Vice President Kamala Harris finally did her first interview since President Joe Biden dropped out at the end of July and endorsed her as his replacement for the Democratic nomination, and she continued to defend the president’s mental acuity, physical fitness, and ability to serve the remainder of his term in the White House.
On Thursday, Aug. 29, Harris appeared on CNN alongside her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, for her first formal interview since Biden dropped out on July 21 and endorsed her. During that interview hosted by anchor Dana Bash, the presidential candidate was questioned on several matters, one of which was the obvious decline of the sitting president and her party’s decision to run him again for reelection anyway.
Bash and Harris discussed various subjects, such as the vice president flip-flopping on issues like fracking or supporting calls to “defund the police” in 2020 while changing her position now during the election. Harris took many opportunities to criticize her opponent, former President Donald Trump, and even downplayed his debate win against Biden by playing up the president’s obviously declining abilities.
Bash asked Harris, who appeared somewhat nervous throughout the interview, about the 81-year-old sitting president. Biden was pressured to drop out of the race by his own party due to widespread concern about his cognitive abilities and physical endurance at his age. Harris lost some of her hesitation and defended Biden. She said after serving with him for nearly four years, she believes he “truly cares” about the American people and is “smart and loyal.”
Harris said she spent many hours with Biden in the Oval Office and in the Situation Room and that she found the president to be intelligent, committed, and of sound judgment, with a “disposition” she believes the American people “deserve” in a president. She then took the opportunity to jab at Trump, who said he was “none of that” in contrast.
Her response isn’t a surprise, but many Americans reacted negatively, sharing their views online. They feel the vice president knew how obvious Biden’s decline was to everyone else and that she knowingly participated in covering it up.
