MSNBC talking head Stephanie Ruhle defended Kamala Harris avoiding interviews with just weeks left to go until Election Day, claiming “we don’t live in Nirvana.”
She made the remark during a testy exchange Friday with New York Times columnist Bret Stephens on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher,” who lamented that Harris has not done enough interviews for voters to know exactly what her positions are.
Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance have done a combined 72 interviews compared to Harris and Tim Walz’s seven, fewer interviews than any other presidential candidates in modern US history, according to Axios.
“My fear is that she doesn’t really have a very good command of what she wants to do as president,” Stephens said. “It would be great for her to sit down with you, or George Stephanopoulos, or you Stephanie. It’s not too much to ask Kamala ‘Are you for a Palestinian state, if Hamas is going to run that state?'”
Bret Stephens asks Stephanie Ruhle why Kamala Harris has not done interviews and stated clearly what her policy positions are. Ruhle responds that 'We don't live in Nirvana':
— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) September 21, 2024
Bret Stephens: "I'm an undecided voter. I'm not sure I want to vote for Kamala. My fear is that she… pic.twitter.com/y80j8kDIWh
But Ruhle argued that the fact Harris was running against former President Donald Trump is the only reason one should vote for her.
“If you don’t like her answer, are you going to vote for Trump? Kamala Harris is not running for perfect, she is running against Trump,” she said.
“We have two choices. There are some things that you might not know her answer to. In 2024, we know exactly what Trump will do, who he is, and the kind of threat he is to democracy.”
Stephens reiterated his point, saying, “The problem that a lot of people have with Kamala is that we don’t know her answer to anything.”
“But you know his answer to everything,” Ruhle cut in, referring to Trump.
Stephens suggested simply being against the other candidate is not enough.
“People also are expected to have some idea of what the program that you’re supposed to vote for,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a lot to ask for her to sit down for a real interview.”
Ruhle joked, “When you move to Nirvana, I’ll be your next door neighbor. We don’t live there.”
In other words, it’s somehow “utopian” to expect a political candidate to answer basic policy questions.
Journalists against people in power giving interviews. https://t.co/fJC06yEpEp
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) September 21, 2024
So it’s Nirvana to get basic answers on policy positions?? Wow.
— Pam Murray (@PamMurrayCT) September 21, 2024
This comes after Harris campaign adviser Keisha Lance Bottoms told CNN that Kamala hasn’t given many interviews because “she’s a very busy person.”
Usually political candidates are “very busy” because they’re doing lots of interviews and answering questions about their policy platform with weeks to go until the election.
Ruhle’s remarks highlight just how weak of a candidate the Democrat Party has when reporters are defending her decision not to answer questions.
RELATED: Quentin Tarantino Says Kamala Must NOT Do Interviews: ‘It’s About F**king Winning!’
RELATED: ‘She Can’t Talk!’ Trump Mocks Kamala Harris’s Disastrous Interview With Philly Outlet
RELATED: Tulsi: ‘Queen Kamala’ Looked ‘Weak, Insecure & Afraid’ During CNN Interview