Softballs for Kamala at the National Association of Black Journalists

Vice President Kamala Harris met with the National Association of Black Journalists for an interview this afternoon. Instead of going back-to-back with Donald Trump for his explosive interview with the NABJ in July — she spoke to a historically black sorority instead — Kamala rescheduled for September. And bless Politifact’s heart, they partnered with the NABJ, per a tweet before the interview, to fact-check her. These ruthless and cut-throat journalists would not let Kamala get by without a real grilling.

Harris avoided many pointed questions. The journalists — who included Politico’s Eugene Daniels, a big Harris fan — seemed to think Kamala’s policies weren’t radical enough. They tried to pin her down eventually and revealed Harris has no plan in Gaza beyond a ceasefire and hostage deal, she is only planning on banning assault weapons and instituting a universal background check — nothing more, much to the disappointment of the room — and she will sign Roe v. Wade into law, which would allow Republicans to ban abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy (unless the mother’s life is at risk).

One questioner asked about black men wanting to vote for Trump. “Black men as you know are a closely watched volume block. You’ve hosted black men at your residence, you have engaged black men and censored them in your economic opportunity tour,” the question began. “But polling shows that some black men — particularly young black men — are considering voting for Donald Trump. And they see him as better for the economy. What is your message to young black male voters who feel [left out] of this economy, and how can your economic policies materially change their lives?”

Kamala responded: “So I appreciate the spirit of the question but I’ll tell you I’ve often been asked this question in a way that I’ve had to respond by first saying that I think it’s very important to not operate from the assumption that black men are in anybody’s pocket.

“Black men are like any other voting group, you’ve got to earn their vote,” she continued. “So, I’m working to earn the vote… not assuming I’m going to have it because I’m black.”

When asked if Trump’s claims that Haitians were eating pets is “irredeemably racist,” Kamala said that it was a “crying shame.” She went on to talk about the “profound responsibility” of being “bestowed a microphone,” that your words can “move markets.” The message Cockburn took from this beautiful set-up question was this: Kamala Harris is what we call “presidential,” while Donald Trump is not. The discussion devolved into accusing Trump of “spewing lies,” that are not “new tropes” and “hateful rhetoric that as usual is designed to divide us as a country… it is designed to have people pointing fingers at each other.”

The most cringe-inducing moments were when Kamala reminisced about school picture day, and any time she mentioned the word “joy” — which she said often after being asked about her opponents “weaponizing her laugh in campaign ads.”

“Why is joy important to you to insert into this election?” Kamala was asked. She responded by saying “don’t you let” your adversaries “turn your strengths into a weakness” and that she finds “joy and optimism” in the American people. There was also one moment where the cameraman seemed to be falling asleep? Cockburn can’t be totally sure.

Thanks to handy-dandy PolitiFact, the “home of the truth-o-meter and independent fact-checking,” Kamala’s words did not go unchallenged. Cockburn followed Politifact’s #NABJfactcheck hashtag on Twitter during the interview; the one false claim from Kamala was when she said we had the “worst unemployment since the Great Depression” after Covid. Five of her comments were scored “mostly true” and eight comments were “true.” During Donald Trump’s NABJ interview in July, Politifact declared nine claims Trump made “false,” while six claims were “mostly false.” None were deemed “true.”

The interview ended with Kamala’s report on her phone call with Trump, checking to see if he was OK. “There’s no place for political violence in our country,” Kamala said. And a few moments later, when asked, “Do you have full confidence in the Secret Service?” Kamala declared, “I do.”