Radically normal Solidly unspectacular - a pair to have coffee and cake with

Donald Trump spent Thursday in Michigan raving about bacon, windmills, AI Capone, trans boxers, nuclear war and, of course, his crowd size. Weird! Kamala Harris and Tim Walz gave an interview on CNN that was ... radically normal.

- David Smith

Just as she did a week ago at the Democratic National Convention, the US vice-president was comfortable and composed, solid and unspectacular, doing enough to clear the bar and doing herself no harm. She turned a much-hyped first interview as nominee into a soon-to-be-forgotten pit stop along the campaign trail.

Perhaps most important was the personality test. The old saw in presidential campaigns was: which candidate would you rather have a beer with? Harris and Walz came over as fine for sharing cake and coffee with at your kids' birthday party. The same cannot be said of the former president and his running mate, JD Vance.

The Democrats' bet is that Americans crave such relatability after a decade of Trump's malignant narcissism and Joe Biden's struggles with age. The current president's every interview was a nerve-wracking high-wire act. Harris was a fresh-faced model of steadiness by comparison.

But as the 27-minute interview unfolded, she was notably more at ease embracing Biden and his legacy than her own historic candidacy as potentially the first black female president. Democrats may value her loyalty. Republicans may portray her as Biden-lite.