Ruffini on Harris’s ‘Long-Winded’ Answers: A ‘Reminder’ of the Kamala Harris Dems Were ‘Nervous’ About

RUSH TRANSCRIPT:
LINE: “Here it is a big opportunity for Vice President Kamala Harris to knock the first big single interview out of the park. And put those nay-sayers aside that say she does nothing but answer questions with word salads and then we ask — this young — local Reporter says we need specifics. It is kind of sad that here we are — you know, weeks and week and weeks into this campaign still begging for specifics. And you get this long-winded answer from Vice President Kamala Harris going in — about her life story and the middle class before she starts to address the question. Your thoughts on how she did in that first big first solo interview.”
RUFFINI: “This was a reminder of the Kamala Harris Democrats were so nervous about — running in Joe Biden’s place initially. You know, many people said that at the time very early after that first debate that you know, replacing Biden would be too risky. Because of exactly these sorts of appearances that she made throughout her time as vice president. You know, giving answers exactly like the ones she gave with word salad that didn’t really make very much sense could not speak convincingly. Now, on the debate on the debate stage, she did just fine. Right? And that’s, you know, she had a week locked away to memorize the answers but when she doesn’t have the opportunity to do that she just can’t seem to speak convincingly not only to the issues. I was struck by the lack of passion, you know, when it came to explaining her life story. And for better or worse, presidential elections are not just about interviews. They’re not just about, you know, they’re not just about policies. They’re about taking the measure of a person, and I was surprised that even in this kind of a softball local news interview setting that she couldn’t connect.”