Kamala Harris looked “weak” and “bad” for waiting weeks and then sitting next to her running mate instead of appearing alone in her first interview since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, according to a panel of DailyMail.com viewers.
But they also suggested it was a missed opportunity that the vice president can quickly fix.
His performance received generally positive reviews. When 294 viewers were asked to give their opinion on a single word, the most common were “presidential” and “intelligent.”
After avoiding interviews for more than a month, the vice president sat down with CNN’s Dana Bash and her running mate Tim Walz to answer questions at a Georgia restaurant on Thursday.
JL Partners asked a representative sample of viewers: ‘Kamala Harris did the interview with her running mate and has not done a solo interview since being named the candidate. What image do you think Kamala Harris has going into this outcome?’
JL Partners asked 294 viewers what they thought of Kamala Harris’ decision to wait so long to give an interview and do so alongside her running mate on Thursday night.
The general response was “not impressed.”
“I think it makes her look bad because I really think she should sit down and have this interview so everyone in the world can see her point of view and where she’s coming from,” said the 52-year-old restaurant manager from Texas, who plans to vote for Harris in November.
Another Harris voter from Massachusetts said she was concerned it made her look “like she’s not fit to be president.”
However, others also said that delaying the interview made her look “busy” and that Walz seemed part of a “team.”
James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners, which conducted the snap poll after the interview aired, said there were positives for both Harris and Walz.
“Voters are split by party in their opinions of Harris’ performance, but they agree on one thing: Harris looked weak for not running alone,” he said.
‘Voters thought she came across pretty well in the interview, so it was a mistake not to appear solo straight away.
‘This, however, is something the campaign can fairly easily dispel by inviting her for a solo interview soon; it doesn’t seem like it’s something that will dominate the campaign.’
Harris pushed back on questions about her policy shifts, confirming that she no longer wanted to ban fracking and that there should be “consequences” for people who cross the border illegally.
Harris appeared alongside her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, to be interviewed by CNN’s Dana Bash (right) on Thursday during a campaign stop in Georgia.
But overall, Harris got decent reviews when viewers were asked to give a one-word summary. Presidential and smart came in first, followed by fake, leader and bad.
“I think the most important and significant aspect of my political outlook and decisions is that my values have not changed,” Harris said.
The interview received star treatment from CNN, with an on-screen countdown clock and excerpts released ahead of its 9 p.m. broadcast.
Viewers responded with a collective ‘meh’.
When asked what the most memorable moment or issue was, the words that dominated the resulting word cloud were: nothing, questions and Trump.
Johnson said Harris had overcome one hurdle, without messing anything up.
“Voters shrugged off the CNN interview last night; it didn’t captivate the nation; ‘nothing’ was the most common response when viewers were asked what they noticed most,” he said.
‘But in a campaign where opinions of Harris are already largely positive and need to avoid mistakes, the Harris-Walz campaign can consider that a victory.
‘Some called her presidential and smart during the interview, while others said she was fake and liberal, doubts that still lurk in the minds of voters when it comes to Harris.’
Critics said Harris delivered a “word salad” but also avoided mistakes.
A 62-year-old retired man from Louisiana who voted for Trump in 2020 but now plans to vote for Harris said, “From what I saw, I think she cares more about this country than Donald Trump does.”
Otherwise, many of the reactions in the sample split along partisan lines.
“She’s approachable, even direct. She stuck to her guns,” said a 36-year-old Harris supporter from Michigan.
But one Trump voter in New Jersey said: “They gave her easy questions and she gave easy answers.”
And one 2020 Trump voter in Ohio who is still undecided this time around said: “She seemed like a normal politician, fake and only concerned about getting votes to stay in power.”