Newsmax political analyst Mark Halperin highlighted on Monday two decisions by Vice President Kamala Harris during her presidential campaign that could be blamed for her potential defeat.
Halperin pointed out that Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate instead of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and has engaged infrequently with the media since her campaign launch on July 21.
On “Wake Up America,” Halperin suggested that not selecting Shapiro and her decision to “hide” from the press could be seen as factors that doomed her campaign if it fails.
“I think if she does lose this race, there’ll be two decisions that she made that people will look back on and say, ‘Wow, those were decisive early on.’ One was not picking Josh Shapiro as her running mate, the governor of Pennsylvania,” Halperin said. “And the other was choosing to hide, to not do media, to not talk to voters, to not paint a portrait of herself in anything but gauzy terms from the Chicago convention on where she stands on things. And there are good reasons for that, apparently.”
Shapiro was reported to be a top contender for Harris’ vice presidential pick, but many Democratic strategists and political observers speculated that the campaign preferred to avoid having two minority candidates on the ticket, given that Shapiro is Jewish.
Additionally, Democratic anti-Israel activists criticized Shapiro for his pro-Israel stances.
Mark Halperin Pinpoints 'Two Decisions' Harris Made That People Will Blame For Her Downfall If She Loses pic.twitter.com/PIVBmVuzOl
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 9, 2024
So far, Harris has given only one sit-down interview during her campaign and did not publish a policy page on her website until Sunday, according to The Washington Post.
Her policy page includes plans to reduce costs for Americans and features a tab on “Trump’s Project 2025 Agenda,” a policy document that former President Trump has claimed is unrelated to his platform.
“But the, what’s on the website now is belated, and it’s not out of her own mouth. Not very many Americans are going to go look at that website,” Halperin added. “So she does have to give people, even her own aides would say, more of a sense of what she’s about, what she’d be like as president. I’ve known her a long time, I’ve covered her a long time. I have no idea what she’d be like as president.”
Trump and Harris are set to face off in their only scheduled presidential debate on ABC News this Tuesday. Halperin humorously suggested it’s a “total coincidence” that Harris published her policy page on her website just before the debate.
On Friday, Halperin cautioned Republicans not to underestimate Harris’s performance in the debate, noting that she “did pretty well” in past debates.
“Some Republicans have been counting on her to screw up the debate … could happen, but I wouldn’t bet on it based on her past as a debater,” he said.