Harris Interviewer: ‘She Didn’t Answer’ How She’d Help Springfield, She’s ‘Good at Dodging’

On Wednesday’s broadcast of WBUR’s “Here and Now,” POLITICO Playbook Co-author and White House Correspondent Eugene Daniels, who interviewed 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris for an event with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), stated that Harris “didn’t answer” his question on a federal response to help Springfield, Ohio with the issues of lack of resources it faced before and faces after an influx of migrants and she instead took the moment to attack her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump.

Co-host Deepa Fernandes asked, “You had asked Harris about whether some…sort of federal response could help the Springfield, Ohio community heal. What struck you about her response?”

Daniels answered, “That she didn’t answer. I think that was probably the thing that struck me the most. Because I was trying to get at, there is an underlying concern that people who live in Springfield have that has nothing to do with race, right? There are questions about the lack of resources that were available before any new people came in — Haitian immigrants came in. And they were having the same things after, right? There are long lines at hospitals and issues at schools because of a lack of translation services, for one. So, I was trying to see if she believed that the federal government had a role in it. And, instead, she took the opportunity to talk about the racist conspiracy theories that have been spread by both former President Donald Trump and his running mate.”

Fernandes also said, “[S]he dodged many questions, about reparations for descendants of slaves.” Daniels agreed, remarking, “Politicians tend to do that.”

Daniels concluded the interview by stating that Harris is “pretty good at dodging, as you saw.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett