The backlash continued after Vice President Kamala Harris was interviewed on television on Friday, with critics accusing her of refusing to provide clear, specific answers.
In her first solo television interview since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris appeared to filibuster to avoid direct answers, such as when interviewer Brian Taff of Philadelphia's ABC affiliate asked her about a “concrete” plan to make things cheaper for Americans.
“First of all, I grew up middle class,” Harris replied. “My mother raised me and my sister. She worked very hard. When I was a teenager, she finally saved up enough money to buy our first house.”
“I grew up in a community of hardworking people — construction workers, nurses, teachers — and I'm trying to explain it to people who may not have had the same experiences. A lot of people can relate to this.”
Harris dodged questions about lowering prices by talking up his “middle-class” roots: “Our neighbors take pride in their lawns.”
Vice President Kamala Harris caused a stir in an interview with ABC TV host Brian Taff in Philadelphia when asked how to bring prices down. (Screenshot/6 ABC Philadelphia)
Critics slammed Ms Harris on social media for giving confused answers to a number of questions.
“Kamala Harris' first sit-down interview in her hometown after 53 days of preparation was a nightmare. She couldn't even name one or two things she would do to curb inflation,” Caroline Leavitt, press secretary for Donald Trump, posted on X after the interview.
California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones told Fox News Digital that the entire country would suffer if Harris became president.
“Kamala Harris has served in public office for decades, and her record is marked by rising prices and inflation. Prices soared during her time in California, and the price crisis has only worsened since she became vice president,” Jones said. “This can't be just lip service. Harris promises to lower prices, but her actions have repeatedly done the opposite.”
“Californians have suffered under her leadership and now the entire country is feeling the brunt. America cannot afford Harris as president.”
Conservative podcaster Benny Johnson added that Harris' response didn't make sense.
“Kamala Harris: 'My focus is on what we need to do in the next 10-20 years to catch up with the 21st century – not just capabilities but challenges.' What does this even mean?” Johnson said in a post on X.
Harris' response was similar to what she said during Tuesday's ABC News presidential debate, when moderator David Muir asked her whether “Americans are better off economically than they were four years ago.”
“I was raised a middle-class kid,” Harris told Muir, “and I'm the only person on this stage who has a plan to uplift middle-class and working-class Americans. I believe in the ambitions, the aspirations and the dreams of the American people. And that's why I envisioned and I have a plan to build what I call an opportunity economy.”
Drew Barrymore calls her Momala Harris interview “the scariest conversation I've ever had”
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Harris received praise from critics for her performance in the debate, but her sometimes noncommittal answers there, particularly on the economy, foreshadowed Friday's debate, where she continued to tout the same proposals without answering whether Americans are better off now than they were four years ago.
“Kamala Harris was asked very clearly and directly: 'Are Americans happier now than they were 4 years ago?' She couldn't answer 'yes' because the answer is 'no'. The American people are worse off now because of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden's policies,” former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard posted on X after Tuesday night's debate.
Trump-Vance has conducted a combined 49 interviews since last month, compared with just 10 for Harris-Waltz.
New York Times columnist Bret Stephens slammed Vice President Kamala Harris' interview with CNN on Thursday as “vague” and “empty.” (AP/Stephen B. Morton)
While Ms Harris and her running mate Tim Walz have only given 10 unscripted interviews so far as Democratic presidential candidates, Republican presidential nominee Mr Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), have given at least 49.
Harris has yet to hold a formal press conference since replacing President Biden as the Democratic nominee. Trump held a press conference in California on Friday to take questions, his third lengthy news conference in recent weeks.
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Susan Page, Washington bureau chief for USA Today, said she believes the American public has a right to hear both candidates answer tough questions.
“I think part of the president's job is to answer questions, not because a reporter has a right to ask them, but because the American people have a right to hear them,” Page told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Harris' campaign for comment.
Joseph A. Wulfsohn of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
