Vice President Kamala Harris attempted to pour cold water on the panicked reaction to Joe Biden’s disastrous debate against Donald Trump on Thursday night, instead deflecting to focus on the falsehoods spilled by the former president.
Pressed about the president’s performance on CNN, Harris argued that while Biden had “a slow start,” he had a “strong finish.” She then opted to stress the policy differences between him and Trump.
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper began by telling Harris how some in Democratic circles have expressed concern over how Biden came off, to the point of asking whether it’s worth it for him to even continue his re-election campaign.
ADVERTISEMENT
“CNN‘s John King has described panic inside the Democratic Party right now because of President Biden‘s performance in tonight‘s debate. He has been hearing from Democratic lawmakers and others around the country. Some within your own party are wondering if President Biden should even step aside,” Cooper said. “What do you say to that?”
Harris downplayed Biden’s demeanor.
“First of all, what we saw tonight is the president making a very clear contrast with Donald Trump on all of the issues that matter to the American people,” Harris replied.
“Yes, it was a slow start, but it was a strong finish, and what became very clear through the course of the night is that Joe Biden is fighting on behalf of the American people. On substance, on policy, on performance, Joe Biden is extraordinarily strong,” she continued, before Cooper interjected.
“The president’s performance tonight was clearly disappointing for his supporters,” Cooper said, citing how his network has reported that one Democratic lawmaker “said it was a ‘disaster’ and another called it a ‘train wreck.’”
“Those are Democrats especially worried that Biden did not punch back on Trump‘s lies.”
Harris shot back: “People can debate on style points, but ultimately this election and who is the president of the United States has to be about substance, and the contrast is clear.”
“Look at what happened during the course of the debate. Donald Trump lied over and over and over again, as he is wont to do,” she said.
“He would not disavow what happened on January 6. He would not give a clear answer on whether he would stand by the election results this November. He went back and forth about where he stands on one of the most critical issues of freedom in America, which is the right of women to make decisions about their own body,” Harris went on.
“He has been completely ambiguous and all over the place about where he stands on that issue, despite the fact that he had selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade. And that‘s exactly what they did.”
Moments later, Cooper contended that while all that “may be true,” Biden “was not able to make case to Donald Trump on the stage tonight.”
Cooper then brought up the 2020 primary debates between Harris and Biden, asking, “[Biden] was a very different person on the stage four years ago when you debated him. That’s certainly true, is it not?”
Harris, appearing to grow a bit frustrated, continued to emphasize the president’s track record.
“I get the point you’re trying to make about a one-and-a-half hour debate tonight. I’m talking about three and a half years of work that has been historic,” she said, as Cooper interjected again.
After giving a lengthy description of Biden’s role on the world stage, Harris was adamant: “I‘m not going to spend all night with you talking about the last 90 minutes when I‘ve been watching the last three and a half years of performance.”
When Cooper asked if she was “concerned” by the debate, Harris again acknowledged a “slow start.”
“That was obvious to everyone. I’m not going to debate that point,” she insisted. “I’m talking about the choice in November.”
