desired effect, and Couric speculated that the nature of the interviews (and the perimeters set by the campaign) may have contributed to the unintended results.
“I always find that people do better when they’re asked really challenging, pointed questions,” Couric remarked, reflecting on her career and the interview process. “If you’re giving them these almost weird, like, amorphous softballs, it’s really hard to hone your message and be succinct and say what you really need to say.”
Psaki expressed a more positive view of Harris’ overall performance, making the peculiar choice to highlight her infamous Fox News interview with Bret Baier — the only interview she took with an “adversarial” outlet, though the popular consensus is that she bombed that interview. Couric contended that while Harris performed well in many areas, she was disappointed by the vice president’s struggle to give clear and direct answers during several high-profile interviews.
Couric highlighted one particular example, recalling Harris’ performance at a CNN town hall when she was asked about Supreme Court reform. Harris’ response to the question was largely perceived as underwhelming. Couric lamented that Harris responded in “one sentence,” before the vice president “went on to something that had nothing to do with the question.”
“People notice that, and it’s like, ‘Answer the g-dd–n question, please!’” Couric added, articulating a popular criticism of Harris throughout her campaign.
The former Today show anchor also pointed to another problematic moment for Harris: her much-discussed exchange on The View with co-host Sunny Hostin. During the interview, Harris was asked what she would do differently from President Biden, and said that she couldn’t think of anything. Couric described it as “one of the most damaging things” that occurred to Harris’ campaign.
Couric didn’t lay all of the blame on the Harris campaign, though.
“Why didn’t Joe Biden say, ‘Listen, I know you’re going to have to separate yourself from this administration. Let’s talk about areas where you can, where they’re legitimate, and God speed,'” Couric questioned, implying that Biden’s team could have been more strategic in addressing these potential pitfalls. She continued, saying, “It’s almost as if they were more afraid of hurting Joe Biden’s feelings than winning the election.”
Couric’s frustrations didn’t stop there. She also criticized Harris’ campaign team for what she saw as a lack of preparation for media appearances. Couric expressed disbelief that Harris, as a presidential candidate, wasn’t better equipped with a “template” for interviews. She said, “If I were running for president, I would sit down with my brain trust and be like, ‘Okay, let’s play out these questions. What am I gonna say?’”
Additionally, Couric pointed out that Harris had gone weeks without doing any interviews after emerging as the Democratic nominee, which she said “made me crazy as a consumer.” This lack of engagement with the media was seen as a critical misstep during a crucial period in the election cycle. When asked by Psaki about the reasoning behind Harris’ limited media presence, the former press secretary speculated that the campaign may have been focusing on debate prep, but Couric quipped, “She should’ve been everywhere.”
The idea that a presidential candidate couldn’t juggle debate prep with interviews — especially when one could argue that interviews help candidates prepare for debates — but could have handled the pressures and responsibilities of the White House may explain why Democrats are struggling to make sense of her loss.
Seijah: I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your writings. And I usually agree with your points. You are a pleasure to read.
Joel
When it comes to VP Harris, once an air-head always an air-head.