Kamala Harris was back in Michigan on Monday for an event that was billed as a town hall moderated by Maria Shriver. During the event, the vice president fielded questions from both Shriver and the audience. But as it turns out, those participants from the key battleground state were forced to stick to a “predetermined” script.
On Tuesday’s show, Megyn was joined by GOP strategist Hogan Gidley and Democratic strategist Doug Schoen to discuss how cautious the Harris campaign has been and why it may be backfiring.
‘Predetermined’ Performance
As Megyn explained, town halls are usually designed to be “more of a loose and freewheeling chance for the candidate to meet voters.” But that is certainly not how one would describe what happened in the Wolverine State on Monday.
When asked by a member of the audience at the Royal Oak Theatre in Royal Oak, Michigan, if voters could ask Harris questions directly, Shriver admitted they could not. “You’re not, unfortunately,” Shriver said. “We have some predetermined questions, and hopefully, I’ll be able to ask some of the questions that might be in your head. I hope so.”
Harris, who was joined on stage by former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, ended up taking three questions from audience members who all read from their phones or notes. The Democratic nominee, meanwhile, stuck to her same talking points, even when Shriver asked her to share things about herself that voters wouldn’t know.
Kamala’s Character
In Megyn’s view, Shiver’s admission represents a larger issue for the Harris-Walz campaign. “I’ve told this audience before, when you are a network conducting a town hall, the anchor knows all the questions that are coming because they have to be pre-screened. You don’t want every question to be about abortion or the economy,” she explained. “But this is something different… Everything here is fake… It is all astroturf.”
It stands in sharp contrast, Gidley noted, to what you see on the GOP side. “Think about J.D. Vance and all the questions he gets… He is used to this back and forth and these types of arguments,” he said. “One of the things Republicans have to do on a daily basis is take difficult questions because, oftentimes, we are the only ones really held to account.”
Schoen admitted situations like this expose Harris’ weaknesses. “I don’t think there is anything about her record that is particularly impressive, and I think more generally what we are seeing in the polls is that voters are beginning to understand that there is really no there there with Kamala Harris,” he said. “There doesn’t appear to be any overarching argument she can make other than… ‘whatever positions I have taken that are unpopular, I am only too happy to alter to fit the political climate.'”
He believes voters have caught on. “What I see is a problem that goes beyond integrity to inauthenticity, which I think, as Election Day approaches, is actually the larger issue that she faces,” Schoen said. “Voters are seeing that there is no record, there is no agenda for the future, and there is no sense of character about her that gives people real confidence.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Gidley and Schoen by tuning in to episode 923 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.