Kamala Harris tries to downplay Biden’s struggles during CNN debate – Washington Examiner

Vice President Kamala Harris dodged questioning about President Joe Biden‘s poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump on Thursday evening, instead trying to pivot to contrasting the two candidate’s policy stances.

“First of all, what we saw tonight is the president making a very clear contrast with Donald Trump on all of the issues that matter to the American people,” Harris told CNN host Anderson Cooper in a video interview. “Yes, there was a slow start but it was a strong finish.”

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The CNN debate in Atlanta saw Biden struggle to tamp down concerns about his mental acuity after he stumbled in his response to Trump, appeared confused at times, and spoke in a hoarse voice compared to Trump’s energetic responses.

The sluggish performance led to a new round of Democratic panic over Biden’s ability to lead the party after the Democratic National Convention and some even calling for Biden to step away as the presumptive nominee.

Harris attempted to pivot away from Biden’s performance to focus on attacking Trump when Cooper questioned her. “Listen, people can debate on style points, but ultimately, this election and who is the president of the United States has to be about substance, and the contrast is clear,” Harris said. “Look at what happened during the course of the debate. Donald Trump lied over and over and over again, as he has wont to do.”

After more pushback from Cooper, Harris conceded that “it was a slow start. That’s obvious to everyone — I’m not going to debate that point.”

“I’m talking about the choice in November. I’m talking about one of the most important elections in our collective lifetime,” Harris continued.

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Harris also hit Trump over abortion which has become one of her key policy issues as the nation’s first woman vice president, along with his refusal to say he would accept the results of the 2024 election or disavow the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Before ending the roughly eight-minute interview, Cooper asked Harris to describe how Biden behaves every day. “The Joe Biden that I work with every day is someone who, as I have said, has performed in a way that has been about bringing people into the Oval Office, Republicans and Democrats, to compromise in a way that is extraordinary these days because it just doesn’t happen,” Harris said.