Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Penn., criticized both Vice President Kamala Harris and CNN for not providing substantive answers about her policy in an interview Thursday.
Meuser appeared on "CNN This Morning" and criticized the network for not grilling Harris enough on key issues that she has flip-flopped on in recent years. In his estimation, Harris once again got away with not having to provide detailed answers to hard questions, leaving voters still unclear where she stands.
"I think the American people just have a real trust issue with the vice president," the lawmaker said.
Meuser began by telling CNN anchor Manu Raju that he felt Harris "avoided a trainwreck" during the interview, but also wasn’t held accountable enough by network anchor Dana Bash.
"And frankly, some of the follow-up questions – and really I don’t mean to criticize – were just nonexistent, particularly on fracking."
Harris’ position on fracking has been scrutinized throughout her 2024 presidential campaign, as she supported banning fracking during her first presidential run in 2019 and has since said she will not ban it if she gets into office.
During her interview on Thursday, Harris stated, "I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020 that I would not ban fracking. As vice president, I did not ban fracking. As president, I will not ban fracking."
However, transcripts from Harris’ 2020 vice presidential debate with former Vice President Mike Pence reveal that Harris mentioned, "Joe Biden will not end fracking. He has been very clear about that," never explicitly revealing her intentions.
CNN's own fact-checker Daniel Dale called out the vice president on that subject following the interview.
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Meuser went on to say that neither Harris nor the network talked enough about key issues, like American energy and border security.
"See, that’s the biggest thing I think, that there was really no – there was no detail, I think they spoke about energy for maybe 30 seconds, they covered the border for about two and-a-half minutes. The economy was about two minutes as well."
The lawmaker added that Harris has "clearly" been given a "makeover" that some see as "a big con taking place."
Raju then asked about Harris leading in the polls in Pennsylvania, which Meuser said is a reality only "because she hasn’t done an interview" except for the CNN one.
Later in the program, CNN host Michael Smerconish said that Harris’ interview didn’t add anything new to the conversation.
"So I think the headline today is that there is no headline, right? That there was really no news made from the event other than the fact that it occurred after her being the Democratic candidate there for about a month."
The host told Raju that Harris made the interview work for her as it didn’t result in any obvious blunders. "She achieved her purpose, which is that the two of us right now are not discussing any viral video… There was not a stumble that everyone is pointing to today. That’s a good thing for her."
