The 2024 election is 11 months away, and Vice President Kamala Harris has started to hit the campaign trail more regularly.
Last week, she made the TV rounds and regurgitated virtually the same talking points in all of her interviews. This week, the vice president sat down with Katie Couric to talk about her record, how she is not in charge of the border crisis, and… her height.
On Friday’s show, Megyn was joined by Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, to discuss Harris’ curious fascination with how tall she is and why she is struggling in the polls.
Growing Pains
In an interview released on Wednesday, Couric sat down with Harris for a nearly 40-minute discussion in her ceremonial office at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC.
The sit down made headlines because of the way Couric chose to frame her line of questioning to the vice president about immigration and the southern border. “I want to talk to you about immigration because I think nearly everyone agrees that the system is broken and that we need comprehensive immigration reform,” Couric began. “Early on, I know you were tasked with understanding the root causes of the immigration crisis, but you’re not in charge of the border, which I think is important to point out.”
At another point in the interview, Harris claimed the Biden administration’s poor poll numbers are the result of not taking “adequate credit” for their accomplishments. But one of the most bizarre moments of the exchange came in place of what probably should have been one of the lightest.
During the initial introductions, Couric and Harris were standing next to each other when the former Today anchor brought up height. “This is supposed to be one of the lighter moments, I think, that’s meant to make us fall in love with Kamala Harris,” Megyn noted. “You tell me whether it’s having that effect.”
Harris seemed to grow visibly – and audibly – agitated about the misconception over how tall she is as she and Couric went back and forth on the subject.
COURIC: Why did I think you were much taller? I recently learned you’re only 5 [foot], 2 [inches]. Is that true–
HARRIS: That is absolutely incorrect.
COURIC: Okay.
HARRIS: I am 5 [foot], 4 [inches] and a quarter. Sometimes 5 [foot], 4 [inches] and a half–
COURIC: Okay, and I am 5 [foot], 3 [inches]–
HARRIS: And with heels, which I always wear, I am 5 [foot], 7 [inches] and a half. Thank you very much.
COURIC: Okay, Wikipedia, you’re wrong and we need to correct that.
HARRIS: Totally wrong. I’ve said this to my team, like, what– I don’t know where it came from. I’ve, I was 5 [foot], 2 [inches] when I was 12.
COURIC: They say I’m 5 [foot], 1 [inch] on my Wikipedia page.
HARRIS: How tall are you?
COURIC: 5 [foot], 3 [inches] and three quarters and shrinking.
HARRIS: Right? It’s like literally they just want to just make us smaller, in every way, than we are.
COURIC: I know. But I was excited because I’m short and I was like, ‘Oh, Kamala is short like me.’
HARRIS: No, I am not. I literally am not. They are just trying to take two and a half inches off my, you know–
COURIC: We stand corrected.
While there was a lot to dissect in the clip, Kirk pointed to the rapport between Harris and Couric. “She embraces Kamala Harris and is just, like, awestruck in her presence; it’s like the greatest thing ever,” he noted. “I mean, could you imagine a mainstream media person being that buddy-buddy with a Republican?”
Harris’ Popularity Problem
Megyn agreed that some “professional distance” is required, but she joked that she had but one thought after hearing the exchange: “That damn patriarchy,” she quipped. “She means you, [Charlie]. That’s your doing.”
In Kirk’s view, the whole exchange was “remarkably cringe” and not becoming of someone in her position. “This fake girl power thing drives me nuts,” he said. “It’s nauseating, and I think it actually does disservice to strong female leaders… I think it turns a lot of people off.”
To that point, Kirk said Harris finds herself in a tough spot for someone seeking re-election. “Kamala Harris might be one of the most undesirable politicians in American life from her cackle to her unpopularity,” he concluded. “She’s there because Joe Biden said he wanted a black female as vice president, and she’s less popular than Joe Biden.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Kirk by tuning in to episode 711 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.