During Friday's broadcast of HBO's “Real Time,” MSNBC host and NBC senior business analyst Stephanie Ruhle said that “there are some things we may not know” about the answers to questions from Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, but that “we know everything” about the answers to questions from Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump.
Luhle began by saying that Harris is in a tough position on Israel policy because she is the sitting vice president.
The New York Times Columnist Bret Stephens said, “But my question for you is an honest question: Is she being vague because the political stakes don't make it worthwhile to be specific, or is she just completely clueless? I can't say…”
Ruhle interjected.[T]That's not an honest question for me, because you don't expect me to turn around and say, 'You know what, Brett, you're right, she doesn't know anything.'”
Stevens then said, “The question that Americans have is, I'm an undecided voter, I'm not going to vote for Trump, but I don't know if I want to vote for Kamala. And my concern is, I'm not really sure what she wants to do as president. It would be great for her to sit down with the president and have a conversation.” [host Bill Maher] Or George Stephanopoulos. Or you, Stephanie.”
After host Bill Maher joked about Harris being interviewed, Stevens continued, “Twenty-five years ago, George W. Bush was asked if he could name the president of Pakistan and other people, and he couldn't answer at all, and people said the guy had no knowledge of foreign policy. And it was a prescient set of questions. It wouldn't be that far-fetched to ask Kamala, for example, if she would support a Palestinian state if Hamas were running that state.”
“So if you don't like her answers, will you vote for Donald Trump?” Ruhle responded. When Stevens said she would not, Ruhle continued, “Kamala Harris isn't running for perfection, she's running against Trump. We have two options. So we may not know what she answers. And in 2024, unlike in 2016, for many Americans, we know exactly what Trump does, who he is, and what a threat he is to our democracy.”
Stevens cut in and fired back, “Stephanie, the problem people have with Kamala is that she can't answer for anything, OK?”
Ruhle responded: “But you know what his answer is to everything.”
Stevens continued: “So I definitely won't vote for him and people shouldn't vote for him either, but I also expect people to have some idea of what the policies of the person they're voting for are, not say, 'X is this, so you have to vote for Y.' Let's dig a little deeper. I don't think it's too much to ask her for a real interview, not just a flattering article where she states her feelings.” [on] I grew up in Oakland, which has nice lawns.”
Ruhle responded: “To that, if you move to Nirvana, give me your real estate agent's phone number and I'll be your neighbor. We don't live there.”
Stevens then said he wanted “substantive answers to the real questions facing the American people on inflation, immigration, foreign policy – the fundamental issues that we all expected a presidential candidate to answer.”
Ruhle responded: “I'd say this: Have you played the game? Would you rather? Because that's what it means to vote for president.”
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