The “x-ray” of Kamala Harris’ interview is presented by the American network CNN. As highlighted, in her exclusive first interview with CNN, the American vice president showed how she intends to face Donald Trump and win the presidency by avoiding political “slips” that could slow down her momentum. Even if she repeatedly had to keep her “cards closed”, demonstrating political realism – or even cynicism.

Harris gave Thursday’s interview under the microscope, with Trump and his allies accusing her of shunning the press and not coping “under pressure,” undermined by her own policy changes that would burst “the bubble euphoria” prevailing in her campaign.

The vice president preferred visionary themes and aspirations to detailed policy plans, and refused to fully explain line changes on issues such as immigration and energy. But she was a more skilled, disciplined and prepared political figure than she appeared in her short-lived 2020 bid for the Democratic nomination, or in the “political accident”-prone moments early in her VP tenure. Harris brushed off questions about her vulnerabilities by focusing on “safer talking points,” something she failed to do in a damaging NBC interview in 2021.

Harris also avoided any apparent slip-ups that would derail her campaign and require her to limit the political damage ahead of a crucial teleconference with former President Trump on Sept. 10 in Philadelphia. And a week after her keynote speech at the Democratic convention expanded on her core argument that it’s time for America to “turn the page” on Trump’s divisive practices, she also refused to be drawn into her Republican opponent’s challenges to her racial identity.

She dismissed the issue, limiting herself to telling CNN: “the same and the same. Next question, please.” Her response showed she has no intention of allowing her campaign to be overtaken by questions about race, even though her potential as the first black woman and Indian-American president will provide a solid backdrop for the rest of the campaign.

The “contrast” with Trump

Harris was calm and pragmatic, contrasting with her opponent’s egomania and narcissism. Her demeanor, while trying to appeal to undecided voters unenthusiastic about the former president, likely accomplished most of her campaign goals for the interview, and was consistent with her apparent strategy of providing an alternative to any American he’s messing with Trump.

She also shot down claims by Trump and the conservative media that she was using vice-presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walsh as a “crutch” in the interview, and that she was unable to answer questions herself as she dominated by clearly having the upper hand over the candidate vice president.

She used the interview to develop her core attack on Trump’s character and behavior, which is the foundation of her argument to voters. “I think that unfortunately, over the last decade, we had in the former president someone who really promoted an agenda and an environment that is about diminishing the character and strength of who we are as Americans, really dividing our nation,” Harris said.

She gave few details about her agenda

But Harris has been vague about what she would actually do as president, dealing with issues and aspirations rather than specific policies, and sometimes blurring key issues to avoid talking about painful choices she would face in the Oval Office.

Her answers were filled with ways she hoped to help the middle class by lowering prices, making housing more affordable, lowering drug prices and creating new jobs. But Harris did not lay out a clear path for how she would implement such plans. He also did not say how he would pay for such programs.

Her tendency to speak in generalities rather than the “juice” of her policy was demonstrated by the first question in the interview, when she could not give a precise answer about the specific step she would take on the first day of her presidency. She spoke broadly about her financial plan and her willingness to invest in the American family, concluding, “There’s a lot (to be done) on day one.”

Harris also dodged questions about why during her three-and-a-half years as vice president in the Biden administration she had not implemented elements of her economic plan, offering a potential argument to the Trump campaign. And while he essentially showed an understanding of the painful impact of high food prices, he was nonetheless unable to fully explain why they had risen so high under the Biden-Harris administration.

Instead, the vice president accused Trump of causing an economic crisis she and Biden inherited through his mismanagement of the Covid-19 pandemic, and pointed to the White House’s strong record on job creation and deflating inflation.

180 degree turn in policies

At times, Harris’s pragmatism “faded” into obscurity. When confronted about her policy shift on fracking (a controversial method of extracting hydrocarbons that can be harmful to flora and fauna) — a huge issue for the at-risk state of Pennsylvania — she insisted she hadn’t really reversed her position. “What I’ve seen is that we can grow and we can grow a thriving clean energy economy without banning fracking,” he said.

Many climate change advocates would argue that fracking is incompatible with a green economy. However, Harris insisted that while she opposed the fracking ban “my values ​​have not changed”, apparently seeking to cover up contradictory positions.

He also attempted a two-sided approach to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza that has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians. Harris argued that Israel should have the right to defend itself, but that “too many Palestinian civilians have been killed.” As the administration seeks to broker a deal between Israel and Hamas to release the remaining hostages and achieve a ceasefire, the vice president insisted: “We have to get a deal done.” But Harris’ position that Israel should have the right to defend itself, but that too many Palestinians have been killed, seems incongruous.

Harris also explained why she argued that Biden was capable of serving another four-year term, even after his disastrous performance at the CNN debate in Atlanta. She said she did not regret her comments, and paid warm tribute to the president, saying she “has the intelligence, commitment, judgment and poise that I think the American people rightly ask of their president.”

And displaying the political acumen that many inside and outside her party once thought she lacked, Harris quickly turned to a scathing criticism of Trump — extending the entire rationale for her bid for the White House.

“The American people are ready for a new way forward. Our former president has pushed an agenda that diminishes the character and strength of who we are as Americans and divides our nation. The world is ready to turn the page.”