CNN anchor Kate Bolduin asked the network's panel on Friday morning how VP Harris can improve her standing in the polls while former President Trump is “beating” her on the economy.
Bolduan told CNN political commentators Van Jones and Alyssa Farrah Griffin that while Harris has performed well in the debates and has a good message on some fronts, Trump still beats her on one of the most important issues in this election cycle.
“There are potentially positive signs that Kamala Harris can talk about so-called late-stage reform, but Donald Trump still beats her on the economy,” she said.
Castor said the Harris campaign is in a “precarious position” ahead of the November election, pointing to polling results showing Trump maintaining a large lead immediately after Tuesday night's debate.
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CNN anchor Kate Bolduin argued to a network panel that former President Trump is “killing” Vice President Kamala Harris on the economy.
“Instant polls after the debate showed her leading Trump by 20 points on the economy, even though a majority said she won the debate,” Bolduin told guests.
However, both experts downplayed the figures.
Jones countered that 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was seen as doing a better job on the economy than former President Obama, which is why Obama won: “People thought Romney was doing a better job on the economy than Obama, but they believed Obama would fight harder for them.”
“People might think, 'Yes, he may be great on the economy, but he said he's going to help billionaires, but he's not going to help me,'” he added.
Griffin's counterargument was that Trump was too easily distracted to capitalize on the 20-point advantage, and she pointed to one of Trump's talking points from the debate as evidence of her claim.
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“The economy is objectively Donald Trump's biggest issue, but it all comes down to whether he can stay focused on it. His aides are getting him to give speeches that focus on the economy, but then he ends up going off in all sorts of directions, like Hannibal Lecter, about eating animals,” she said.
Jones countered by saying, “Every candidate has strengths and weaknesses.”
“The economy is weak for her and abortion is weak for him,” he said. “So everybody has strengths and weaknesses. What you have to do is mitigate your weaknesses as best you can, which is why he's shifting his stance here and there on abortion, and play to your strengths.”
Still, Bolduan wasn't convinced the Harris campaign was going all out on the economy, and said campaign officials he spoke to didn't have good answers about how the vice president would approach the economy.
“I've had questions from administration officials and Democrats in Congress asking, 'Why isn't she doing a good job on the economic stimulus package? Why didn't Biden do a good job on the economic stimulus package?' and so far I don't think they've gotten a satisfactory answer, which is, 'They don't get our message,'” Castor said.
She added: “And at some point I ask myself, 'What is the expiration date on that reasoning?' Because at some point there has to be an expiration date.”
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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