Kamala Harris appeared “proud” and raised a finger in a “gesture of authority” to defend the White House’s record in her first major television interview of her campaign, but was “misleading” when asked about Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw, experts suggested.
Judi James, a communications and body language analyst, said the Democratic candidate answered questions Thursday with a “tone of brusque decisiveness,” adopting a “new look of direct answers and power posturing.”
But he said the vice president was at risk of “losing her balance” when asked by CNN’s Dana Bash why her positions on several key issues had changed since her last run for president.
“She sways in her seat and looks down in an instant, as if unaware that a relevant point was about to be raised,” Ms James told MailOnline today.
While Harris has sought to “signal authority” in her poses and addressing her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her approach toward Donald Trump appears to be to act “as if he’s still in office and she’s the opposition.”
Harris has adopted a “new look of direct answers and power posing,” Ms. James suggested.
“She avoids speaking in the tone or posture of the incumbent, and turns his claims back on Trump as if he were still in office and she were the opposition,” James said.
With running mate Tim Walz (left), Harris’ approach is that of a “very proud father”
Kamala Harris appeared alongside Tim Walz on CNN on Thursday to explain some of her policy positions and give voters a better idea of what they could expect under her administration.
Among other things, he discussed his stance on Israel and his positions on fracking and illegal immigration which appear to have been reversed since his last run for president in 2020.
Harris came into the interview in a position of strength, leading Trump 45 percent to 41 percent in a poll released by Reuters and Ipsos on Thursday, indicating a “newfound enthusiasm” among voters ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
The vice president was asked what her first actions as president would be and gave a broad answer that the CNN journalist rejected.
“Well, there are several things. I will tell you that, first of all, one of my highest priorities is to do what we can to support and strengthen the middle class,” he said.
“So what would you do on day one?” Bash pressed, and Harris launched into talk of the “opportunity economy,” a vague resolution that left critics unsatisfied.
“When asked what he would do on his first day in the White House, his body language seems to suggest he hasn’t even set foot in the place yet,” James said.
‘She looks up, pondering, as if the thought is new to her, before raising her right hand in a slashing gesture to simulate scratching her face with the back of her thumb.
‘Her comments are non-specific, prompting repeated questions, but she focuses the point of her answers on an attack on Trump, displaying facial expressions of pity, sadness and concern for the middle classes and talking about “turning the page on division” as if Trump were still in office.’
But Harris’ transformation into a political leader has led her to begin adopting signals that convey authority, James added.
‘Her approach to Walz is very proud-paternal and when pressed with some direct questions she sticks out her right index finger in a raised gesture of authority, using it to steer the interview before ending at the point she had uttered ‘Good job’ with a strong purse of her lips to say ‘topic closed’.’
During the interview, the vice president continued to express her loyalty to current President Biden and defend the White House’s record.
She also sought to convey a sense of relatability, sharing how she was making bacon and pancakes for her nieces when he called her to tell her he was dropping out of the race.
“When asked if he regrets supporting Biden to stay in office, he regains his confidence as he raises his eyebrows, shakes his head firmly and says, ‘No, not at all,'” James said.
“But when his name first comes to mind there is a look of what might be fear in the expression of his eyes and in his frown.
‘He even rearranges his shoulders as if he’s going into battle at this point.
‘His speech supporting Biden sounds sincere and then he redirects into an attack on Trump.
“But her comments about turning the page on the past decade prove too tempting an own goal for Bash, who points out that she and Biden were also in office during that time.”
Scott Rouse, a body language expert, was more critical of Harris’s signaling.
Speaking to Newsmax, he noted that Harris’ bobblehead moving back and forth indicated she was having an “internal dialogue.”
“We see a lot of that with both Kamala Harris and Walz. They’re thinking about what they’re going to say next…”
“This is one of those cases where she’s just kind of improvising as she goes along.”
During the interview, Harris said she had thought of Joe Biden before herself when she learned of his plans to drop out of the race.
“We’re hearing what we call facts fading away. As she talks, she gets quieter and quieter; she talks about how worried she was about him.
“And very often, when someone is lying, they get quieter as they come to their answer… we hear that here big time.
“We don’t see any of the signs that let us know that she is really sad… it’s a fake sad face,” he added.
The interview came as voters are still trying to learn more about the Democratic ticket in an unusually compressed time frame.
President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign just five weeks ago.
Harris had not given an in-depth interview since becoming her party’s standard-bearer five weeks ago, although she did participate in several while still Biden’s running mate.
In Thursday’s interview, Harris focused largely on policy as she sought to show she had taken more moderate positions on issues Republicans view as extreme, while her running mate defended past misstatements about her biography.
Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at Enmarket Arena during a two-day campaign bus tour in Savannah, Georgia
Harris took the time to sit down for her first interview with CNN in the middle of a tour in Georgia.
Trump and Harris are scheduled to debate on Sept. 10. In a post Thursday night, Trump appeared to be paying close attention to the interview.
Democrats’ enthusiasm for voting in November has grown in recent months, according to Gallup polls.
About 8 in 10 Democrats now say they are more enthusiastic than usual about voting, up from 55% in March.
That gives them an enthusiasm they didn’t have earlier this year. Republicans’ enthusiasm has risen much less over the same period, with about two-thirds of them now saying they are more enthusiastic than usual about voting.
According to a Reuters-Ipsos poll released Thursday, Harris now leads Trump by 13 points among women and Hispanic voters, a trend that is growing.
Trump still leads among white and male voters, but 73 percent of Democrats said they were more enthusiastic after Harris entered the race.
