Kamala Harris’ Fox News Interview Wins Over Swing Voters: ‘In Her Element’

Kamala Harris received a better score from swing voters during her Fox News interview on Wednesday than her general popularity with this group, according to a study.
Online monitoring and analysis company Impact Social reported that 20 percent of swing voters who watched the interview had a positive impression of Harris. In comparison, 30 percent had a negative view, with the remaining 50 percent neutral.
Impact Social noted that the net score of -10 is higher than Harris’s overall swing voter popularity score of -16. Thus, they claimed the event “reflects an uptick” that “will likely have a positive influence on swing voter perception.”
Fox News host Bret Baier interviewed Harris on Wednesday in a sometimes testy exchange which covered her views on immigration, transgender healthcare and whether Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump represents a threat to American democracy.
The vice president’s decision to appear on a conservative-leaning broadcaster was widely seen as a bid to extend her appeal against the backdrop of polling suggesting the race is too close to call.
The Impact Social analysis was drawn from an algorithm that read a “statistically representative sample” of social media posts made during the debate by those identified as swing voters. In 2016, Impact Social created a database of 40,000 key swing voters who matched a range of key characteristics.
Positive comments about Harris’s performance recorded by Impact Social included “Kamala Harris is very, very good at this” and “Why is everyone surprised that @VP @KamalaHarris kicked Bret Baier’s butt? She is a seasoned prosecutor. She is in her element when debating or presenting her argument.”
On the other hand, one commentator said Harris was “lying on the border,” while another said, “Kamala Harris absolutely BOMBED that interview. Baier pushed and challenged and all she did was whine, deflect, lie, and the old ‘I’m speaking.'”
Newsweek reached out to the Trump and Harris campaigns for comment via email.
According to Impact Social, while a net 10 percent of swing voters had a negative opinion of Harris’s performance, this was actually a good result for the Democratic candidate, as it was a better score than her general approval with this group.
Company director Phil Snape: “At first blush a net sentiment score of -10 may seem like a failure. However our weekly 40K swing voter tracker currently shows Harris running at -16 (Trump -17). Her interview therefore reflects an uptick in her performance which will likely have a positive influence on swing voter perception.”
Snape added that “in general, swing voters are agreed that this was a combative, tetchy and unpleasant interview. Whether they blame Fox’s Baier or Harris is largely determined by voter intent.”
During Wednesday’s interview Harris clashed with Baier over the Biden administration’s policy on undocumented immigration. A clip of her asking “may I please finish” after being interrupted by the Fox News host went viral on social media.
Baier, during a later Fox News appearance, suggested Harris had gone into the interview seeking “a viral moment,” adding: “I think she may have gotten that.”
Harris also used the interview to suggest Trump is a threat to the rule of law in America, accusing the Republican candidate of being unable to “handle criticism.”
Addressing Baier, she added: “You and I both know that he has talked about turning the American military on the American people.”
For a copy of Impact Social’s full report, click here.