Pete Wehner, a former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush and George W. Bush, wrote on X on Wednesday that Kamala Harris “dominated” Fox News host Bret Baier during an interview.

“My opinion: Bret Baier has rarely looked as bad (or tendentious) as he did in his interview with Kamala Harris,” Wehner wrote on although it was a pretty bad day for MAGA’s premier media outlet,” Wehner wrote on X

Harris and Baier shared a combative 30-minute conversation during her first formal interview on the right-wing network, in an outreach to conservative and independent voters in the final weeks of the election. Baier questioned her about the Biden administration’s handling of immigration, the Middle East and the economy.

The exchanges became especially heated over topics such as immigration. Baier repeatedly pressed Harris on the Biden administration’s reversal of Trump-era restrictive policies, to which she responded by blaming Republicans for blocking a bipartisan immigration bill that Trump encouraged senators to pass in February to vote.

When Harris discussed the economy and Biden’s record, he pushed back and asked Baier to have a “conversation based on a full assessment of the facts.”

At one point, when Harris recently described Trump and said he would use the military against the political left, which he called “the enemy within,” Baier rolled footage of Trump describing the reaction to those comments as exaggerated. In the clip, Trump accused Democrats of threatening him with “fake investigations” and “weaponization of the government.”

Trump’s first controversial statement, which he responded to in Baier’s clip, was when he was asked if he thought Election Day would be peaceful. He said: “I think the bigger problem is the enemy within… We have some very bad people, some sick people, radical left-wing lunatics. And it should be very easily addressed by, if necessary, the National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military.”

Harris pushed back, calling out Baier for selectively playing the clip of Trump’s defense of his comments, rather than addressing the comments themselves. She said this diminished or sanitized Trump’s calls for violence.

“Bret, I’m sorry, that’s not what he said about the ‘enemy within,’ which he repeated when he talked about the American people,” Harris said. “That’s not what you just showed.”

Behavior analyst and body language expert Dr. Jack Brown wrote on X that Baier expressed intent to silence Harris when she pushed back.

“Bret Baier’s repeated extension of his arm in a palms-down dynamic is a nonverbal attempt to tell VP Harris to ‘shut up,’ ‘you’ve said enough on this subject,’ and ‘I have the floor now.’ .,” Bruin wrote. “This body language display is often exhibited by misogynistic and manipulative individuals who are not interested in dialogue, discourse, or the opinions of others.”

At another point, Baier asked Harris how she categorized herself as the candidate for change, which marked a shift away from Trump-style politics, while she and Joe Biden have been in office since 2021. Harris tried to turn it around by saying Trump had run for office. ever since. Baier said, “But you’ve been in office!” and she replied, “You and I both know what I’m talking about,” to which Baier replied, “Actually, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Reactions to the interview were sharply divided. Supporters of Harris praised her calmness and ability to respond under pressure.

Billionaire Harris supporter Mark Cuban praised her performance on social media, saying, “She didn’t lose her cool. She didn’t take the bait of belittling or putting down Trump supporters. She stood up to him strongly and never backed down.”

Cuban went on to say that Harris’ understanding of the issues and her ability to stand strong in the face of Baier’s questions have drawn support from both Republicans and independents, saying it “speaks volumes” about her leadership.

Republican strategist Andrew Surabian wrote of

Ron Filipkowski, a frequent Trump critic, said: “Interesting how Fox lets Trump ramble as long as he wants to answer every question on other topics… but Bret Baier gives Harris 30 seconds before interrupting her and arguing.” This comes in the context of Trump recently being criticized for a series of bizarre, off-topic, incoherent answers during interviews.

Trump made a rare post on

“Great job by Bret Baier in his interview with Lyin’ Kamala Harris,” Trump wrote, accusing Harris of suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and describing her as “the WORST vice president in history.” Trump also congratulated Baier on what he called a “tough but very honest interview.”

Newsweek contacted Fox News and Kamala Harris’ campaign for comment.