Kamala Harris Fox News interview marred by interruptions

Kamala Harris sat down with Bret Baier on Wednesday afternoon for her first in-depth interview on Fox News and the Democratic presidential candidate. BUT WHAT ABOUT WHAT YOU SAID IN 2019?

Do you think this is difficult to follow? You should have watched the interview. Baier, Fox News' main political host, seemed determined to prove to the trolls on X and other critics (and Donald Trump) that he could do a controversial interview.

He did that. He could have done that too. It's his job. But there is an effective way to do this and this wasn't it.

Particularly at the beginning of the half-hour interview, when Baier pressed Harris on questions about immigration, which she cautiously began to answer, he interrupted her. Repeated. Until it became ridiculous.

Baier repeatedly interrupted Harris during her immigration response

Baier asked Harris how many immigrants have been released into the country since Joe Biden took office. She clearly didn't want to give a number as she began, “Bret, let's just get to the point. The point is we have a broken immigration system that needs to be fixed.”

Baier was dissatisfied and didn't let himself rest until he got his number. “I’m not done yet,” she said after a pause. “I just started answering your question,” she said after another.

Then, after further interruptions: “May I please finish?” May I please finish answering? You must please let me finish.” And: “I am in the process of responding to the point you are making and would like to finish.”

Later, in a postmortem discussion on Fox News, Baier told a group of his colleagues, “I tried to redirect several times without interrupting too much.”

Uh, dude. How could you have interrupted more?

That set the tone for a contentious interview that produced a strong statement from Harris — “Let me be clear that my presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency” — amid much back-and-forth between Harris and Baier.

It was something that both sides could say went well and both sides could say went badly. (Minutes after the interview ended, Trump called it a “train wreck” on Truth Social, his social media platform. That's practically a compliment coming from him.)

Baier emphasized that Harris' change of position on some issues was certainly fair. But sometimes he used what sounded a lot like Republican talking points to frame his questions. For example, in a question about illegal immigrants crossing the border into the country, he named the victims of high-profile crimes involving immigrants.

Does Harris want to apologize to these families over Biden's border policies?

Say something? Of course, Harris said she was sorry. Who wouldn't do that? It's not that the topic isn't newsworthy. The way Baier asked the question assured him that he would not receive a substantive answer in response. Intentional or not, it had the effect of thwarting Trump and his supporters.

Harris handled this difficult moment particularly well

Harris handled a potential problematic moment particularly well. She brought up Trump's bizarre comments about “the enemy within” and the possible use of military force against Americans who oppose him. Baier was ready with a clip from Trump's all-women town hall, which aired earlier Wednesday on Fox News (where there were many Republican supporters, a point that would have been appreciated), in which Trump tried to explain himself . The clip did Trump no favors, but there it was. Someone must have thought it made him look good, or at least less threatening.

Harris wasn't having it.

“I’m sorry,” Harris said, “and with all due respect, that clip is not what he said.”

Baier seemed determined to get a good tone out of Harris. “Why, if he's as bad as you say, does half the country support this person?” he asked.

“This is an election for President of the United States. It’s not supposed to be easy,” Harris said.

Again: What should she say? There is no good answer to such a question, but Baier was looking for one.

“So are they misguided, the 50%? Are they stupid?” said Baier.

“Oh God, I would never say that about the American people,” Harris said.

No joke. Trump, she said, is the one who demeans Americans with whom he disagrees at his rallies. For Baier, that was an absurd question.

Fox News viewers don't often hear Harris calling Trump “unstable.”

Baier is an experienced journalist who has spoken to many people. He certainly doesn't need any interviewing lessons from me. However, it is usually better to let the subject answer a question before interrupting and pushing back. I'm just saying it.

I think in some ways the interview was a plus for Harris and Baier. Baier had to show how tough he could be, or something. At least he could interrupt that often. Presumably Trump and the X-Trolls can't blame him for going easy on Harris. Harris, for her part, has been on fire a time or two, showing in a network that's rarely kind to her that she's actually capable of handling tough questions. (It was probably a surprise to loyal followers of the network's prime-time anchors that she could even speak, so relentlessly did they bully her.)

And it's not often that a Fox News viewer tunes in to hear Harris say of Trump: “He's unstable.”

It was worth it for that alone.

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Baier repeatedly interrupted Harris during her immigration response

Harris handled this difficult moment particularly well

Fox News viewers don't often hear Harris calling Trump “unstable.”

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