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Viewers say Harris looked WEAK for appearing alongside running mate in CNN interview
Kamala Harris looked 'weak' and 'bad' for waiting weeks and then sitting alongside her running mate rather than appearing solo in her first interview since becoming the Democratic nominee for president, according to a DailyMail.com panel of viewers.
But they also suggested it was a missed opportunity that the vice president can quickly put right.
Her overall performance received positive reviews. When 294 viewers were asked for their one-word review, the most common were 'presidential' and 'smart.'
After avoiding interviews for more than a month, the vice president sat down with CNN's Dana Bash as well as her running mate Tim Walz to answer questions in a Georgia restaurant on Thursday.
J.L. Partners asked a representative sample of viewers: 'Kamala Harris did the interview with her running mate, and has not sat for a solo interview since she has been named the nominee. How do you think this makes Kamala Harris look?'
J.L. Partners asked 294 viewers what they thought of Kamala Harris's decision to wait so long to give an interview and to do it alongside her running mate on Thursday night
Unimpressed was the overall answer.
'I think it kind of makes her look bad because I really think she should sit down and have this interview so everyone in the world can see her point of view and where she's coming from, said 52-year-old female restaurant manager from Texas, who plans to vote for Harris in November.
Another Harris voter from Massachusetts said she worried that it makes her look 'as though she's not fit to be president.'
However, others also said delaying the interview made her look 'busy' and Walz made look part of a 'team.'
James Johnson, co-founder of J.L. Partners which conducted the snap survey after the interview aired, said there were positives for Harris and for Walz.
'Voters split by party on their views of how Harris did but they agree on one thing: Harris looked weak for not appearing solo,' he said.
'Voters felt she came across quite well in the interview, so it was a mistake not to appear solo straight away.
'This, though, is something the campaign can dispel quite easily by putting her up for a solo interview soon—it doesn’t feel like something that is going to dominate the campaign.'
Harris fended off questions about flip-flopping on her policy positions, as she confirmed she no longer wanted to ban fracking and that there should be 'consequences' for people who cross the border illegally.
Harris appeared alongside her running mate Gov. Tim Walz to be interviewed by Dana Bash (right) for CNN on Thursday during a campaign stop in Georgia
But overall, Harris got decent reviews when viewers were asked for a one-word summary. Presidential and smart came top, followed by fake, leader and bad
'I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed,' Harris said.
The interview got the all-star treatment from CNN, with an on-screen countdown clock and excerpts released ahead of its 9pm broadcast time.
Viewers responded with a collective 'meh.'
When asked for the most memorable moment or issue, the words dominating the resulting word cloud were: Nothing, questions and Trump.
Johnson said Harris had cleared a hurdle, without messing anything up.
'Voters shrugged at the CNN interview last night—it hardly gripped the nation, with "nothing" being the most common response when viewers were asked what they noticed most,' he said.
'But in a campaign where views of Harris are already broadly positive and they need to avoid gaffes, the Harris-Walz campaign can notch that up as a win.
'She was seen by some as presidential and smart during the interview, while others said she was fake and liberal, hesitations that still lurk in voters’ minds when it comes to Harris.'
Critics said Harris delivered a 'word salad' but she also avoided gaffes
A 62-year-old retired man from Louisiana who voted Trump in 2020 but plans to vote for Harris now said: 'From what I saw, I think she cares about this country more than Donald Trump.'
Otherwise a lot of the reactions broke down along party lines in the sample.
'Approachable, even headed. She kept to her points pretty well,' said a 36-year-old Harris supporter from Michigan.
But a Trump voter in New Jersey said: 'She was given softball questions and she gave softball answers.'
And Trump 2020 voter in Ohio who has yet to make up his mind this time around said: 'She came across as a normal politician, fake and only worried about getting votes to stay in power.'