The governor of New Mexico and a member of Kamala Harris' national advisory board told CNN on Monday she can't comprehend a new poll showing voters believe former President Donald Trump is the more moderate candidate.
Michelle Lujan Grisham joined Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room" and offered the Democratic candidate some advice: Harris needs to do "what she's been doing."
"The debate's critical and I'm expecting her to be exactly who she is: Thoughtful. Well-prepared. She knows these policies. She's been executing on them and is a very effective leader," said Grisham.
But Grisham noted Harris has been doing this for the last two months now, hitting the campaign trail "hard" and "reintroducing herself."
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Harris ought to talk about her economic policies lifting the middle class, Grisham recommended.
"I think that's really going to resonate with a number of voters," she said.
Blitzer noted while the Harris campaign has criticized Trump and his policies as "extreme," polls last week show voters feel Trump is the more moderate candidate.
The notion baffled Grisham.
"I frankly can't wrap my head around that," she said, but tried to "dissect" the poll, saying there's been more extremism from both sides.
"He panders and plays to that side, he also lies, so what you hear from Donald Trump and his campaign is never the same thing," she said. "It's never the truth. And so depending on when and what you've heard today that might be where you end up."
Grisham said moderate candidates work to broker deals.
"If he was a moderate, we'd have immigration reform. He's only interested in extreme issues. Breaking deals. Breaking his word. Lying to America. He cannot be returned to the White House," she said.
Grisham added that if anyone who took the survey had read Project 2025 — the GOP playbook to overhaul the federal government — or listened to three different Trump events, "I don't think they would reach that same conclusion."
She said Harris has "room to grow" at the debate, while Trump "does not."
"This is pivotal," said Grisham.
Watch the clip below or at this link.