CNN’s Kate Bolduan questioned the reasoning behind the “unsatisfying” responses she’s gotten from Democratic officials on why Vice President Kamala Harris is lagging behind former President Donald Trump in polling when it comes to the economy.
On Friday’s CNN News Central, Bolduan brought on CNN contributors Van Jones and Alyssa Farah Griffin for a panel discussion on why Harris is lagging in one particular area in polling. Trump, Bolduan argued, is “killing her” when it comes to the economy.
A CNN poll following Tuesday night’s ABC News debate found that a majority thought Harris won the debate, but a majority also believed Trump would be better on the economy, with 55% saying they had great faith in him in that area and just 35% saying the same about Harris.
“We’ve got the Fed very likely looking to cut rates for the first time since early pandemic days. What does that mean for this point in the campaign? Because it’s a funky place,” Bolduan said. “You’ve got, potentially, a good sign that Kamala Harris can talk about, kind of quote-unquote late-stage change, but you still have Donald Trump killing her when it comes to the economy. In that snap poll after the debate, he was up 20 points on the economy even though the vast majority said she won the debate.”
Jones downplayed the effect the polling on the economy will have, arguing Mitt Romney was trusted on the economy in most polling over then-President Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election and he still lost.
“The economy is objectively Donald Trump’s strongest issue, but it comes down to can he actually focus on that?” Griffin, a former communications official in Trump’s administration said.
She argued Trump gets too distracted and falls down rabbit holes talking about Hannibal Lecter or pushing conspiracy theories, like the false claim that immigrants are kidnapping and eating pets in Ohio.
Bolduan called responses from administration officials and elected Democrats “unsatisfying” when it comes to Harris’s struggles on economic policies that connect to voters. The CNN host said most explanations have simply said voters haven’t heard Harris’s message yet, but she questioned when the “expiration date” for that thinking could be, considering the actual election is so close.
“I just think the response I’ve gotten to ‘why isn’t she doing better on the economy’ or ‘why wasn’t Biden doing better on the economy’ that I’ve gotten from administration officials and from Democratic electeds, it has been unsatisfying to this point, which is they just haven’t gotten our message,” Bolduan said. “And at some point, I’m asking, where’s the expiration date on that reasoning? As at some point there has to be.”
Watch above via CNN.
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