About Last Night

I realize we have reached peak tribalism, so here’s the thing: If you hate Kamala Harris, last night’s interview with Bret Baier was an epic disaster and a brutal end to her campaign that you already thought had ended some time ago.

If you support Kamala Harris, last night's performance was outstanding, especially before a hostile questioner who, in your mind, was rude and interrupted her. Honestly, the whining from the left about that interview is remarkable.

If you’re a normal person who is tired of having to toe a party line, the interview was fine. Her performance was okay, and the questions were sharp, but her immigration answer was fatal to the audience she was trying to connect with. Additionally, she failed to connect with her target.

And that is what the Kamala Haters’ gut reaction misses in their pronouncements that her already declared dead campaign died at Bret Baier’s hands — the purpose of the interview.

The purpose was to connect with Trump-weary voters who are unsure they can actually vote for Harris.

To her credit, she went on Fox News and sat with the best of the best.

To her detriment, she engaged in this exchange.

It was not a good or reassuring answer on one of the top issues voters care about. She needed to do better, but she did not.

Harris got better as the interview went on. She adjusted to it not being a soft interview. Those on the right can quibble with her answers, but we were not her target audience.

And therein lies the problem for Harris. She does not really understand her target audience, i.e., Republican voters who do not like Trump but are not warmed up to her. That is why the interview did not work. She needed to reassure those voters, and she missed that opportunity.

Now, after the fact, we know her handlers tried to cut the interview short, and she showed up late. They clearly had second thoughts about the interview but could not cancel it after ridiculing Trump for canceling on CNBC.

The reality is that the campaign and Harris personally have terribly prepared for tough interviews. She had CBS News edit her answers, but Baier was not willing to do that. Harris, outside of bubble wrap, breaks.

Again, it is crucial to understand why she broke down here. It was not because you, who are a diehard supporter of Donald Trump, hated her answers. It was because she could not offer reassurances to Republican voters who hate Trump but are unsure about her.

She should be commended for going on Fox News.

But the fact that the left is in full-throated attack of Bret Baier for interrupting her and being rude tells you the left thinks she did not do what she needed to do.

And really, who cares what anyone voting for Trump thinks about this interview. Of course, they’d hate the interview. But, in the same way that the Harris camp does not seem to understand how to attract men, they do not seem to understand why a person who refuses to vote for Trump might also not vote for Harris.

Ultimately, this interview failed to accomplish what she needed despite her okay performance. Kamala Harris is simply not capable of giving a rational, coherent answer for why her positions have changed since 2020. These non-Trump voters are not progressives, and they did not walk away from that Fox News interview thinking Harris really has moved to the center.

This interview was not the end of the Harris campaign, but she probably now can’t get enough voters to overcome Trump.