Kamala gave an interview to say (almost) nothing

We already know when and how Kamala Harris discovered that her life had changed forever. It was the morning of Sunday, July 21. The vice president was preparing breakfast for visiting relatives when the phone rang. It was Joe Biden. The president called to inform Harris of the decision he had just made: to resign his re-election bid and pass the baton.

The story hit the front pages of the American press this morning, shortly after Kamala Harris told it in her first interview since that day, the day of Biden’s resignation.

The person in charge of asking the questions was a veteran journalist from CNN, Dana Bashcarefully selected by the Harris campaign from a list of ten people. Harris, they say, would have preferred Gayle KingCBS. But King was excluded to avoid being interviewed in an environment too much friendly.

Despite Bash’s occasional insistence, the fact that the story of how Harris discovered she had become the Democratic Party’s leading option for the November election is the highlight of the interview proves only one thing: The interview, which lasted half an hour, did not yield much..

According to the most astute observers, this was to be expected. Because? Well, because apparently, Harris and Tim Walz (his running mate and the person who was at his side throughout the interview) agreed to be interviewed only because the American electorate had been demanding it for weeks.

The mission was therefore none other than to close the file without giving too much to talk about. Answer while avoiding revealing headlines.

Earn passive points by offering grayness, in short.

The theme of hydraulic fracturingFor example. Hydraulic fracturing, in Spanish. A technique that allows the extraction of what is called shale gas, a type of hydrocarbon trapped in layers of rock, usually at great depth, and one of the bêtes noires of contemporary environmentalism. “For or against?” asked Bash, aware that in 2019, when Harris faced Biden in the primaries organized by the Democratic Party for the 2020 elections, he was in favor of banning its practice.

“What I’ve seen is that we can grow and drive a green energy economy without having to ban energy. hydraulic fracturing“Harris responded. Something she added she has maintained since Biden named his vice president, though it is convenient to say it now given the importance of fracking to Pennsylvania’s economy, one of the key states to win the White House.

Or immigration. One of the key issues in this election, judging by the list of concerns Americans usually bring up when sociologists ask them. “Tougher or softer?” Bash asked. After highlighting her accomplishments as California’s attorney general, a position she held from 2011 to 2017, which she used to pursue gun, drug and human trafficking at the country’s southern border, Harris said the laws are there to be enforced, and that she believes there should be consequences for people who enter the United States illegally.

Nevertheless, He also said that the procedures for obtaining citizenship should be made easier..

Harris also blamed Donald Trump for forcing the Republican Party to vote against the bill promoted by Biden and which, if approved, would have brought about structural changes to the border, with the aim of hardening it.

A third example, Gaza. “What is your position?” Bash asked. Harris responded that it was about trying to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the subsequent release of the hostages taken by the latter in the October 7 attack.

That is, the same as Biden.

“Perhaps the most remarkable thing was the wink he gave to conservatives when he suggested that if he made it to the White House, he would have Republicans in his cabinet.”

However, since one of his goals is not to appear too continuous, Harris also spent several minutes distancing himself from the man who is still his boss.

Following the tone set at the Democratic National Convention held last week in Chicago, where she was presented as the candidate of a new era, the current vice president told CNN cameras that, while she feels extremely proud to have served with someone as honest and patriotic as Biden, it is time for Americans to “They can turn the page on a decade that I believe was contrary to the spirit of our country.”.

In this sense, perhaps the most striking was the wink he gave to conservatives by suggesting that, if he made it to the White House, will have Republican Party people in his cabinet.

It’s something that seems strange now, since neither Biden nor Trump have added political opponents to their respective governments, but it has its tradition. George W. BushFor example, he put Normand Mineta at the head of the Ministry of Transport, and Barack Obama do the same thing with Ray LaHooda conservative congressman from Illinois. He also appointed Senator Chuck Hagelanother conservative, Secretary of Defense.

“I think it would benefit all Americans,” Harris said. He must have thought it would also benefit his fellow Americans not to engage in discussions with Trump on identity issues.

Asked about what the former president said a few weeks ago, when he accused Harris of identifying as black just to win votes, the vice president chose to shrug. “Next question,” she said, though eventually, under pressure from the interviewer, she explained: “I am running because I believe I am the best person for the job right now, regardless of my race or gender.”.