In today’s fragmented media landscape, podcasts have become an important platform for politicians to reach out to voters. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris recently participated in two podcast interviews, one with former NFL player Shannon Sharpe on “Club Shay Shay” and another with scholar Brené Brown on “Unlocking Us”.
According to an Associated Press report on Monday, the content of these two interviews shared many similarities with previous ones, such as Harris proposing more affordable elder care initiatives and her preference for using Venn diagrams to explain complex concepts.
In addition, there are four key points worth noting:
1. Sharpe posed some sharp questions to Harris. When asked about how black voters, especially male voters, seem to lean towards supporting Trump, Harris responded by mentioning Trump spreading lies like claiming that the first black president, Barack Obama, was not born in the United States and suggesting that Haitian immigrants in Ohio eat pets.
She also stated: “Don’t think you’re part of the Donald Trump club. You’re not. He’s not looking out for you. Do you think he’d invite you over for dinner?”
She expressed that when Trump is with his “billionaire buddies,” he doesn’t think about the needs of black people.
2. Trump’s statement during the debate with President Biden that immigrants are taking away jobs from black people caused a stir. Harris denied this during her conversation with Sharpe, stating that Trump is trying to make voters believe it is either “you (black people) or them (illegal immigrants).”
“How do you define jobs for black people? Let me tell you my definition of jobs for black people,” she said. “Vice President of the United States.”
Sharpe replied, “That’s a good job. I don’t know about the pay, but that’s a good job.”
3. The interview with Sharpe started with a toast, which Harris gracefully declined. She said, “I won’t actually drink this because I might fall asleep.” She mentioned the need to keep a clear mind for her later appearance with Obama that day.
Regardless of how late she stayed up the night before, she emphasized her daily exercise routine and how with age comes the necessity of breakfast. “Usually a spinach omelette,” she said, “I like chicken apple sausage and some toast.”
4. Politicians are notorious for being late, especially presidents, often keeping people waiting for them.
However, Harris stated that she is adamant about sticking to her schedule to the point that others mock her for it.
She said, “Being on time is very important to me, just as someone recently made fun of me. He has worked with many elected leaders. I never met an elected leader who always arrives on time. But I feel like I should respect others because I know their time is important.”