Harris speech was 'tough on the border without being terrible to people': CNN commentator

Vice President Kamala Harris' "gamble" of a border speech in Arizona earned praise from a former Obama administration adviser even as the panel's Republican strategist cast doubt on the speech's effectiveness.

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper noted some called Harris's speech Friday night a "gamble" that will bring attention to her and the Biden administration's record on the border.

Harris and her team clearly thought the speech was "worth it," he said, to "distance herself from what [President Joe] Biden has done, charting her own course."

Reacting to the speech, commentator Van Jones applauded Harris.

"Bravo," he said, twice. "I thought that was an extraordinary speech."

Jones said Harris' remarks that she prosecuted and put people behind bars as a prosecutor for heroin, that's "what she was known for" in California.

"You can have confidence that she will carry that forward," he added, calling her a "mature leader" who has proven she can provide "bipartisan leadership."

Jones also lauded Harris for acknowledging she can be tougher on the border, while also respecting the dignity of migrants.

"You can be tough on the border without being terrible to people," he said. "You can be tough on the border without scapegoating people. You can be tough on the border without lying about people eating cats and dogs."

Journalist Gretchen Carlson noted Harris struck a tougher tone on the border to separate herself from Biden.

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"Let me be blunt about this speech, Anderson: This was for independents and undecideds. That's what this speech is about."

Carlson highlighted that Harris used buzzwords and phrases such as "reaching across the aisle," "commonsense approach" and "put politics aside." These phrases, said Carlson, help her "bridge the gap of our hyperpolitical environment."

But Republican strategist Scott Jennings poured cold water on Harris' praise, asserting that voters won't take her words in "in a vacuum, independent of everything else you know."

Voters, he said, know they don't like what the Biden administration has done thus far on immigration. To boot, Harris' stances have "favored a more permissive immigration structure."

"She wanted to decriminalize border crossings," said Jennings. "She once compared ICE agents to the KKK! She tried to scapegoat border guards by claiming they were whipping people on horseback at the border, which turned out to be false."

Jennings said immigration-focused voters who think the border is broken will likely still favor Trump.

"I don't think this speech, despite trying to separate herself from Biden is going to change that. I don't think 100 speeches would change it."

Watch the clip below or at this link.