JASON COHEN (Daily Caller News Foundation)
CNN’s Michael Smerconish warned Saturday that Vice President Kamala Harris will eventually have to answer for her record and policy changes during her presidential campaign.
Harris has not sat down for a single interview nor published a policy platform on her campaign website as of Aug. 17, nearly four weeks into her presidential bid. Smerconish said Harris has been avoiding interviews because she desires additional time to explain why she has “flipped” on policies since launching her campaign, but that she will “be held accountable” at some point.
“Kamala Harris is not indestructible. She has served as an undistinguished, nearly invisible vice president. There appears no accomplishment she can point to for her most important responsibility, addressing the origin of the border crisis,” Smerconish said.
“Thus far, Harris has had a free ride. She has not given any media interviews, hasn’t faced voter questioning. When asked recently, she said that she would give an interview by the end of the month. She said that on August the eighth. No doubt she wants more time on the clock to prepare answers as to why she’s flipped on health care, fracking, weed, and the death penalty, to name just a few,” he added. “Sooner or later, she’s going to be held accountable and face pressure that she has thus far largely avoided.”
Pollster Frank Luntz on Friday said that voters in the focus groups he conducts have “real concern” about Harris being politically “extreme.” The vice president backed many left-wing policies during her 2020 presidential campaign, but she has reversed some of her stances since launching her 2024 campaign.
Smerconish also noted that Harris’ Friday speech about her economic plans “received mixed reviews” as some said it may raise costs for Americans.
“You’d think that she’ll enjoy another week of positive coverage amidst the DNC [Democratic National Committee], which will feature three democratic presidents, but with passions inflamed about Israel and Gaza, there is an air of unpredictability as to what will happen in Chicago,” he added.
Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, also has a far-left record on immigration and transgender policies. The governor has faced criticism for alleged “stolen valor,” and for his 2006 congressional campaign’s portrayal of a 1995 arrest in Nebraska.
The Walz campaign in 2006 “repeatedly made false statements” regarding Walz not drinking on the night he was arrested for driving 96 mph in a 55-mph zone, according to court records, CNN reported.
“I thought the DUI issue was a really significant and serious issue. I know that Republicans have spent a lot of time talking about the alleged stolen valor,” Smerconish said on Friday, raising his fingers into air-quotes. “My own opinion, for what it’s worth, having studied the facts, is that there’s no there-there. Walz spoke sloppily, should not have represented a role that he had as having been a permanent role when it wasn’t. But the DUI story is indefensible.”
Politico senior political columnist Jonathan Martin said on Friday that Harris intends to secure the presidency by “run[ning] out the clock” through not revealing detailed policy during her campaign and hoping the media focuses on former President Donald Trump.
