Democratic strategist David Axelrod chimed in on Vice President Kamala Harris’s recent appearance at a CNN town hall, which he called “word salad city.”
According to Axelrod, a prominent commentator on CNN, Harris’ overall commentary resulted in a “mixed night.”
The town hall took place in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, where Harris answered questions from CNN’s Anderson Cooper and participating voters.
She refused to stray from her planned responses, tackling topics like the economy, immigration, the Middle East conflict, and her thoughts on former President Donald Trump.
“I think she was very strong coming out of the gate, and she obviously came with a purpose,” Axelrod stated during a post-event panel discussion.
Axelrod’s said that Harris was “obviously well prepared” to address inquiries about recent allegations by Trump’s ex-White House chief of staff, John Kelly, who labeled Trump as a fascist that admirated Adolf Hitler’s generals for their loyalty.
“She obviously was well prepared for that, she was very strong, as she has been on abortion rights because she feels passionately about it,” he added. “She can be clinical on some of these economic issues, she was great on the long-term care for the elderly.”
A point of concern for Axelrod was Harris’s tendency to veer into incoherent talk when avoiding questions.
“When she doesn’t want to answer a question, her habit is to kind of go word salad city, and she did that on a couple of answers,” he noted.
Axelrod said that one notable “word salad” answer was in response to Cooper asking if she would be stronger on Israel than Trump would.
“And there was a 7-minute answer, but none of it related to the question he was asking, and so on certain questions like that, on immigration, I thought she missed an opportunity because she would acknowledge no concerns about any of the administration’s policies, and that’s a mistake,” he commented.
On issues like the Israel-Hamas conflict, immigration, and economic subjects, Harris echoed familiar talking points from previous interviews and speeches.
Axelrod was disappointed that Harris did not engage with concerns about the Biden administration’s immigration policies, labeling this as a misstep.
“That’s a mistake. Sometimes you have to concede things, and she didn’t concede much,” he explained.
Axelrod also suggested that Harris failed to “relate” to the audience and drive home the differences between herself and Trump.
“What are their respective motivations, and who’s genuinely working on issues that will positively impact your life?” he questioned about the choice voters will face on Election Day.
