Vice President Kamala Harris went on 60 Minutes and attempted to answer some of the toughest questions she's faced—a low bar—since taking over the Democratic nomination from 81-year-old Joe Biden, who is technically still the president. She was meandering and evasive throughout the interview with Bill Whitaker of CBS News, who had to politely repeat the question on several occasions. There's no telling how confounding Harris's answers must have been in real time. The network's producers saw fit to liberally (and sloppily) edit the conversation. They included a considerable amount of overdubbed editorializing from Whitaker, as if he were translating Harris's remarks into basic English. They made clear at the outset that Harris's opponent, Donald Trump, declined to participate.

"Harris says she’ll press Congress to pass a federal ban on price-gouging for food and groceries, but details are yet to be defined," Whitaker said in post-production remarks as Harris continued to ramble on screen at a low volume. He was attempting to translate Harris's answer to his question about rampant inflation during the Biden-Harris administration. "We now have an economy that is thriving by all macroeconomic measures," Harris bragged before struggling to articulate a plan that would help normal Americans who don't follow macroeconomic trends. "Prices are still too high, and I know that. And we need to deal with it, which is why part of my plan—you mentioned groceries—part of my plan is what we must do to bring down the price of groceries." Got that?

At one point Whitaker interrupted Harris's talking points about how "small businesses are part of the backbone of America's economy" to insist she explain how she would pay for all her spending proposals. She said it could all be paid for by raising taxes on rich people and rejected Whitaker's suggestion that Congress was unlikely to approve new tax hikes. "You know, when you talk quietly with a lot of folks in Congress, they know exactly what I'm talking about because their constituents know exactly what I'm talking about," the vice president alleged. "I am a devout public servant, you know that. But I am also a capitalist."

Harris is also an alleged gun owner. "I have a Glock, and I've had it for quite some time," she told Whitaker. "And, I mean, look. My background is in law enforcement, and, so there you go." Of course she has fired it, the VP cackled, at a shooting range.

Whitaker asked Harris a question many so-called journalists have had the opportunity to ask but for some reason have not: How does she explain her numerous reversals on the (radical left-wing) policy positions she espoused as a candidate in 2019? What was her message to critics who argued that "people don't truly know" where she stands? Her answer failed to include an explanation or message beyond a saccharine appeal to common sense.

"I have been traveling our country, and I have been listening to folks, and seeking what is possible in terms of common ground," Harris said before producers cut to a different clip, presumably out of mercy. "I believe in building consensus. We are a diverse people, geographically, regionally, in terms of where we are in our backgrounds, and what the American people do want is that we have leaders who can build consensus, where we can figure out compromise, and understand it's not a bad thing, as long as you don't compromise your values, to find common sense solutions. And that has been my approach." Alas, Whitaker declined to intervene or ask Harris what the hell she was talking about.

"I believe in my soul and heart, the American people are ready to turn the page," said Harris, who has served as vice president since January 2021. Whitaker pointed this out while attempting to get Harris to explain why illegal immigration surged on her watch. "Solutions are at hand," she alleged. "The policies that we have been proposing have been about fixing a problem not about promoting a problem, OK?"

Harris was equally out of her depth when trying to discuss America's relationship with Israel and the threat of regional war in the Middle East. "The work that we do diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles," she said. "The work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a result of, many things including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region." Harris was less artful when dodging Whitaker's question about whether as president she would support NATO membership for Ukraine. That was one of the "issues that we will deal with."

Harris's befuddled running mate, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, also took questions, including one about the criticism he's received for "embellishing and telling outright falsehoods" about his military service and other aspects of his resume, including his whopper about being in China during the Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989. Walz's answer was only slightly better than the atrocious word salad he unleashed during last week's vice presidential debate against Republican J.D. Vance. "I think folks know who I am, and I think they know the difference between someone expressing emotion, telling a story, getting a date wrong by a—rather than a pathological liar like Donald Trump," Walz said. But could he be trusted to tell the truth? "Yeah, well, I can. I think I can," the governor shrugged. "I will own up to being a knucklehead at times."

It's not yet known how many Americans tuned in to watch the interview. CBS News, by far the lowest-rated network in evening news, is still reeling from the backlash surrounding the VP debate, when moderators Margaret Brennan and Norah O'Donnell pestered Vance with dubious "fact checks." On Tuesday, the network is holding an all-staff trauma training session with Dr. Donald Grant, a diversity and mental health consultant, after CBS executives denounced their own anchor, Tony Dokoupil, for challenging author Ta-Nehisi Coates's one-sided account of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Dr. Grant's social media posts include a blatantly racist image of Sen. Tim Scott (R., S.C.) alongside the caption "Uncle Tim's Cabin," a racially-charged term of disparagement.