Vice President Kamala Harris faced a challenging interview with Fox News host Bret Baier, who pressed her on a range of topics including immigration, transgender rights, and the economy. Baier also attempted to downplay former President Donald Trump’s threats to use the military against political opponents when Harris raised the issue.
Despite entering what she knew would be unfriendly territory on the nation’s largest right-leaning cable network, Harris had a clear plan going into the interview, according to CNN media analyst Brian Stelter. Speaking on a panel afterward, Stelter described Harris’s approach as a “Google strategy.”
“I think this strategy from Harris was a Google strategy,” Stelter said. “She wanted Fox viewers to start to Google some of the things she was saying because some of the comments she was making in this interview are foreign to the Fox audience.”
Stelter pointed to an example from the interview, noting that Harris brought up General Mark Milley’s recent criticism of Trump, in which Milley called Trump “a fascist to the core.” This remark, Stelter explained, had received little coverage on Fox News, allowing Harris to introduce key talking points that the network’s viewers might not have been familiar with.
At the core of Harris’s strategy, according to Stelter, was a recognition of the environment she was walking into. He suggested that Harris anticipated a tough reception on Fox News and wanted to demonstrate her ability to hold her own in that setting. “This was the most adversarial interview Kamala Harris has probably ever done,” Stelter said.
He went on to compare the interview to a debate, stating, “Instead of getting to debate Trump again, she got to debate Bret Baier, and a lot of viewers are going to come away saying, ‘Wow, she’s willing to do that—that’s a sign of toughness and strength.’”
Ultimately, Stelter concluded that Harris’s appearance on Fox News was part of a broader effort to show she can handle tough interviews and engage with voters who may not typically hear her side of the story. By bringing new issues and perspectives to the Fox News audience, Harris aimed to spark curiosity and push viewers to explore beyond the network’s usual narrative.