A political event with Vice President Kamala Harris and former Rep. Liz Cheney included “predetermined questions,” the moderator admitted, while a voter in the room asked if he could ask a question.
Former California first lady Maria Shriver opened the town hall in Birmingham, Michigan, welcoming voters to the event and highlighting the historic nature of both Cheney and Harris speaking politics.
‘Are we going to be able to ask a question?’ asked a woman in the audience.
“Not so, unfortunately we have some predetermined questions,” Shriver responded. “And I hope to be able to ask some of the questions that may be on your mind, I hope.”
Presidential campaigns typically allow voters at town hall meetings to ask spontaneous questions, lending a level of authenticity to the proceedings and highlighting the personal touch of the presidential candidate.
Moderator Maria Shriver speaks during a town hall with Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential candidate, at the Royal Oak Theater in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Shriver said she had agreed to moderate the event as a “concerned citizen” but also as a “journalist.”
“I want this to be like a kitchen table, like we think we’re sitting at the kitchen table and we’re touching all kinds of things,” he said.
Shriver is a member of the Kennedy family and was a former NBC journalist who was married to former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger before the couple divorced.
Cheney joked that it felt like a Kennedy family dinner table, noting the number of people in the room.
“It’s loud, it’s hot but it’s fun, so it will be,” Shriver laughed.
But the conversation was not “interference” or “riot,” as Harris repeated many of her written lines about her love for the country and Cheney revisited her frequent attacks on former President Donald Trump for allowing the Jan. 6 riots to occur in the Capitol.
Vice President Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris gestures as she concludes a town hall at the Royal Oak Theater in Royal Oak, Michigan, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024.
Vice President Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks as moderator Maria Shriver, left, and former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney listen during a town hall.
Shriver described Cheney as an “incredibly brave public servant” and praised her for participating in the bipartisan event for Harris.
“I grew up in a political family and people from both parties got along very well,” he said. “Now you’ll be able to see it in real life because you haven’t seen it in decades.”
Harris answered three questions from the audience, who read the questions directly from their phones or notes.
One woman addressed her question directly from her phone and even wished Harris a happy birthday before asking a question about gun violence. Another woman read from her phone a question about Harris’ message to her “traditionally conservative” Chaldean community in Michigan.
Shriver also responded to a question from a Republican who asked about how Harris planned to continue fighting the war in Ukraine to make the world and the country safer.