“Real Time” host Bill Maher appeared shocked during an MSNBC softball interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, taking a swipe at his latest guest Stephanie Ruhle.
“We are working to strengthen it [Harris’] weakness, there was a lot of pressure on him. He doesn’t do interviews. He doesn’t answer [questions]- so he sat through the interview. He said ‘Okay, I’ll answer your hardball questions.’ So he went on MSNBC,” Maher said during his opening monologue Friday night.
“There were some hardball questions, but I still expected them not to rub his feet,” added the liberal broadcaster, prompting laughter from his audience.
MSNBC’S STEPHANIE RUHLE INTERVIEWS HARRIS, SAYS ‘NO ANSWERS’: THIS WILL NOT BE ‘CLEAR AND STRAIGHT STORY’
“Real Time” host Bill Maher took a swipe at MSNBC’s interview with Vice President Kamala Harris during his opening monologue, saying he didn’t expect the network to “rub his feet.” (Screenshot/HBO)
Ruhle appeared on the Real Time show a few days before he got an interview with the vice president in which he defended Harris not answering tough policy questions.
“Kamala Harris is not running for perfection. She is running against Trump,” Ruhle told Maher. “We have two options. So there are things you may not know his answer to. And in 2024, unlike 2016 for most Americans, we know exactly what Trump is going to do, who he is and what kind of threat he is. Go to democracy.”
The MSNBC host was repeatedly attacked by Harris following his exclusive interview.
MSNBC’S STEPHANIE RUHLE SLAMS HARRIS FOR TRYING TO INCREASE TAXES: ‘HE’S NOT ANSWERING THE QUESTION’
MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle defended Harris by saying he didn’t answer policy questions days before he interviewed the VP. (Screenshot/HBO)
“What I didn’t hear from him was divisive language,” Ruhle told MSNBC colleague Nicolle Wallace. “Imagine if I was sitting against him Donald Trumpthink of the language he will use, please! And just the fact that we were talking about the inclusion of participation — I don’t know. Vote for him or not, but isn’t it good to have a constructive conversation right now?”
Ruhle acknowledged that Harris did not answer the question of how he would get funding for his ambitious economic agenda outside of Congress, but quickly defended him by saying that Trump would “balloon” the deficit “much bigger than Vice President Harris.”
He went on to say that it was “okay” for Harris not to provide specifics about his policy proposals and dismissed the non-answers as “he’s a politician.”
Ruhle kept looking at Harris following their conversation. (Screenshot/MSNBC)
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“It’s hard, isn’t it?” Ruhle exclaimed. “We are a country of 330 million people, our economy is complex. In the same way – is the economy good or bad? It totally depends! So values, if they are used in the right places, can work. And one can look at that and say, ‘Well, he didn’t give a clear answer , straight.’ It’s okay, because we’re not talking about specific or specific issues.”