13 Things Learned From Kamala’sInterview with Stern
 |
Reporting from Washington The New York Times |
For over an hour, Vice President Kamala Harris and the radio host Howard Stern bantered on Tuesday about the state of the country, former President Donald J. Trump, Ms. Harris’s cereal and workout preferences, and her favorite musicians and racecar drivers.
It was the longest uninterrupted interview Ms. Harris has done since becoming the Democratic nominee, and while it did not delve much into what she would do as president, it was the most revelatory about her as a person.
Mr. Stern is not a journalist, and he said multiple times that he supported Ms. Harris for president, but he is a skilled inquisitor who managed to extract an array of fresh details about her life.
Here is a (perhaps incomplete) list of new things we learned about Ms. Harris.
She is angry about the new reporting on Trump, Putin and Covid testing.
Ms. Harris seemed apoplectic at the idea — reported in a new book by Bob Woodward — that when Mr. Trump was in office, he sent rare Covid test machines to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
“This guy who was president of the United States is sending them to Russia to a murderous dictator for his own personal use,” she said. “This person who wants to be president again who secretly is helping out an adversary when the American people are dying by the hundreds every day and in need of relief.”
She could not believe Trump’s behavior at their debate.
During their debate last month, Mr. Trump uncorked his false claim that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were eating their neighbors’ pets. Ms. Harris was just as stunned as everyone watching, she said.
“There were a couple of moments at least in the debate where it was surreal, honestly,” she said. “This was a very serious moment to earn the votes of the American people, and he was talking about things that were factually untrue and quite ridiculous.”
More on the 2024 Election
Inside the Battle for Pennsylvania: Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are pouring more money, time, and energy into the consequential battleground state than anywhere else.
Trump’s Fund-Raising Emails: A review of thousands of campaign emails showed dozens of opportunities to win merchandise or trips to meet Trump — but most of the contests seem to have no winners.
Harris’s Media Swing: In recent interviews, Harris showed how she often responds to uncomfortable questions by acknowledging them, yet not fully answering them.
She is proud of putting ‘a lot of people in jail.’
“I have put a lot of people in jail” might be a bumper-sticker slogan for a law-and-order candidate. And in some ways, that is how Ms. Harris is aiming to brand herself in the campaign’s final month. She discussed at length her time as a prosecutor — and made a strikingly blunt acknowledgment of the outcome of many of her cases.
She is all too aware of the threats against her life.
Ms. Harris said she had faced death threats dating to her time as a local prosecutor, though she declined to speak about them. “I refuse to live in fear of the bad guys,” she said.
Video
TRANSCRIPT
0:00/0:18
“I’ve definitely had death threats.” “Yeah.” “Yeah. I don’t generally talk about them, but, yes.” “Why don’t you talk about them? Because you don’t want to encourage any kind of nuts out there, or is it because it just is too — it’s just too hard to confront?” “I refuse to live in fear of the bad guys.” “Yeah.”
0:18
She thinks Trump is ‘getting punked’ by dictators.
Ms. Harris made clear she was simpatico with President Biden on foreign policy, especially when it came to backing Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
“I grew up in the neighborhood,” she said. “Some would say you’re getting punked if you stand in favor of somebody who’s an adversary over your friends on principles that we all agree on.”
She won’t reveal her cabinet choices unless and until she wins.
Mr. Stern predicted that the Republican whom Ms. Harris has pledged to place in her cabinet would end up being Liz Cheney, the former Wyoming congresswoman who last week appeared at a campaign rally with her in Wisconsin.
Ms. Harris would not take the bait.
“I gotta win, Howard,” she said. “I gotta win. I gotta win. And listen, but the thing about Liz Cheney, let me just say, she’s remarkable.”
“You’re going to put a Republican in your —” “Yes.” “— in your cabinet.” “Correct.” “I love that. That’s old school.” “The best decisions I make are when I bring in a variety of perspectives that allow me to consider every angle and to build consensus.” “I’m guessing it’s going to be Liz Cheney, who you appoint. Am I correct?” “I got to win, Howard. I got to win.” “You got to win.” “I got to win.” “You got to win.” “And listen — But the thing about Liz Cheney, let me just say, she’s remarkable.”
She told Stern that talking to him was a form of therapy.
Mr. Stern noted that it remained taboo for national politicians to acknowledge that they seek the sort of therapy that millions of Americans rely on in their daily lives. He asked Ms. Harris if she was talking to someone to cope with the immense pressure of running for president.
“This is my form of therapy, right now,” she said. She went on to describe her longtime and robust circle of friends, her family and others on whom she counts for emotional support, then offered a bit of self-reflection about those she does not engage with.
“I choose,” she said, “not to have mean people in my life.”
She likes Formula One racing.
Ms. Harris is a fan of the Formula One car racing circuit, which has long been popular in Europe but has gained a foothold in the United States after a Netflix series ignited new interest.
Her favorite driver: “Lewis Hamilton, of course.”
Video
TRANSCRIPT
0:00/0:25
“Why do you like Formula One? These guys drive around the cars over and over again in a circle.” “It’s so good.” “You really love that.” “We love it. Our whole family does.” “It’s not a campaign thing?” “No. God, no. No. Well, actually, I haven’t been able to watch it a lot recently because I am campaigning because also, depending on where they’re driving the time of day, you’ve got to wake up —” “Who is your favorite driver?” “Lewis Hamilton, of course.” “I don’t even know who that is.” “He’s leaving Mercedes.”
She is mildly dismissive of her husband’s musical tastes.
Ms. Harris ribbed her husband, Doug Emhoff, for being a fan of the English pop band Depeche Mode, but said the artists they agreed on included Prince and U2.
“He and I have very different musical tastes, my husband and I,” Ms. Harris said. “Depeche Mode, that’s him. I grew up kind of hip-hop.”
She saw U2 play at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
Ms. Harris took Mr. Emhoff to see U2 play at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Ms. Harris seemed positively giddy in describing the venue — which she warned should be attended sober.
“Oh my God, have you been to the Sphere?” she asked Mr. Stern. “Everyone should go in with a clear head.”
Mr. Stern replied, “Basically, don’t be high.”
“Correct,” Ms. Harris said. “It’s a lot. There’s a lot of visual stimulation.”
She starts her morning on an elliptical machine, watching ‘Morning Joe.’
Ms. Harris said her morning workout routine typically involved 30 to 45 minutes on an elliptical machine, during which she watches “Morning Joe,” the anti-Trump MSNBC show that is also a favorite of Mr. Biden’s.
She eats raisin bran and Special K for breakfast.
In 2018, Ms. Harris told New York magazine that her breakfast routine involved low-sugar, generic raisin bran. She told Mr. Stern that she still liked the cereal — just not every morning.
“So I don’t eat raisin bran every morning,” she said. “You asked me what was my favorite cereal. I would put it right up there, OK?”
She also said she enjoyed Special K, a choice she admitted would “be obnoxious.”
She enjoyed Maya Rudolph’s impression of her.
Earlier, in an appearance on “The View,” Ms. Harris delivered a full laugh when shown Maya Rudolph’s impersonation of her from “Saturday Night Live.” The vice president reacted as if she had not seen Ms. Rudolph play her before.
To Mr. Stern, Ms. Harris praised the actor’s work.
“Well, I just saw it, actually, and it was funny,” she said. “I am a huge fan of Maya Rudolph, so I think she put a lot of time into doing the piece and the character.”
TRANSCRIPT
0:00/0:18
“I’ve definitely had death threats.” “Yeah.” “Yeah. I don’t generally talk about them, but, yes.” “Why don’t you talk about them? Because you don’t want to encourage any kind of nuts out there, or is it because it just is too — it’s just too hard to confront?” “I refuse to live in fear of the bad guys.” “Yeah.”
Comments