Trump promises free IVF

Kamala’s first interview as nominee falls flat

Vice President Kamala Harris — and CNN — failed to impress in the first sit-down and unscripted interview she has given since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee forty days ago. Harris spoke for just eighteen minutes and opted not to explain how and why her policy positions have changed so drastically in the past four years, instead offering that her “values haven’t changed” and stood by her positive post-debate assessment of President Joe Biden’s cognitive state. Perhaps most confusing was Harris’s insistence that Americans are looking for a “new way forward”…

Kamala’s first interview as nominee falls flat

Vice President Kamala Harris — and CNN — failed to impress in the first sit-down and unscripted interview she has given since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee forty days ago. Harris spoke for just eighteen minutes and opted not to explain how and why her policy positions have changed so drastically in the past four years, instead offering that her “values haven’t changed” and stood by her positive post-debate assessment of President Joe Biden’s cognitive state. Perhaps most confusing was Harris’s insistence that Americans are looking for a “new way forward” and to “bring America into a new decade,” which conveniently left out the fact that she has been in office for at least a third of that decade.

One of the interview’s major problems was Bash’s refusal to really challenge either Harris or governor Tim Walz on their answers. Bash should have pressed Harris specifically on each issue she flipped on since 2019 and then done the same for each of Walz’s misrepresentations about his record. Letting him off with the excuse that he has “bad grammar” is not sufficient for a legitimate journalist. Bash helpfully closed the interview with adulation for some “iconic” moments from the Democratic National Convention, something I described last night as “a journalistic apology to the candidates for any tough questions she had asked earlier.”

Harris’s insistence on not being pinned down on policy seems to be by design. If most of her changes are announced by campaign officials, rather than the candidate herself, and not listed on her campaign website (which still doesn’t have a policy platform), she can play dumb when she ultimately governs as a progressive radical. It was incumbent on Bash to get to the root of Harris’s reluctance to answer any real questions, instead speaking in platitudes and word salads. She did not.

“This was not an appropriate setting for real questions. This was an interview on CNN,” Spectator contributor Grace Curley appropriately asserted.

–Amber Duke

On our radar

MOORE THAN MEETS THE EYE Maryland governor Wes Moore apologized for erroneously listing a Bronze Star on a White House fellowship application in 2006. Moore said he was promised the star while still in the military, but the award never materialized and he did not correct it on his application. ”I take full accountability for an honest mistake,” he said.

SILVER BULLET Independent pollster Nate Silver released a new forecast that has former president Donald Trump leading Vice President Kamala Harris in electoral college votes, giving Trump a 52.4 percent chance of winning the electoral college and Harris a 47.3 percent chance. Silver noted that his model revises Harris’s numbers down slightly to account for a post-convention bump.

NO DISCURSO A Brazilian judge ordered X CEO Elon Musk to appoint a Brazil-based legal adviser or face the social media site being shut down in the country. Musk has accused the Brazilian government of trying to force him to censor political opponents of President Lula.

Trump promises free IVF

Former president Donald Trump said at a campaign event in Pottersville, Michigan, that he would make IVF treatment free for women if he were to win a second term in office.

Trump came out in favor of IVF in February, after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law.

“I’m announcing today in a major statement that under the Trump administration, your government will pay for — or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for — all costs associated with IVF treatment,” Trump said. “Because we want more babies, to put it nicely.”

He said either the government or insurance agencies would cover the cost of the treatment, which is known to be very expensive. One cycle costs up to $20,000 and most women require multiple rounds of the treatment. “We’re going to be mandating that the insurance company pay,” Trump said when asked about it in an interview with NBC news. He did not detail a specific plan on how he would fund it.

This statement comes amid Trump’s attempt to present himself as a moderate on the issue of abortion. On Thursday, Trump said he thought Florida’s six-week abortion ban, put in place by governor Ron DeSantis is “too restrictive.” “I think the six-week (ban) is too short — it has to be more time,” Trump told NBC News. “I told them I want more weeks.” The ban was put in place shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which Trump repeatedly said needed to be done in order to give the decision back to states. His positions on abortion have sparked ire from some pro-life activists, who said they will not vote for him until he takes a more vehement stance against abortion.

On Friday in an interview with Fox News, Trump suggested he would not vote for a proposed amendment in Florida that would enshrine the right to an abortion up until fetal viability.

–Elisenne Stoller

Will Kamala actually appoint a Republican?

A rare surprise in the otherwise routine Harris-Walz interview on CNN last night: when asked if she’d appoint a Republican to her cabinet, Kamala said, “Yes I would.” This is perhaps in response to two Democratic presidential candidates from the last decade — Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — endorsing Trump and joining his transition team. President Biden appointed a few Republicans to ambassadorial positions — notably Arizonans Jeff Flake and Cindy McCain — but Harris appears ready to go a step further.

The likeliest option would be to appoint a serious-minded ex-military Beltway figure to a role like director of national intelligence or defense secretary: Mark Esper, for instance. For more outside-the-box hints, Cockburn is reviewing the Republican speakers at the DNC last week: former Georgia lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan and Mesa mayor John Giles stand out. More unserious options include former members of Congress Adam Kinzinger — who also spoke — and Liz Cheney, who didn’t.

Then again — Harris said she “would” appoint a Republican, not that she “will” or “promised to” or “is committing to.” There’s wriggle room there — and it wouldn’t be the first time she’d make use of it…

–Cockburn