CNN Town Hall: Kamala answers the classic job interview question, and also says Trump is a fascist
It was always good for a laugh – remember? The classic comedy answer to the classic job interview question of “What would you say is your greatest weakness?” was something like “I’m just too conscientious” or “I work too hard” or “I’m a perfectionist.”
So here was Kamala during yesterday’s CNN “Town Hall” with Anderson Cooper:
One voter asked Harris about her weaknesses and what she would do to overcome them as president. She went on to describe “a weakness that some would consider a strength.” She said she understood the importance of “having a team of very smart people around me that bring to my decision making process different perspectives,” which was somewhat unusual given Harris’s notorious reputation as a difficult and dysfunctional boss who burns through employees at a rapid pace. Another weakness Harris cited was her insistence on studying too hard. “I’m kind of a nerd sometimes, and some might call that a weakness, especially if you’re, you know, in an interview or, just, kind of, you know, being asked a certain question and, just, you’re expected to have the right answer right away, but that’s how I, that’s how I work,” she explained.
Cooper followed up to ask Harris what mistakes she had made and what she learned from them. Harris’s response was inscrutable but seemed to imply that she wished she had studied harder to avoid getting tricked by nefarious reporters. “In my role as vice president, I mean, I probably worked very hard at making sure that I am well-versed on issues and, um, I think is very important, it’s a mistake not to be well-versed on an issue and be compelled to answer a question,” she said. One of Harris’s (many) disgruntled former staffers told the Washington Post in 2021 that Harris was not “somebody who is willing to do the prep and the work” and often blamed staff for her lack of preparedness.
The woman is comedy gold. But all was not fun and games, oh no. There was anti-fascist work to be done. The very first question out of cooperative Cooper Anderson’s mouth – referencing the charges by General Kelly that Trump repeatedly praised Hitler, and her own contentions that Trump is unstable – was whether she can say something more to seal the deal for herself and convince those who like Trump not to vote for him. Harris answered that yes, Trump is “increasingly unstable and unfit to serve.”
Wow, Kamala, that’ll do it!
It’s quite clear that this is a memorized bit as she goes on to say that “the people who worked for Trump” – listing a few – “have all called him unfit and dangerous.” She then goes on to highlight Kelly’s remarks without explaining that Kelly and Trump were very much at loggerheads when Kelly worked for Trump and that Kelly was forced out because of it and has hated him ever since. She adds that “one has to think about” why someone who “is not political” is saying this to the American people now, two weeks from the election.
Why, indeed. What a mystery! A guy who’s hated Trump for six or seven years, and has been the source of several previous high-profile attacks on him similar to the present one – why on earth would he say this in October, of all times? Is there anyone on earth who still would be puzzled by this phenomenon? Kamala’s not, because she answers: “And frankly, I just think [Kelly’s] putting out a 911 call to the American people.”
Kamala is fond of intensifiers like that: “frankly.” It’s usually a tell from a person that he or she is not speaking frankly, just as “to be honest” means a lie is coming up and “let me make it clear” (which is a Harris favorite) means you’re about to hear something very cloudy.
And all Kamala is doing, too, is just alerting the American people before it’s too late. What a heroine!
She goes on, “Understand what could happen if Donald Trump were back in the White House.”
I’ll bite: inflation goes down? Peace in the Middle East? There are quite a few possibilities there.
Harris then adds that this time there won’t be people like Kelly there “to hold him [Trump] back.” She goes on to state that Trump “said he would be a dictator on day one” (another of Harris’ favorite truncated Trump quotes; the “dictator” part was a joke spoofing his critics, and referred only to two executive orders, one on the border and one on drilling, that he would issue his first day in office). “The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has said that he was ‘a fascist to the core.'” Now, who might have said that? Why, you guessed it: Mark Milley.
Harris then advises undecided voters to go online and listen to Kelly talk about Trump. And then Anderson asks her point-blank, “Do you think Donald Trump is a fascist?” I bet you can’t guess what Harris’ answer might be: “Yes, I do.” And then immediately again, for emphasis: “Yes, I do.” Harris then goes into a paean to the generals, who obviously have no political bias and should be trusted (!). Then, just for good measure, she repeats Kelly’s “suckers and losers” accusation towards Trump from 2020, another charge only Kelly has reported and which everyone else involved has denied. Do you sense a pattern here?
Harris talks about how Liz and Dick Cheney have endorsed her – a fact that I can’t quite imagine many undecided voters will find compelling. Also, other Trump-hating establishment Republicans have supported her – who would have thunk it! What a bunch of selfless patriots.
She goes on in that vein, throwing in a few more truncated Trump quotes. If you watch the video, you might agree with me that it’s a fascinating performance in a very icky way. Not only is it an over-the-top smear disguised as an unselfish warning, but Kamala simply doesn’t have a knack for acting. Her faux concern about the prospect of Trump the fascist “standing behind the seal of the president of the United States!” – something she repeats for emphasis, as though she is sickened by the idea that this fascist will defile the sacred emblem – is something to behold.
I have seen many politicians in my life. But I’ve never seen anyone as obviously false as Kamala Harris. And although politicians lie a lot, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a campaign so totally and utterly based on lies.
I have seen many politicians in my life. But I’ve never seen anyone as obviously false as Kamala Harris. And although politicians lie a lot, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a campaign so totally and utterly based on lies.
neo:
Indeed. Here’s a Fox clip in which David Axelrod, chief political strategist for Barack Obama, admits that Harris kept going to “word salad city” in her responses to straightforward political questions from CNN.
–“Megyn Kelly Breaks Down How Kamala Still Won’t Tell Voters Who She Really Is, and What She’d Do”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDZk4fCsXMo
My political consultant friend tells me that if you want to know what Barack Obama is really thinking, listen to David Axelrod.
As you said a few days ago, what do you do with a problem like Kamala?
Top Democrats don’t have an answer either.
Fascist?
I though Trump was a Nazi.
The Communist Democrat Party should make up its mind.
John Galt III:
Fascist, Shmascist. Nazi, Schmazi.
Also, remember that Kamala Harris took a full day off from the campaign trail in the final two weeks to prepare for this interview and one with Telemundo.
Absolutely pathetic.
Good for us, though.
Thank God, we’re not dealing with Josh Shapiro, D–Governor of Pennsylvania, or Scott Kelly, retired astronaut, now Senator (D-AZ). Either of whom might have emerged from an open Dem convention after Biden stepped down.
I still hold to the conspiracy theory that Biden intentionally effed the Dem leadership after they ousted him by immediately endorsing Harris.
huxley:
I agree that the Democrats had available to them other more formidable candidates.
Shapiro was out, though; no Jews allowed for presidential candidate.
And I said long ago, and I still believe, that the Democrats felt they couldn’t pass Harris over because it would alienate too many black women, and they needed black women. Harris was next in line, as it were.
I also think Biden may indeed have been sticking it to the leadership by endorsing Kamala – perhaps. But perhaps the powers that be also saw no other viable options for the aforementioned reason, and he was cooperating with them.
… and “let me make it clear” (which is a Harris favorite) means you’re about to hear something very cloudy.
Boy, is that ever a favorite. I haven’t seen a great number of Harris’ interviews or speeches, but that particular intensifier, and the failure that follows it, has smacked me in the ear repeatedly.
Whenever I was asked about my greatest weakness I always said “kryptonite”. My interviewers didn’t always find it amusing.
Obama also frequently said “Let me be clear,” or words to that effect. It never led to clarity.
Strange. Richard Nixon’s verbal tic in his Watergate days was, “Let me be perfectly clear….”
I would have thought that construction would have been permanently retired.
Harris talks about how Liz and Dick Cheney have endorsed her – a fact that I can’t quite imagine many undecided voters will find compelling.
==
It tells you something you did not know about the Cheneys. Did you catch Glitch McConnell’s remarks yesterday? Or George Will’s the day before? A huge share of the GOP Washington establishment as it was in 2015 consisted of frauds who have no interest in the welfare of actual Republican voters.
==
Harris talks about how Liz and Dick Cheney have endorsed her – a fact that I can’t quite imagine many undecided voters will find compelling.
-neo
Democrat leaders thought Barack Obama could parachute in to lecture the Black Brothers that they were sexist unless they voted for Kamala.
I’ve seen no indication that worked beyond encouraging black men in the other direction.
The Harris people seem to have no idea how typical Americans respond to their campaign.
It’s like when Kamala snubbed the Catholic Al Smith dinner, then sent in as her replacement a Saturday Night Live-style video ridiculing Catholic schoolgirls. One of the most hideous things I’ve seen.
–“VP Harris and Mary Katherine Gallagher Video for Al Smith Dinner”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6OvqB22Z3A
Absolutely blind and blinkered.
We’ve talked here about Kamala and whether she’s really very intelligent. What gets to me is that she has bombed in several interviews and “town halls” and yet, the next time around, stillcan’t answer the obvious questions she should have prepared for.
“although politicians lie a lot, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a campaign so totally and utterly based on lies.”
Harris has had 4 years to act as an understudy to Joe Biden, of whom it can be accurately said that American politics has had no more notable example of an inveterate liar.
“trum” is really Kate. Sorry.
Appeal to black women, Jews, white men, black men, gays, trans… What was the Founding Fathers view on factionalism?
“The common denominator among them was unprecedented control and regulation by the State over human activity. It is delusional to think that the totalitarian impulse expired with the 20th Century.’ – E. Nuff Said” – Karmi
Totalitarianism has been the normal state of affairs among humans. The concept of freedom, individualism, and free markets are fairly recent and still fragile.
When you define Nazism, Fascism, Socialism, Communism and Progressivism; there are differences, but they all boil down to authoritarianism with an elite few ruling the masses of people.
When Kamala accuses Trump of Fascism, she should be required to define what she means and give examples. Of course she can’t. She might mention “mean tweets,” or sarcastic remarks, or the truncated dictator on day one quote, but nothing of substance. In fact, none of the learned critics who are accusing Trump of Fascism or Naziism can show explicit examples of real authoritarian tendencies.
Trump’s a strong-willed leader, who chafes at the glacial pace of government at getting things done. He pushes his advisors and assistants to produce. Thus, he’s a “tyrant” in the bureaucratic world. I think Generali Kelly and he got crosswise because Kelly, though a competent Marine, had become a Pentagon bureaucrat in his later years, and didn’t understand that he was dealing with a mover and shaker who wanted to get things done. It’s a shame that he didn’t accept that he and Trump were incompatible, and it was time for him to go. This rotten ass game of electoral revenge stinks.
I cannot believe that the “Thinkers” behind the oval office truly believe that Harris will do well fronting as president. They surely must know that four years with her covering for them will be a horrible situation. My fear is that the Democratic powerhouses will force the Republicans and Trump into some certain behind-the-scenes “agreements”. Only heaven knows what they would be but they are out there. They have to be planning to “collaborate” in order to not cause complete chaos–not just at the result of a rigged election, but rather as the result of the utter chaos they would be living in for the next four years. I just don’t see anyone with half a brain in that think tank of theirs believing that it will be so wonderful to still be in control!
I doubt Harris could define what a fascist is. She should look in the mirror. Milley deserves a noose.
This is both naked desperation and laying the foundation to undermine a coming second Trump term.
Harris’s people clearly know she is likely going to lose. Thus, this pathetic ‘Hail Mary’ (no offense to Catholics or quarterbacks). It’s not much intended to sway undecideds, but to motivate Democrat turnout.
But more importantly, it’s aimed at beyond election day; a Trump victory is looking increasingly likely and, dare I say, there’s a good chance it will be outside the margin of fraud. I think the Democrat-MSM-Entertainment Complex is realizing this as well. They’re preemptively discrediting and undermining his upcoming mandate, indeed any legitimacy at all of his prospective Presidency.
Gregory Harper:
LOL.
Kate:
I was watching an interview with Harmeet Dhillon, an attorney who knew Harris back in her lawyering days in SF. Dhillon can’t stand her, but says that back then, Harris was smart, articulate, and confident. Dhillon says she doesn’t even recognize Harris as the same person today. She has no idea what happened to cause the change. Drink, drugs, blow to the head? Dhillon simply can’t figure it out.
“Dillon simply can’t figure it out.” – Neo
Wow, that’s quite the revelation. Harmeet Dillon used to appear on Fox News quite frequently, but I haven’t seen her recently. She is such a quick-witted lawyer and very well spoken. She knows whereof she speaks. So, if she’s mystified, it’s a mystery.
Maybe Kamala really is a functioning drunk or addict. I’ve heard some cracks about her hitting the wine bottle a bit too much but thought it was wild speculation.
As a high schooler I knew the Superintendent of Rocky Mountain National Park. A man who had risen to a high position in the National Park Service. Yet, he drank whiskey during the day while on the job. He was described to me as a high-functioning alcoholic. He wasn’t running for office and under constant scrutiny, so he seemed to be able to do a decent job and drink. I’ve encountered a couple of other high functioning alcoholics down through the years. So, maybe that’s a possible answer.
“Dhillon simply can’t figure it out.” -Neo
Dhillon does speculate it could be imposter syndrome, “a psychological pattern in which people doubt their accomplishments and have a persistent, often internalized fear of being exposed as a “fraud””.
This would be consistent with her tendency to laugh, possible a defense mechanism that masks her self-doubt and her tendency to make bizarre statements that, intending to sound philosophical have absolutely no meaning– reprising Chauncey Gardiner.
It’s as good an explanation as any.
I watched the Tucker Carlson interview on X.
Brian E:
I wrote as much in an earlier post on Harris. But neither I – nor Dhillon, IMHO – think that’s any more than just a portion of it. Imposter syndrome can cause some nervousness and falloff in performance, but the difference Dhillon perceives is way too massive to be explained that way.
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If she were a high-functioning alcoholic, she ought to be, well, functional.
She’s a Peter Principle example. Promoted politically for decades by a one-party system and big donors, she hit the wall running in 2019, got promoted to VP because of skin color, and is totally unprepared for running for president or being president.
I think she just knows in fact a black female cannot win. She knows she is playing a losing hand–never fun. I think a part of the problem is a lack of true self-respect. She wouldn’t be doing this to herself if she had any at all. Would not have stood at the convention to even become a candidate. She may just be holding herself in comparison to Condi Rice–a great black female I would have voted for–Kamala knows she is not Rice or anywhere close to her character. She knows she is a fraud.
An impressive black female could win. We’re way past that era in our national life, thanks be to God. What’s worrisome is that the Democrat machine is pushing this very unimpressive and unprepared candidate, and many millions are actually voting for her.
neo writes,
This, 100%!
It really astounded me at first. I’m more used to it now, but it really is amazing how blatant and out in the open it is and how obviously so many journalists refuse to state that the Empress has no clothes. In many of these interviews you can see the interviewer’s disappointment, especially when they throw her softballs that she completely misses.
Cooper was semi-tough on her. Bill Whitaker did a decent job. And you notice more and more media personalities starting to distance themselves from her. Unfortunately, I doubt most of them have had a conversion in their ethics, but some are likely realizing she’s a fading star and don’t want to hitch their futures to her candidacy.
If Kamala Harris is asked the interview question today she can say her greatest weakness was thinking she could perform well on that CNN Townhall.
You made me laugh, Rufus!