After much buildup and pressure from the media, Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz sat for their first joint interview with CNN's Dana Bash on Thursday.
Bash herself was under as much scrutiny as the two candidates, which resulted in an occasionally stiff conversation as some of her talking points were deftly shot down by the VP.
The CNN anchor relied too much on Donald Trump's words instead of the truth, even saying the economy had been better under his administration. VP Harris not only pushed back, but she corrected Bash without devolving into insults like her opponent might.
Bash also stumbled when it came to the issue of Trump's comments regarding her race and gender--the focal point of all of his personal attacks.
"Same old tired playbook," the Vice President said dismissively. "Next question."
"That's it?" Bash replied, clearly surprised and maybe a little disappointed in not getting a good "Trump is a racist" soundbite out of it.
"That's it," Vice President Harris responded.
Very Miranda Priestly of her.
Later in the interview, the VP reiterated that people should be focused on her record and nothing more. “I am running because I believe that I am the best person to do this job, at this moment for all Americans, regardless of race and gender.”
However, it's her race and gender that the MAGA base will continue to attack. MSNBC spoke to a group of mixed-race and multi-ethnic voters in the swing state of North Carolina to discuss how they've faced similar struggles in this country.