Harris ought to send Bret Baier flowers for that Fox News interview
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
One of the people Vice President Kamala Harris might want to thank in her victory speech, if she wins the election, is Fox News anchor Bret Baier. His combative interview Wednesday gave Harris the chance to display qualities — and present facts — that Donald Trump desperately wants to keep hidden from the network’s millions of viewers.
Don’t take it from me; take it from Baier himself. He said afterward that he thought Harris came to the interview seeking “a viral moment” and added: “I think she may have gotten that.”
Baier was surely referring to the exchange about Trump’s repeated threat to deploy the U.S. military against domestic critics he calls “ the enemy within ” — using the language of totalitarian despots. Baier presented a too-brief clip from a town hall event, aired on Fox earlier Wednesday, in which Trump denied saying any such thing. This was gaslighting: A slightly longer clip would have shown Trump railing against “the enemy from within” and naming two leading Democrats, Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff, as being part of that “sick” group.
Baier obviously knew that — and Harris called him on it.
“Bret, I’m sorry, and with all due respect, that clip was not what he has been saying about the ‘enemy within,’ that he has repeated. … That’s not what you just showed,” Harris said forcefully. “Here’s the bottom line: He has repeated it many times, and you and I both know that. And you and I both know that he has talked about turning the American military on the American people. He has talked about going after people who are engaged in peaceful protest. He has talked about locking people up because they disagree with him.”
Only after having her say — and mentioning that retired Gen. Mark A. Milley, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Trump, believes he is a threat to U.S. democracy and national security — did she let Baier move on to another topic.
Practically since the day Harris became the Democratic nominee, Fox News hosts and guests have blasted her for not doing more unscripted interviews. Wednesday’s half-hour encounter was a reminder that we should all be careful what we wish for.
From start to finish, Baier was more of an inquisitor than an interviewer; there was none of the deference that fellow Fox anchor Harris Faulkner had given Trump when she moderated his town hall. Baier repeatedly interrupted the vice president, trying to talk over her and posing questions seemingly cut and pasted from the list of Republican talking points.
Intentionally or not, all of this was a gift to Harris. She stood her ground, refuting the Trump campaign’s claim that she is weak and easily pushed around. She spoke fluently and cogently, putting to rest GOP claims that all she offers is word salad. She brushed off the most tendentious questions, engaged with the substantive ones, and insisted on finishing her answers whether or not Baier liked it.
When he laid an obvious trap, asking whether she thought the millions of voters who support Trump are “stupid,” she sidestepped it with ease. “Oh, God, I would never say that about the American people,” she said — before reminding Baier of some of the vicious things Trump does say about Americans who oppose him.
Harris got to present facts that Fox tries to keep its audience from learning. Viewers heard that Harris had just come from a rally attended by 100 prominent Republicans who are crossing party lines to endorse her candidacy. They heard about the host of Trump administration officials who oppose giving their former boss another term in office. They heard Harris say she does not favor “decriminalizing” undocumented border crossings, despite what some Fox hosts regularly claim.
Fox viewers heard, perhaps for the first time, that Harris has offered concrete plans to boost the economy and support middle-class families. And they learned about all the economists who say Trump’s policies, compared with hers, will make inflation much worse and add trillions of dollars to the national debt.
In a contest that polls show as margin-of-error close, will Harris’s foray into hostile territory make any difference? Who knows. It is hard for me to imagine anything Harris might say or do that would weaken the bond between Trump and the core MAGA faithful. They are accustomed to believing what their Dear Leader says over the “lies” told by their own eyes and ears.
But there are moderate Republicans and right-leaning independents who recognize Trump’s faults but have been told by Fox News that Harris is insubstantial, inarticulate and unqualified. If they watched the interview, they saw a woman whose policies they might not love but who has command of the issues, handles pressure with ease and is nobody’s pushover. Those voters saw a viable alternative to four more years of Trump and his insanity.
Some might think Baier was properly adversarial, others might think he was obnoxiously rude. Either way, the Harris campaign ought to send him flowers.
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Next up real and repetitive word salads by her opponents.
When you start answering a question before the person finishes the question, it appears that they are talking over you.
Oh yeah, that guy who must not be discussed unless showered with compliments.
Intentionally or not, all of this was a gift to Harris. Sh
These are the Biden is as sharp as ever people.
I assume you are including the several hundreds of former (real) republicans who are supporting her.
And even more democrats have ended up supporting Trumps. About the only demographic that Kamala can count on is young females.
What is your source for this nonsense?
Do your own research. Or prove me wrong.
It's not true and there's no way that you can prove it as you have just proven.
[deleted][✘]
lol - so only mentally ill women vote for Kamala
You made the claim so you have the burden of evidence.
Obviously your claim is bullshit that you cannot support.
And Trump got all the smart hot ones... /s
So you can make a wild claim with no evidence, and it’s fine. But others have to do research and prove you wrong? Fuck that!
This is the MAGA problem in a nutshell. Your comment is Exhibit A that Trump and his cult will say any bullshit that occurs to them and you see no responsibility to back it up. Everyone else has to look for facts and evidence, which the cult just ignores or denies anyway.
Do you really believe Trump is ahead with blacks and Hispanics?
Ready any poll. Trump has improved his standing with Democratic demographics. It's common knowledge if you pay attention.
That's the Q-anon motto.
Except that is not at all what Greg claimed! He falsely claimed that the only demographic Harris is winning is young females, which is patently false and plainly untrue. In fact, the demographic Trump is most depending on is white rural people without college degrees who are evangelical fundamentalists who believe he is their long awaited apocalyptic Messiah!
You read it. Once again, I don’t do research to support other people’s arguments. Support your own arguments. I can’t believe I even have to say this.
Sad part is Trump would call them dogs to their face.
Typical toddler like, for lack of a better word, toddler-like retort, much like the former 'president'
and they'd continue to admire him for speaking his 'mind'
Maybe try not lying to your audience while interviewing the opposition who has brains enough to bust you. I’ve seen the longer clip of Trump’s answer. He doubled down on that “enemy within” stuff, but Fox edited that part out in the clip they showed. Bret Baier should be ashamed of himself for pulling that shit.
Are you saying that CNN, MSNBC, ABC, etc., don't selectively edit. The question of Harris having a logically functionally brain is debatable.
Did I? Read it and you’ll see that I didn’t say anything about selective editing or other networks. If you can admit even that much, I will be amazed.
What I did say - in plain language - was that on this occasion, Fox News lied to their viewers, not to mention lying directly to Harris.
if she were a member here, she could say the same about you.
Baier had a segment on Fox news ( where else) where he admitted that Fox showed the wrong tape and Harris was right. He made the mistake and let the interview ture into a ( hostile ) debate.
Harris handled interview very well and it was a great moment when she nailed Bret on the Trump comments. Having seen other of his interviews he was way off on this one, this talking over Harris and the ‘’gotcha’’ questions were not of a caliber that should be asked.
End results, Harris A, Breir D, Fox F.
In other words, Harris Set The Curve...
if the harris white house doesn't pull the FOX entertainment channel press credentials for press briefings, she at least needs to put them in the back row and instruct her new press secretary to never recognize them for any questions. it's time to finally tell the fact free maga/trump propaganda arm of the national media to go fuck themselves...
Last I looked, Biden was STILL president - hence it ain't "harris's" White House.
Lot of projection going on there.
Nah, hopeful thinking about 01/21/2025
When Harris is President
but you knew that - that is your usual whine
...