Kamala Harris' interview with social media influencer Kareem Rahma never aired. The vice president dodged questions about Gaza but oddly praised bacon—a food forbidden for Muslims.
Rahma hosts "Subway Takes," a show with nearly a million followers on Instagram and TikTok. He decided to scrap the interview, filmed over the summer, according to the New York Times. Before the interview, he wanted to question Harris about U.S. support for Israel amid the Gaza conflict, which he opposes. He asked about this on three calls but was "rejected."
This story is so cringe...
— Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) November 4, 2024
Kamala Harris filmed an interview for "Subway Takes," but it never aired. Why?
Her campaign pre-approved the topics, rejecting a question the Muslim host, Rahma, wanted to ask about Gaza.
He interviewed her anyway, but the take she delivered was that… pic.twitter.com/3B6ilo4TmM
Instead, Harris was set to give a "hot take" on people removing shoes on airplanes. The show's premise is having guests defend unpopular opinions. Rahma ultimately agreed to these terms, thinking he could decide against publishing if it felt wrong.
During the interview, Harris surprised Rahma by stating, "bacon is a spice." This caught him off guard. He pushed back, saying, "I don’t know." He was described as "taken aback" by her statement.
"Think about it, it’s pure flavor," Harris insisted, according to the footage reviewed by the Times. Rahma paused the interview to explain he doesn’t eat pork and tried to steer the conversation back to shoes on airplanes. But Harris persisted, praising anchovies on pizza instead.
"I'm 100% unsure on both of those," Rahma replied, clearly confused. He ultimately chose not to air the interview, worried it would upset the Muslim community.
"He had been apprehensive about potential criticism from other Muslims," the Times reported. "And the bacon talk had thrown him off." Rahma said, "It was so complicated because I’m Muslim and there’s something going on in the world that 100 percent of Muslims care about. And then they made it worse by talking about anchovies. Boring!"
Two senior campaign officials claimed Rahma knew about the bacon topic beforehand, but he and his manager disputed that. The campaign later apologized for the bacon comment and offered to reshoot. Rahma decided not to proceed.
In August, Rahma aired a different interview with Tim Walz, Harris' running mate, which went viral for discussing gutter maintenance. Harris has faced criticism for avoiding press interactions and fumbling interviews. Critics often call her statements "word salads," describing them as redundant and nonsensical.