Vice President Kamala Harris clashed with CNN reporter Anderson Cooper on Thursday night after President Biden was panned for his debate performance, raising concerns about the Democratic leadership and becoming frustrated.
Cooper told Harris that there were people “in your party” who thought Biden should drop out of the presidential race after his halting, raspy speech confounded the liberal media and Democratic supporters.
“What we saw tonight was a very clear contrast between the president and Donald Trump on every issue that matters to the American people.” Harris said“Obviously, we started slow, but we finished strong at the end.”
Ms Harris defended Mr Biden as strong on “policies and record”, but Mr Cooper interrupted, saying it was a great shame for Mr Biden’s supporters.
On June 27, 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on CNN.
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“Democrats who watched the debate were concerned about the performance. Some said it was a disaster, others said it was a disaster. They were Democrats particularly concerned that Biden didn’t push back against Trump’s lies,” Cooper said.
“People can argue about style, but ultimately this election and who becomes president of the United States must be about substance,” Harris said, blasting Trump as a liar and condemning his response to January 6, his acceptance of the election results and abortion.
As Harris slammed Trump, Cooper again interrupted her, saying, “All of that may be true, but the president of the United States couldn’t make that case to Donald Trump on stage tonight.”
“You debated then-Vice President Biden four years ago, and you said he was a completely different person onstage when you debated him four years ago. Is that really true?” Cooper asked.
“I understand that you are saying tonight’s debate will be an hour and a half,” Harris said. “I’m talking about the culmination of three and a half years of historic work.”
Former President Donald Trump was widely seen as the winner of the first presidential debate on Thursday. (Getty Images)
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Cooper interrupted Harris, asking if the man on the debate stage was someone she sees every day.
“I’ve watched the last three and a half years of performances and I’m not going to spend the whole night talking with you about the last 90 minutes,” she said firmly.
Cooper kept up the pressure, arguing that this is the kind of debate and rules the campaign wants.
“After watching the president’s actions tonight, can you tell me you’re not concerned at all?” Cooper asked.
“It’s been a slow start. I’m not going to argue that,” Harris acknowledged. “I’m talking about a choice in November. I’m talking about one of the most important elections of our lifetimes. Do we want to see what happens in November and continue down a path that is destructive to our democracy?”
She went on to say the election had “extraordinary stakes” and, as she has said in other interviews, Biden had the endorsement of his vice president, Mike Pence, who famously has not endorsed former President Trump for the 2024 presidential election.
Vice President Kamala Harris. (Screenshot/ABC)
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Cooper noted that neither candidate has run his campaign as “consistently” as he has.
Harris briefly thanked Cooper at the end of one of his most contentious interviews. Media Interviews What she has experienced in her career.
A CNN poll found that 67% of debate viewers thought Trump had won, while just 33% thought Biden had won.
