Bret Baier and Kamala Harris square off in Fox News interview (X)
Kamala Harris journeyed into enemy territory on Wednesday for her first formal interview with Fox News, and it did not take long for fireworks to begin. In the end, however, Harris seemed to acquit herself well and likely earned points with undecided voters for being willing to take on a tricky task less than three weeks until election day.
A joint report from The Independent and Yahoo News! provides insight on the challenges both sides faced when Harris took questions from Fox anchor Bret Baier. Under the headline "Harris’s Fox interview starts off with fireworks as she gets into heated exchange over border security," The Independent's Katie Hawkinson writes:
Kamala Harris sat down for her first formal interview with Fox News on Wednesday and immediately started with arguments between her and anchor Bret Baier over the border and her opponent, Donald Trump.
The interview, which lasted 27 minutes, included several heated exchanges between the Democratic nominee and the host from the conservative network. They frequently talked over each other, and Harris was much more animated than in other recent appearances as part of her media blitz.
Harris and Baier kicked off the conversation with a feisty exchange over immigration. The vice president then wrapped with a demand for Baier to focus the interview on a “full assessment of the facts.”
What was Baier interested in discussing? His first question provided a clue. Hawkinson writes:
Baier first asked Harris how many “illegal immigrants” she estimates have entered the US during her tenure as vice president. They entered a back-and-forth, and Baier, at one point, interrupted, asking Harris for “just a number,” while she asked the anchor to let her finish.
Baier also quizzed Harris about if she supports “using taxpayer dollars to help prison inmates or detained illegal aliens to transition to another gender.”
The question comes after a 2019 questionnaire filled out by Harris came to light, where she supported using tax dollars for gender-affirming care for federal prisoners and detained immigrants. Harris responded to Baier by pointing out that incarcerated people received gender-affirming health care under Trump.
“I will follow the law, and it’s a law that Donald Trump actually followed, you’re probably familiar with it now,” Harris said. “It’s a public report that under Donald Trump’s administration, these surgeries were available on a medical necessity basis to people in the federal prison system.”
That answer probably was the first sign that interviewing Harris was not going to be a breeze for Baier. It was one of the first contentious moments in the interview, and not surprisingly, it involved Donald Trump. From The Independent/Yahoo! report:
The vice president also distanced herself from Joe Biden, telling Baier her presidency “will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency.”
”Like every new president that comes into office, I will bring my life experiences, my professional experiences, and fresh and new ideas, I represent a new generation of leadership,” Harris said.
However, she backed Biden’s mental fitness as the host pushed her on what she noticed during their time in the White House.
“Bret. Joe Biden is not on the ballot, but Donald Trump is,” an agitated Harris said, with the host talking over her.
“Bret, Bret, Donald Trump is on the ballot,” Harris implored, which Baier said he understood.
“I think the American people have a concern about Donald Trump,” Harris continued. “Which is why the people that know him best, including leaders of our National Security community, have all spoken out, even people who worked for him in the Oval Office, worked with him in the situation room, and have said he is unfit and dangerous.”
Ouch! Looks like Harris landed a serious blow to the solar plexus of Fox's MAGAfied audience. Baier was not done, but Harris probably had performed well enough to make the interview worthwhile from her standpoint. Hawkinson writes:
As the interview came to a close, Harris highlighted Trump’s treatment of military personnel and their families.
“During Donald Trump's administration, we had an American military base that was attacked, where American soldiers suffered traumatic brain injuries, and Donald Trump dismissed them as headaches,” she said. “Not to mention how Donald Trump has treated and talked about America's military and military service people and calling them suckers and losers.”
Baier then interrupted, and Harris shot back that she would like to have a conversation “that is grounded in full assessment of the facts.”
“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.
Harris has been on a media blitz in recent days, most recently participating in a discussion with radio host Charlamagne Tha God on Tuesday.
Last week, Harris appeared on CBS News’s 60 Minutes for an interview with Bill Whitaker. CBS also invited Trump to appear, but he declined and later baselessly accused the network of committing a crime, claiming they “sliced and diced” the interview.