Set your calendars for Wednesday at 6 pm ET if you want to see an act of desperation. After watching her numbers drop during a recent media blitz in which 60 Minutes tried to cover up her word salads, Kamala Harris has agreed to appear on ... Fox News?

Indeed, and nearly live to boot:

The interview, with Fox News’s chief political anchor, Bret Baier, will take place near Philadelphia on Wednesday, shortly before it airs at 6 p.m. Eastern on Mr. Baier’s program, “Special Report.” Ms. Harris is expected to sit for 25 to 30 minutes of questions, the network said.

This is Ms. Harris’s first formal interview with Fox News, whose day-to-day programming is heavy on conservative punditry that often explicitly supports her Republican opponent, former President Donald J. Trump.

It could also represent an opportunity for the Democratic nominee three weeks ahead of Election Day.

It certainly could, but perhaps not in the ways that Harris hopes. One has to wonder why Team Kamala chose to do this format in such a potentially hostile environment at this stage of the campaign, although one look at the polls and the betting markets probably explains the urge for a game-changer of some sort. The New York Times offers the glass-half-full take on the decision:

Ms. Harris will have a chance to deliver her message to a viewership that may be skeptical of her candidacy. Her willingness to appear on Fox News may aid the perception that she is open to facing tough questions. And she can reach a swath of independent voters, more of whom watch Fox News than CNN or MSNBC, according to research by Nielsen.

Will she have that "chance" on Fox News? Sure, but Harris had that "chance" on CBS and 60 Minutes, too, and that didn't end well even with the desperate editing afterward. Harris' real-time answers to rather softball questioning were so bad that CBS News replaced an answer to one question with a response to an unrelated question -- which got exposed, thanks to some promo efforts before the interview aired. 

To this moment, CBS News refuses to release any transcript of the Harris interview. As former CBS reporters and Bari Weiss have publicly pointed out, that goes against CBS precedent -- and it's pretty clear why:

NEW CONTEXT:

As Trump campaign calls on @60Minutes to release “full, unedited transcript” of Kamala Harris interview...

There is precedent.

When I interviewed then President Trump in July 2020 @CBSNews we posted the interview transcript.

This is more complete and NOT… pic.twitter.com/Rb7QU5nwlQ

— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) October 9, 2024

Another transcript @CBSNews
2019 Bill Barr interview with chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford @JanCBS

Full transcript = journalistic transparency. https://t.co/gwbLnqQvdr https://t.co/kfRYg398S4 pic.twitter.com/V5WZWv7pRN

— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) October 10, 2024

Why won't CBS release a full transcript of their Kamala Harris interview? It would likely show just how much 60 Minutes edited her responses to make them (relatively) coherent, and by doing so would expose how much of an in-kind campaign contribution CBS News tried to make for Harris. CBS News has become thoroughly corrupt, and the transcript would prove it. They have moved into the vanguard of the Protection Racket Media.

And even with all that assistance in post-interview editing, Harris fumbled the "opportunity," which took place on broadcast TV rather than cable. After that debacle, why go on nearly live against a real journalist in Bret Baier rather than find another Democrat apologist willing to do clean-up duty afterward in the cutting room? 

Sheer desperation seems to be the obvious answer. Scott Pinsker predicted as much yesterday, arguing that Harris has been laboring under the belief that she's winning the election. Now that the portents have all turned sour, Harris realizes that she can't play it safe:

Because Democrats are like the Sand People: They’re easily startled. When they’re in a panic, believe me, you’ll know right away:

• Kamala Harris will suddenly open up and do a ton of interviews — including hostile interviews.
• The mainstream media will focus extensively on how rotten and awful the American voters are, and the narrative will be planted to blame racism/sexism on Kamala’s defeat.
• Tim Walz will be taken from the mothballs and placed anywhere a camera’s pointing.
• Bold new legislation (that benefits whatever demo is slipping away) will be announced ASAP by the Democrats.

We’re not there yet. Right now, the Democrats truly, honestly believe they’re winning. They’re not “pushing” anything and are content with the status quo.

We appear to "be there" now, however. And bear in mind that Harris had opportunities to do this before, and not just an interview but a full-on debate with Trump on the stage. Trump arranged one with Baier and Martha MacCallum as moderators for September 4th, but Harris refused. Trump at least broached the idea of a Fox debate briefly after the ABC News debacle before deciding against another debate. That format would have at least allowed Harris to spin the outcome and deflect questions to Trump. 

Now Harris will be stuck with Baier's questions and his determination to get answers. I am quite certain that Baier will strive to be fair and professional in his questions and follow-ups, but Harris can't handle either from reporters who try to throw it for her. The Maalox budget at Team Kamala must have tripled overnight, and for very good reasons. 

I already quoted Morrissey's Axiom on Dating and Politics today, so instead, let's hear from the late, great Daniel Van Bargen in Super Troopers as to the aroma this sends.