The Morning: 6 questions for Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris (and her running mate Tim Walz) will sit down for their first interview since securing the Democratic nomination tonight at 9 pm on CNN.

There are obviously dozens and dozens of questions that Harris could be asked — since she has not talked to the media in any formal way since she emerged as the likely nominee shortly after President Joe Biden announced he would step aside on July 21.

But I jotted down 6 that — off the top of my head — I’d really like her to answer.

They are:

1. You took a number of positions in your 2020 presidential campaign — banning fracking, mandatory gun buy back of assault weapons, Medicare for All etc. — that you have recently said you no longer support. What changed? Can you explain your thinking and your evolution on each of those issues?

2. Where do you specifically disagree with a policy proposal or position backed by the Biden administration? Or do you agree with all that the president did during his time in office? If you did disagree, how did you voice that opposition within the administration? And what was the response?

3. You repeatedly said over Biden’s time in office that suggestions that he was slowing down mentally and physically were totally off base. But, in the first debate, we clearly saw signs of that deterioration. And subsequent reporting made clear that the debate wasn’t a one-off in that regard. Did you ever see anything during your time with Biden that made you wonder if he was slipping? If so, why didn’t you speak out?

4. You have said you were the last person in the room with Biden when he made the decision to pull American troops out of Afghanistan. What was your advice to him? Did you agree with his final decision? Do you believe it was the right decision? Why did the policy not work as the administration intended?

5. You recently came out in support of not taxing tips that workers earn. That is a proposal that Donald Trump previously made. Did his position on it influence you? If not, what is the genesis of your support for the idea? How did you come up with it?

6. Looking back on your 2020 presidential campaign, what went wrong? What lessons have you taken from it?

Those are my six questions. What’s yours? What do you really want to hear Harris answer tonight? Throw it in the comments section!

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