Democratic strategist David Axelrod mentioned late Thursday that he doesn’t assume voters know a lot about Vice President Harris and whether or not or not the Democratic presidential nominee’s coverage views have modified a lot through the years.
Axelrod joined CNN for a panel following Harris’s first televised interview since she ascended to the highest of the Democratic ticket.
The interview was seen as a high-stakes second throughout which she might share her insurance policies, after being criticized by the appropriate for her lack of media appearances.
She’s additionally been criticized for shifting on coverage points together with fracking and decriminalizing the border. Harris was adamant throughout the interview that her values had not modified.
“First of all, I don’t know how much voters are sitting around thinking about this,” Axelrod mentioned about Harris’s response. “They don’t know much about her, honestly. They’re gaining information about her all the time.”
Axelrod added that voters have spent the final month being flooded with details about the vice chairman.
He additionally mentioned he thinks common voters aren’t involved about whether or not or not she has modified her stance on sure points since she ran within the Democratic main in 2020.
It could be a much bigger situation to reporters and those that are undecided, he mentioned.
Axelrod famous that Harris’s interview, broadcast on CNN, was one of many first main unscripted moments for the reason that begin of her marketing campaign. She’s held packed rallies throughout the nation and formally accepted the occasion’s nomination on the Democratic Nationwide Conference, however every speech was deliberate and skim off a teleprompter, he added.
“Part of what’s interesting is how she answers those questions, and part of it is, is she comfortable doing it?” Axelrod mentioned. “She seemed pretty comfortable there, to me.”
In the course of the interview, Harris was additionally requested by CNN’s Dana Bash in regards to the feedback former President Trump has made about her race. Harris is of Jamaican and South Asian descent, and Trump has criticized her for emphasizing completely different elements of her heritage at completely different instances.
Harris mentioned it’s the “same old, tired playbook” from Trump and requested Bash to maneuver on to the subsequent query.
Axelrod mentioned it was “absolutely the right thing” for Harris to do, as a result of it reveals she is targeted on what issues individuals have as an alternative of attacking her rival.
“I think that’s what the American people want to hear,” he mentioned.
A new survey from The Wall Road Journal discovered 84 % of respondents mentioned they know sufficient about Harris’s profession and coverage positions to have an opinion about her.
