Tuesday may have been the busiest day of Kamala Harris’ truncated run for president – at least as far as media appearances are concerned. The Democratic nominee was in New York City to pay a visit to the ladies of The View before heading over to The Howard Stern Show and finally swinging by Late Night with Stephen Colbert.
All the interviews were friendly – if not fawning – but it was Harris’ sit-down with Stern that revealed just how crippled some on the left are by Donald Trump’s third run for office.
On Wednesday’s show, Megyn was joined by Batya Ungar-Sargon, author of Second Class, to discuss the vice president’s conversation with Stern and what it showed about how the left and right are approaching the 2024 election.
Stern Is Scared
Stern has been open about the fact that he is voting for Harris and is anti-Trump at all costs. That would probably explain why the appearance basically served as an opportunity for the vice president to run through her talking points uninterrupted. She even likened their ‘interview’ to “therapy,” though no stop of her media blitz – which also included Call Her Daddy and 60 Minutes – has been contentious.
While the back-and-forth may have been cathartic for the candidate, the shock jock was, admittedly, a ball of nerves.
STERN: …What you’ve taken on is extraordinarily difficult. And I mean, do you feel the pressure of the moment in the sense that– like when I met you out in the hall, I said, ‘I’m really nervous because I want this to go well for you. I want it to go well for the country.’ Even when I watch them on Saturday Night Live where they have Maya Rudolph playing you. I hate it. I don’t want you being made fun of… There is too much at stake. I believe the entire future of this country right now. I mean, as America, land of the free, home of the brave, I think it’s literally on the line…
Megyn said the fears Stern outlined are not unique. “He is very scared… and I hear this from a lot of my Democrat friends,” she said. “They are scared of Trump winning again. They are scared of Trump.”
Republicans, meanwhile, “are scared about what is going to happen to the country if she wins,” Megyn added. And she said the contrast between the two sides could not be greater.
The ‘Split Narratives’
On one hand, “Trump gets up after being shot with the ‘fight fight’ message, and you’ve got Teamsters union president [Sean O’Brien] saying he is ‘one tough SOB’ during his speech at the RNC,” Megyn explained. “And on the left, you have real fear that she is being mocked on Saturday Night Live. The split narratives are crazy.”
While SNL has been praised for at least poking fun at Harris and her running mate Tim Walz this election cycle, Ungar-Sargon said they have gotten kid glove treatment. “First of all, the portrayal of her on SNL is so flattering. It is such a pretense of making fun of her. All the jokes are flattering and nice,” she noted. “They are so careful. It is so gross.”
That is especially true, she said, when comparing it to the treatment of the right and even Joe Biden. “It is such a contrast not only with how they portray Republicans, but – now that Biden is off the ticket – he is the butt of their jokes.”
In her view, it speaks to the power dynamics. “They are not afraid of offending Biden because basically all of their portrayals of people who have power in their minds are incredibly flattering,” Ungar-Sargon concluded. “The whole pretense that this is taking on power is a joke.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Ungar-Sargon by tuning in to episode 911 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.