Harris’ only clear answer to Bret Baier, which Americans simply don’t believe

Vice President Kamala Harris largely avoided the tough questions in her interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, only giving a concrete and definitive answer to one key question. Unfortunately, that’s the only answer that Americans simply don’t believe.

Harris’ ties to President Joe Biden are a double-edged sword for her as she simultaneously seeks to distance herself from him and his unpopular administration while claiming to have played a major role in the White House over the past four years. However, she allegedly justified her candidacy based on Biden’s poor mental health. When asked about Biden’s current mental health situation, she answered clearly: Biden is doing well.

But this answer caused a stir.

During the interview, Baier pressed her on Biden’s cognitive decline, a development that became apparent for all to see during his debate with former President Donald Trump and which served as an apparent reason leading Democrats pressured him to resign.

“You have told many interviewers that Joe Biden is doing his best [and] ran in circles on his staff. When did you first notice that President Biden’s mental abilities appeared to be weakened?” Baier asked her. Harris, for her part, deviated from the question’s premise, insisting that “Joe Biden is not on the ballot.” But she was particularly careful to note that the president has the competence to remain in office.

“Joe Biden, I’ve been watching – from the Oval Office to the situation room, and he has the judgment and experience to do exactly what he did, making very important decisions on behalf of the American people,” emphasized she.

Baier defended himself and asked: “As far as I know, you met with him at least once a week for three and a half years. You had no concerns?”

“I think the American people are concerned about Donald Trump,” Harris replied, “which is why everyone who knows him best has spoken out, including the leaders of our national security community, even the people who worked for him at the Oval “I worked with him in the Situation Room and said he was unfit and dangerous and should never be President of the United States again.”

Harris’ reaction appears to have undermined the conditions for her candidacy to some extent, as public perception of Biden’s mental abilities after the debate largely increased pressure on him to resign and enabled her promotion. In the aftermath of the Biden debate’s collapse, Harris insisted that Biden was “a sharp blow.”

Her continued insistence that he remain sharp puts her at odds with the overwhelming majority of the public, who have witnessed a litany of Biden’s awkward gaffes, ramblings and deviations from the script.

While conservatives have long claimed that Biden was suffering from mental and physical decline, that opinion became the consensus opinion after the presidential debate, in which he often stumbled over his answers and appeared lost on stage.

A CBS News/YouGov poll released in late June after his debate with Trump found that 72% of registered voters did not believe in Biden and his mental and cognitive health to serve as president. Only 27% believed he did.

A Harvard CAPS/Harris poll after the debate, meanwhile, found that 66% of registered voters had doubts about Biden’s mental fitness, while 74% said he had shown he was too old to be president. 54 percent expressed the belief that he was “getting worse.”

In explaining his decision to step down, Biden made no mention of intra-party pressure or concerns about his mental fitness, but implicitly acknowledged his age, saying, “I have decided that the best path forward is to pass the torch to one to pass on to new generations.”

The Trump War Room circulated the clip on social media, with many respondents questioning Biden’s decision to leave the race if those close to him truly believe he is capable of continuing in the White House.

The Baier interview was part of a major media push by the Harris campaign to familiarize voters with the candidate at the last minute and dismiss claims that she had dodged substantive interviews. The campaign had expressed a willingness to appear on Fox News, a generally right-leaning media outlet that is viewed as hostile territory. She still hasn’t held an unscripted press conference with unanswered questions.

In fact, pro-Harris media celebrated the interview as a rebuttal to their critics, who chafed at her penchant for softball interviews with friendly news outlets. On the right, Harris drew considerable ridicule for her evasive answers and her habit of redirecting questions to attack former President Donald Trump.

While several such clips have gone viral, their single attempt at a concrete answer may prove to be the most damaging as it begs the question: Why isn’t Biden at the top of the list?