CNN’s Phillip on VP Harris: Her Foreign Trip Was ‘Cringeworthy’

CNN anchor Abby Phillip said Sunday on “Inside Politics” that Vice President Kamala Harris gave a “cringeworthy” performance during her first foreign trip.

Phillip said, “Vice President Harris has been given a to-do list loaded with all but impossible tasks. Immigration tops that list and was the focus of her first foreign trip. But she drew criticism for telling migrants, do not come to the U.S. border, and for not yet visiting the actual U.S.-Mexico border.”

In a highlight from Harris’ interview with NBC News, “Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt said, “You haven’t been to the border.”

Harris said, “And I haven’t been to Europe. I don’t understand the point that you’re making.”

Phillip said, “It’s just a little cringeworthy, and I know that her allies in the White House and elsewhere are watching it and just kind of wondering what is going on? How poorly did this go for her in her first foray on the world stage?”

White House correspondent for Politico, Laura Barrón-López, said, “It didn’t go the way the White House wanted it to go. Again, immigration, as you mention, is a hot potato no one wants to touch, and Harris has been dealt it, and so she has to handle now what Biden had to handle when he was VP which is relationships with the northern triangle. And, of course, Republicans have been trying to clump that in with the border and the board situation and attacking her on that. Now, did the trip go the way they wanted? No. Now in 2024, 2028, if she decides to run, are people going to remember this trip? I don’t think so.”

Phillip said, “That’s definitely true. This is one event, maybe it’s the first, but it’s one. But there are some broader questions about is this part of a pattern? Even in the campaign, she struggled with press interviews, had some major flip-flops on the campaign trail.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

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