Perhaps the headlong rush into the media's post-debate Enforced Joy narrative has hit a speedbump. 

Yesterday, focus groups started telling Reuters, CNN, and the New York Times that Kamala Harris didn't impress them as a serious candidate, even if she managed to out-jab Donald Trump. While pundits sang hosannas (and in some cases in conservative media, dirges) over Harris' ability to irritate her opponent, actual voters wondered why Harris couldn't answer questions about her policies and positions -- and what she'd do differently than the last four disastrous years.

CNN's Jake Tapper wondered the same thing, in fact. Our Salem colleague Charlie Kirk passed this clip around last night, although Tapper was a bit more ecumenical in his approach than Charlie credits:

CNN's Jake Tapper, in a shocking moment of journalism, SLAMS Kamala for dodging multiple debate questions:

"Vice President Harris began the debate by punting the first question on the economy..."

"On the border, another vulnerable issue for Harris, she also dodged..."

"When… pic.twitter.com/EUZm851EqL

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 11, 2024

It's worth watching, but then afterward, read the full context in the transcript linked above. Tapper went after both candidates for not providing policy-based answers to questions, although the issue was more obvious with Harris, both during the debate and in the larger picture. Tapper also had other criticisms of Trump besides non-responsiveness, especially when it came to his answers on Springfield and January 6. 

However, any recognition in the mainstream media of Harris' evasiveness may qualify as a "shocking moment of journalism." Harris evaded all policy questions, including one example Tapper never mentions: tariffs. Trump certainly answered that policy question, and tried answering many questions with policy statements about border security and immigration control. Harris avoided all of those too, and got completely skunked on tariffs when Trump pointed out that Joe Biden and Harris continued the tariffs that Trump imposed. Harris looked like she wasn't even aware that the tariffs were still in place:

You know what word was missing from all that subject-changing? Tariff. Harris never explained why the Biden-Harris administration kept the tariffs to which she objects now, nor even gave a coherent explanation of a trade policy of any kind. The answer bounces from the trade deficit to "American chips," quantum computing, AI, workers' rights, and COVID. 

And David Muir failed to follow up to get an answer to his actual question, which was why the Biden administration kept Trump's tariffs in place if they were so objectionable. And Harris not only didn't explain it, she never came close to the actual topic.

Tapper points out that Trump avoided direct answers on policies too, but the context is different. His answers on policy usually started on the topic of the question, although Trump often rambled shortly afterward. But Trump is running on his previous presidency, too. He made it clear numerous times that he plans to return to the same policies, especially on the economy and immigration, that made him successful in his first term. American voters had four years to see Trump in action as president and know his policies on the issues that matter most to them in this cycle: inflation, the economy in general, immigration, and crime. 

Harris, on the other hand, is a complete cipher. Harris could embrace the Biden record and agenda, but both are unpopular with voters. So instead, Harris keeps talking about a "new way forward" without any hint of what that "way" is or how it differs from the "same old tired playbook" of the Biden-Harris administration. 

And there is an even larger context to Tapper's question, too. Other than a 26-minute appearance on CNN, Harris has refused to engage the media in any extemporaneous questioning. She has spent most of the last three years out of sight in the Biden administration, thanks to her disastrous performances in media interviews in the first six months of her vice presidency. Harris then hid from the media for the next eight weeks after getting anointed with the nomination by her party bosses. 

It's not that she won't answer questions in one debate. It's that she won't answer them at all, ever.

Harris wants to run the "disqualification" strategy against Trump that was flopping when Biden tried it and is still not working now. The voters in these focus groups figured out the issue quickly, but the commentariat seems pretty slow to recognize the Democrat Three Card Monty being played on them by Harris. Tapper is perhaps the quickest among them to see it.