(NewsNation) — Sean Spicer was not impressed with Vice President Kamala Harris’ interview on Fox News. And some Harris loyalists were not thrilled with how Harris was questioned by Fox’s Bret Baier.
“Today was another example of ‘I’ll say whatever I have to say depending on who I’m talking to.’ Tonight didn’t move the needle,” Spicer, a NewsNation contributor and former Trump White House Press Secretary, told NewsNation’s “On Balance.”
“She didn’t get her second debate with Donald Trump, but she got an opportunity here to debate one of his biggest cheerleaders,” said Democratic strategist Shaniqua McClendon, referring to Baier.
McClendon also believed that Democrats, and maybe some Republicans, would be impressed with Harris going “toe-to-toe” with Baier.
Geraldo Rivera said Harris impressed him with a tougher demeanor than she’d shown in other recent interviews. But, on “Dan Abrams Live, Rivera said he was “baffled” by what he called Harris’ lack of preparation.
“How could she not be ready to answer (questions about) Laken Riley and Mollie Tibbetts,” Rivera asked. He noted Harris could have scored some points by simply taking a moment to express sympathy for the high-profile victims of violence at the hands of people in the U.S. illegally. He called that “Politics 101.”
Former Harris aide Symone Sanders-Townsend was very critical of Baier.
“I’ve never witnessed what I witnessed tonight,” Sanders-Townsend posted on X. “The interviewer wasn’t themselves — instead he was rude, misleading and pulled questions straight out of a proverbial Trump/Vance press release,” she wrote.
ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith blasted Baier for questioning Harris about President Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities:
“Why are you asking the Democratic nominee for the presidency of the United States to dime out her boss?”
Smith told NewsNation’s “CUOMO” he wanted a deeper dive into what Harris would do if she becomes president.
“Ask her about the issues … and why they are. She talked about how this presidency is going to be hers. It’s not going to be Joe Biden’s. Well, how specifically do you mean that? What about the economy right now? What about inflation?”
But journalist Chris Cillizza said Harris’ key to victory will be to continue to distance herself from Biden.
“If she wins, it will be because of that answer … which is ‘I’m not Joe Biden,’” Cillizza told “On Balance.”
“If she does win, it will be because someone in her campaign, or she, realized that you cannot link yourself to a president who is at 40% approval, or lower,” he added.