On top of the vice president’s dismal performance, the optics and staging of CNN’s Kamala Harris interview are taking a beating.
The criticism, which is all valid, comes down to this…
- A bizarrely dark location.
- A messy location with scattered coffee cups.
- Kamala in a gray suit in a dark location.
- Kamala’s Stolen Valor Support Liar Tim Walz towers over Kamala, who looks like a child.
- CNNLOL’s Dana Bash towers over Kamala.
- Kamala is furthest from the camera and looks like she brought her dad to a job interview.
- Kamala looks tinier than she is, as if she is barely able to get her elbows on the table.
- Kamala looks like a little kid at the grown-up table.
- Simply not presidential.
- Tim Walz looks like a lawyer or chaperone.
Add to that a disastrous interview performance, which Breitbart News has already covered in-depth, and what you have is a total whiff by the Harris campaign.
To me, she looked small, frightened, and timid.
And you know the campaign chose this dark and empty location.
Kamala needs to look presidential and in command. Optics matter in presidential politics. You can laugh and argue that’s a shallow way to choose a president, but I would argue that knowing how to stage optics or hiring people who know how to stage optics is a reflection of the candidate’s competency.
My expectations were that Kamala would knock this softball interview out of the park.
- Left-wing news outlet – check.
- Left-wing interviewer who is totally sympathetic – check.
- Six weeks to prepare – check.
- Aware of the high stakes – check.
- Team Obama prepping her – check.
Kamala is not dumb. Her problem is two-fold: 1) She has not thought through her policies because she is only interested in saying what will get her elected, and 2) She folds under pressure.
In short, on Thursday night, she choked.
Bringing Walz with her was a terrible decision that created much of that hilariously bad optic. Her answers were empty, even when the hideous Bash offered her softball questions with multiple-choice answers:
Generally speaking, how should voters look at some of the changes that you’ve made — that you explained some of here — in your policy? Is it because you have more experience now, and you’ve learned more about the information? Is it because you’re running for president in a Democratic primary?
One can only imagine how poorly Kamala did in the parts of the interview far-left CNN likely edited out.
The optics, though. Sheesh. Was Kamala hoping that with Walz and Bash on either side of her, she would look like the ChairCackler of the Board? Was that the idea? Well, instead, the vibe was pure Bugsy Malone — an intellectual child failing at playing grown-up.
Meanwhile, the Trump-Vance ticket sits down with all comers. Former President Donald Trump is even doing hour-long, free-flowing podcasts, something Kamala could never do without imploding her candidacy.
If I were Kamala, I’d get a food taster because Joe Biden is tanned! rested! and ready to go!
John Nolte’s first and last novel, Borrowed Time, is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here. Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook.
