Democratic strategist David Axelrod said late Thursday that he doesn't think voters know much about Vice President Harris or whether the Democratic candidate's policy views have changed significantly in recent years.
Axelrod joined the CNN panel after Harris' first television interview as a leading Democratic candidate.
The interview was seen as a key policy moment for her, who has been criticised on the right for her sparse media appearances.
She has also been criticized for shifting positions on policy issues such as fracking and border decriminalization. Harris maintained during the interview that her values have not changed.
“First of all, I don't know how much voters are thinking about this,” Axelrod said of Harris's reaction. “They don't know much about her. And, frankly, they're finding out more and more about her.”
Axelrod added that voters have been inundated with information about Harris over the past month.
He also said he doesn't think the average voter cares whether Harris has changed her stance on certain issues since running in the 2020 Democratic primary.
That may be a bigger issue for reporters and people who haven't yet made up their minds, he said.
Axelrod noted that Harris' interview, which aired on CNN, was her first big unscripted moment since the start of her campaign, and that while she has held packed rallies around the country and formally accepted the party's nomination at the Democratic National Convention, each of her speeches was planned and read off a teleprompter, he added.
“What's interesting is how she answers those questions and whether she's comfortable doing it,” Axelrod said. “She seemed very comfortable there.”
During the interview, Harris was asked by CNN's Dana Bash about former President Trump's comments about her race. Harris is of Jamaican and South Asian descent, and Trump has criticized her for highlighting different parts of her heritage at different times.
Harris said this was Trump's “usual, tired tactic” and asked Bash to move on to the next question.
Axelrod said Harris' actions were “absolutely right” because they showed she was focusing on people's issues rather than attacking her rivals.
“I think that's what the American people want to hear,” he said.
A new Wall Street Journal poll found that 84 percent of respondents said they knew enough about Harris' record and policy positions to form an opinion.
