‘Word salad’: Kamala Harris roasted over garbled answers at town hall event
Kamala Harris has been slammed, once again, for offering “word salad” in response to questions about her policies.
Kamala Harris has been slammed, once again, for offering “word salad” in response to questions about her policies.
The American Vice President, and Democratic presidential nominee, has something of a reputation for giving garbled answers during interviews.
She did little to alleviate that impression during a town hall event yesterday, hosted by CNN.
Ms Harris was quizzed by the network’s host, Anderson Cooper, and by voters in the key swing state Pennsylvania. CNN said it had also invited her opponent, Donald Trump, but he had declined to attend.
“Is there something you can point to in your life – political life, or your life in the last four years – that you think is a mistake that you have learned from?” Mr Cooper asked her at one point.
“I mean, I’ve made many mistakes,” she responded.
“Umm ... and they range from. If you’ve ever parented a child, you know, you make lots of mistakes!
“In my role as Vice President, I mean, I’ve probably worked very hard at making sure that, umm, I am well versed on issues, and I think that is very important. It’s a mistake not to be well versed on an issue and feel compelled to answer a question.”
Riiiiight.
It was not an isolated moment, as Barack Obama’s former top political adviser, David Axelrod, noted afterwards.
“She was very strong, as she has been, on abortion rights, because she feels passionately about it,” Mr Axelrod said.
“She can be clinical on some of these economic issues. She was great on the long-term care for the elderly, to help people.
“The thing that would concern me is when she doesn’t want to answer a question, her habit is to kind of go to word salad city, and she did that on a couple of answers.
“One was on Israel. Anderson asked a direct question: ‘Would you be stronger on Israel than Trump?’ And there was a seven-minute answer, but none of it related to the question he was asking,” said Mr Axelrod.
He also criticised Ms Harris for failing to properly acknowledge voters’ concerns about immigration.
“That’s a mistake. Sometimes you have to concede things, and she didn’t concede much,” the politics guru said.
‘It’s unconscionable’: Harris grilled on Israel
One of the questions Mr Axelrod mentioned referred to the conflict in the Middle East.
“My question is, as president, what would you do to ensure not another Palestinian dies due to bombs being funded by US tax dollars?” one voter asked.
“So I will say, and I think this is to your point, far too many innocent Palestinian civilians have been killed. It’s unconscionable,” said Ms Harris.
“And we are now at a place where, with Sinwar’s death, (Yahya Sinwar was a Palestinian militant and politician who served as chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau) I do believe we have an opportunity to end this war, bring the hostages home, bring relief to the Palestinian people.
“And work towards a two-state solution where the Palestinian people have dignity, self-determination, and the safety that they so rightly deserve.”
At this point Mr Cooper interjected.
“What do you say to voters who are thinking about supporting a third-party candidate, or staying on the couch, not voting at all, because of this issue?” he asked.
Voting is not compulsory in the United States; the candidates are not just trying to convince people to vote for them, they are also trying to make them vote at all.
“Listen, I am not going to deny the strong feelings that people have,” Ms Harris said in response to Mr Cooper.
“I don’t know anyone who has seen the images who would not have strong feelings about what has happened, much less those who have relatives who have died and been killed. And I know people and I’ve talked with people.
“So I appreciate that. But I also do know that for many people who care about this issue, they also care about bringing down the price of groceries. They also care about our democracy and not having a president of the United States who admires dictators and is a fascist.
“They also care about the fact that we need practical, common sense solutions from a leader who is willing to work across the aisle on behalf of the American people and not themselves. They want a president who cares about a fundamental freedom to make decisions about your own body, understanding that we’re not trying to change anyone’s belief, but let’s not have the government telling women what to do with their body.”
Not a whole lot about the Middle East in that answer.
“I want you to meet Beth Samberg,” Mr Cooper said, introducing the next questioner.
“She’s a realtor, a mom of four from Bellwood, Pennsylvania. She’s a registered Democrat, and says she’s undecided because of concerns about anti-Semitism.”
“Thank you for remembering, we need to bring the hostages home,” Ms Samberg said.
“Of course,” said Ms Harris.
“The rise of anti-Semitism and violence from anti-Semitism has risen greatly on college campuses and on our city streets in the last year. How would you combat this growing trend and protect our young adults?” Ms Samberg asked.
“Thank you, Beth. You are right. And I will say that we have seen a rise in anti-Semitism. It is something that we have to be honest about and we have to deal with,” said Ms Harris.
“As attorney general (of California), I actually published a hate crimes report on a regular basis, and anti-Semitism was among the highest forms of hate in our country. And this was before October 7. And we know what we’ve seen since.
“Part of what we’ve got to do is talk with people so that they understand what are the tropes, what are the roots of what we are seeing, so that we can have people be more understanding.
“We need to have laws in place that make those who would commit crimes on behalf of anti-Semitism and hate, that they pay a serious consequence. We need to have the deterrence so that doesn’t happen. We need to ensure that college students are safe in their school and feel safe to be able to go to class.
“But I’m going to tell you what doesn’t help. Again, I invite you to listen and go online to listen to John Kelly, the former chief of staff of Donald Trump, who has told us Donald Trump said, essentially: “Why aren’t my generals like those of Hitler’s. Like Hitler?”
Mr Cooper asked Ms Harris whether she believed Mr Trump was anti-Semitic.
“I believe Donald Trump is a danger to the wellbeing and security of America,” she replied.
“He’s casting himself as a protector of Israel. Do you believe you would be more pro-Israel than Donald Trump?” Mr Cooper followed up.
“I believe that Donald Trump is dangerous,” she said.
“I believe that, when you have a president of the United States who has said to his generals, who work for him because he is commander in chief – these conversations, I assume many of them took place in the Oval Office.
“And if the president of the United States, the commander in chief, is saying to his generals, in essence, ‘Why can’t you be more like Hitler’s generals?’ Anderson, come on. This is a serious, serious issue.
“And we know who he is. He admires dictators, sending love letters back and forth with Kim Jong-un. Talks about the president of Russia, and then, most recently, the reports are that, in the height of Covid, when most Americans could not get their hands on a test, Americans were dying by the hundreds a day, he secretly sent Covid tests to the president of Russia for his personal use.
“So again, this election in 13 days is presenting the American people with a very significant decision. And on the one side, on this issue of who is going to model what it means to use the bully pulpit of the president of the United States in a manner that, in tone, word and deed, is about lifting up our discourse, fighting against hate, as opposed to fanning the flames of hate, which Donald Trump does consistently.
“I’m going to tell you. We are an incredible country, and we love our country. You all wouldn’t be here unless we love our country. And there are certain things where we’ve just got to come together and realise that we do believe in the importance of healthy debate on real issues, but there are certain standards we’ve got to have.
“And, you know, another point that even John Kelly talked about, I believe, and many have, is January 6th, where you have the president of the United States defying the will of the people in a free and fair election and unleashing a violent mob, who attacked the United States Capitol.
“And so I say that the American people deserve to have a president who encourages healthy debate, works across the aisle, not afraid of good ideas wherever they come from, but also maintains certain standards about how we think about the role and the responsibility, and certainly not comparing oneself in a clearly admiring way to Hitler.”
The question, you will recall, was whether or not Mr Trump is anti-Semitic.
If you’re interested in General John Kelly’s remarks regarding Mr Trump, whom he served as White House chief of staff for two years, you can read about them here.
Originally published as ‘Word salad’: Kamala Harris roasted over garbled answers at town hall event
Fooled by the genius of Trump
Even after a decade of bitter experience, all the smartest guys in the room just can’t figure Donald Trump out, writes Joe Hildebrand.
Harris calls in star power in final election pitch
Megastar Beyoncé will headline Kamala Harris’ campaign appearances in a final pitch to voters as the race to the White House continues.