Kamala’s Performance on CNN Was a ‘Mixed Bag,’ Grok Says
On Thursday night, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz sat down with CNN’s Dana Bash for the first press interview of her campaign nearly 40 days after that campaign started.
If you ask my astute colleagues here at The American Spectator, the interview was just blah and Harris proved herself good at composing word salads without any indication of what her policy would be should she reach the Oval Office.
When even the New York Times is forced to concede that the interview “was a reminder that unscripted, she can sometimes deliver discursive answers that ramble and zigzag,” you know it didn’t go off as well as they had hoped. (READ MORE: America Waited 39 Days for This? The Blah-ness of CNN’s Kamala & Tim Show)
That, of course, didn’t stop NPR from claiming that Kamala “passed the test of doing unscripted interviews.” That depends on your definition of “passed” and “test.” Did she freeze up like Biden? No. But Bash asked low-ball questions and got non-answers out of both Harris and Walz.
At the end of it all we were no closer to knowing what Harris would do on day one, and Walz blamed his military service misstep (otherwise known as a lie) on “bad grammar.”
It All Depends on Who You Ask
The point of this column is to quiz artificial intelligence about these things and see what it comes up with. For this news item, I turned to Grok. (READ MORE: Five Quick Things: Who Lies About Working at McDonald’s?)
Grok has the benefit of pulling from all the randos on X (yours truly included) who think it is worth it to spew their thoughts on politics onto the internet and, unlike ChatGPT, it’s unlikely to just regurgitate the Washington Post or the New York Times in its answers. So, without further ado, here is what Grok had to tell us:
Prompt: Tell me, how did the CNN interview between Kamala Harris and Tim Walz go? What has been the reaction?
GROK: Ah, the CNN interview with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, a political spectacle that’s had the internet buzzing like a hive of particularly opinionated bees. From the posts swirling around on X, here’s the general vibe:
Mixed Bag of Performance: There’s a split in the peanut gallery. Some found Kamala Harris’s performance to be as smooth as a well-oiled political machine, handling questions with the finesse of a seasoned diplomat. Others, however, felt she was as clear as mud on certain issues, leading to accusations of flip-flopping faster than a pancake at a breakfast debate. Tim Walz’s Moment: Governor Walz, standing beside Harris, was under scrutiny too. Some X users felt he dodged questions like a pro, while others were less impressed, suggesting he didn’t quite seize the moment to clarify his military service or other personal controversies, leaving those issues to linger like a bad smell at a barbecue. Contentious Questions: The interview touched on fracking, immigration, and foreign policy, with Harris’s responses being a bit like a Rorschach test — people saw what they wanted to see. Critics pounced on any perceived inconsistency, while supporters saw her navigating complex issues with the grace of a political ballerina. Media and Public Reaction: CNN’s approach was criticized by some for not pushing hard enough, turning the interview into what felt like a softball game where everyone’s afraid to throw too hard. Meanwhile, the public’s reaction ranged from “meh” to “masterclass,” depending on which side of the political spectrum they leaned. The Political Chess Game: Harris’s mention of potentially appointing a Republican to her cabinet was like throwing a chess piece across the board, surprising some and being seen as a strategic move towards the center by others. Overall Sentiment: If the X posts are anything to go by, the interview didn’t drastically shift the narrative but added more fuel to the already blazing fire of political discourse. It was less of a game-changer and more of a game-continuer, with both sides finding ammunition in Harris and Walz’s responses.In summary, the interview was like a political Rorschach test on X — what you saw probably depended on what you were looking for. Harris and Walz played their parts, but whether it was a symphony or a cacophony depends entirely on who’s listening.
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