‘Donald Trump Weaves!’ CNN’s Boris Sanchez Asks David Axelrod About Jabbing Kamala Harris’s ‘Word Salad City’

During CNN’s post-game coverage of their town hall with Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic strategist and CNN analyst David Axelrod said that some of her responses were “word salad city.” On Thursday, CNN’s Boris Sanchez asked him about those comments while reminding him of the rambling responses of former President Donald Trump.

Sanchez pointed out the double standard regarding Harris’s responses versus Trump’s, the latter of who has called his own disjointed speechifying “the weave.” But Axelrod’s “word salad city” comment about Harris came as a result of, as he said, “when she doesn’t want to answer a question” and provides a long-winded, unfocused answer:

SANCHEZ: You mentioned that some of her responses to tough questions, specifically on Israel and on immigration, resulted in “word salad city,” essentially reverting to talking points. By his own admission, Donald Trump “weaves” when responding to certain questions and it seems to make no discernible difference to his supporters. So, I’m wondering how you think Harris can manage what seem to be two very different standards?

AXELROD: Well, you know, yes, she’s in a more difficult position because she has basically had to introduce herself to the American people in 90 days. Donald Trump, we’ve seen for years and he does get, there’s no doubt about it, Boris. You listen to a Donald Trump rally and it is [an] incredible flight because you never know where he’s going or where he’s going to land or how one point connects to another. But that in some ways is priced into the stock of Donald Trump, whereas people are really trying to get to know Kamala Harris. So, her answers are being scrutinized more closely because people are looking for clues to who she is and where she’s going. And that puts additional pressure on her.

Axelrod added that he also had positive feedback for Harris:

I know that that particular piece of my analysis was quoted widely. I also talked about some of the strengths of her presentation, including when she said “the difference between us is that he’s going to come to the office with an enemies list and I’m going to come with a to-do list about how we work on those things that, those concerns that we’ve discussed here tonight.” I thought that was powerful and compelling and really a fundamental argument in the final ten days of this campaign.

And every time Donald Trump goes out with his grievance list and talks about who he’s going to fire to protect himself, and who he’s going to go after using the tools of the Justice Department and the presidency, I think he underscores the fact that, that’s his fundamental concern. That’s his focus, Donald Trump. I think that’s a great opportunity for Kamala Harris. And I thought when she said that last night, it really struck a chord in me.

Watch the video above via CNN.