MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle reacted to her interview with Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday, saying it was okay that the presidential candidate didn’t give a “clear” and “direct” answer because they were not talking about “clear” and “direct” issues.
The network announced Wednesday that Ruhle would be interviewing Harris after Ruhle had previously defended the presidential candidate for failing to answer for her policy flip-flops. Ruhle touched on Harris’ economic policies and tariffs but also asked her what her last “biggest gut decision” was and if she had previously worked at McDonalds — something her campaign has failed to provide evidence for. After the MSNBC host asked Harris where she fell when it came to tariffs, she pivoted to talking about Trump’s policies, an answer Ruhle later defended. (RELATED: ‘Witness Protection’: Media-Friendly Tim Walz Has Disappeared From Airwaves Since Joining Harris Ticket)
“I thought the exchanges on tariffs was interesting, particularly when you said, look, which is true, I think people think we live in this free trade era, which we do compared to previous. But there’s also lots of tariffs on lots of stuff. Presidents have unbelievable unilateral authority to apply them. I remember George W. Bush doing this on aluminum and steel. Obviously Trump did it. Joe Biden, as you noted. You basically said, ‘Look, where are you?’ And I thought her answer was interesting. ‘Basically, well, it kind of depends,’” MSNBC host Chris Hayes said.
Ruhle responded by calling the interview “normal” and explaining that though Harris’ answer wasn’t really clear, it was okay because she had explained the issue was complicated.
“I think that’s the important part, sort of the nuance. I’m going to be honest, President Biden has tariffs in place. He’s held a lot of Donald Trump’s tariffs in place. And the White House doesn’t like to talk about it. They don’t like it when you ask them about it because everybody has gotten in this zone of like Trump’s the tariff guy. We’re not the tariff people, we here on the other side,” she began.
“What she did right there was kind of explain that it’s complicated, right? We’re a country of 330 million people. Our economy is complicated. Right? In the same way as the economy good or bad? It totally depends. So tariffs, if used in the right places, can work. And one could watch that and say she didn’t give a clear, direct answer. That’s okay. Because we’re not talking about clear or direct issues,” Ruhle added.
Ruhle asked Harris where she stood on tariffs, if they were good or bad, and Harris responded by saying the idea of across-the-board tariffs shouldn’t be loosely “thrown around.”
“Well, part of it is, you just don’t throw around the idea of tariffs across the board. That’s part of the problem with Donald Trump. Frankly, I’m going — I say this in all sincerity — he’s not very serious about how he thinks about some of these issues. And one must be serious and have a plan and a real plan that’s not just about some talking point ending in an exclamation at a political rally. But actually putting the thought into what will be the return on the investment. What will be the economic impact on everyday people?” the vice president began.
“And when you look at my plans, you will see what those benefits will be. $25,000 down payment assistance for first-time home buyers. You know what that means? Then you’re creating the ability of that working person to build intergenerational wealth. Doing the work of a $6,000 child tax credit. Doing the work of a $50,000 tax deduction for first-time small businesses,” Harris continued.
“That’s a real plan,” Ruhle interjected during the interview.
Ruhle and Harris’ conversation was the first national solo interview the vice president had done since launching her presidential campaign. After dodging media for more than a month, the vice president finally made her first media appearance in August on CNN for a dual interview with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
The vice president still has yet to explain why she has continued to flip-flop on various policy issues or why her campaign refuses to define her stance on several topics. Harris has also only briefly addressed whether she knew about Biden’s physical and mental decline – which ultimately led to him dropping out of the presidential race.
After the CNN interview, Harris has not appeared on a national station, instead doing lesser known media interviews, such as local TV and radio stations. The vice president sat with the National Association for Black Journalists (NABJ) on Sept. 17, where she answered questions about how important joy is to her 2024 presidential campaign. By contrast, Trump’s interview with the NABJ was tension-filled and chalk full of pointed questions.
Rather than press Harris on policy flip-flops, Ruhle asked Harris to respond to Trump’s comments that she never worked at McDonalds, something the vice president frequently claims she did. A Free Beacon investigation found no evidence that Harris worked at McDonalds, and though the Harris campaign insisted that she did, they have yet to provide evidence.
“So I just want to ask you yes or no. At any point in your life have you served two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun working at a McDonald’s? Yes or no, that’s it?,” Ruhle asked the vice president.
“I have. But it was not a small job. I did the fries. I mean, you know, yes. But I did,” the vice president responded.
From there as the interview was concluding, Ruhle asked Harris to name the last big “gut decision” she made.
“Probably the biggest gut decision I’ve made most recently is to choose my running mate. Yeah. There were lots of good, incredible candidates. And ultimately that came down to a gut decision,” the vice president answered. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Tim Walz Appointed Member Of Political Party ‘loyal’ To Chinese Communists To State Board)