The reactions to Vice President Harris’s interview on “60 Minutes” have been beyond brutal. There is a sense that she failed to meet any reasonable threshold of potential presidential competence.

It’s a real problem for Ms. Harris. The “60 Minutes” interview has been critiqued much more harshly than her earlier interviews. The follow-up interviews on shows that already favor her, such as the “Call Her Daddy” podcast and “The View,” simply do not offset how badly she performs when faced with serious questions.

The hurdle for Ms. Harris is reality. In a world with multiple life and death crises, being nervous and unable to answer questions undermines her potential to be commander-in-chief. Americans know the world is dangerous, and they know that those dangers can directly affect their lives.

There are foreign crises involving bloodshed and the threat of even greater bloodshed. This week, many are focused on the first anniversary of the attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Some Americans have loved ones who for a year have been captive in tunnels under Hamas’s control. It is a grim reminder of how dangerous the world can be.

The dangers of violent confrontation have been driven home by the expansion of Israel’s anti-terrorist war against Hezbollah, the Houthis, and potentially Iran. All this is a reminder that an American commander-in-chief must be vigilant and tough.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to grind on with daily death tolls and bombardments that are testimonies to the failure of the Biden-Harris administration. The current White House simply can’t effectively help Ukraine win or convince Vladimir Putin to accept a ceasefire.

At home, we face threats from fentanyl and opioids, transnational criminal gangs, human trafficking, and violent crime. An estimated 20 million or more illegal immigrants have been distributed across the country during the Biden-Harris administration. In many communities, there is a real sense of desperation about the need for change.

The steady rise in prices (now up 25 percent or more on many items since the Biden-Harris team took over) forces Americans to be serious about finding jobs, pinching pennies, and living within a budget. Many families are trying to figure out how to keep their homes, send their children to school, and plan for their futures. Despite what the White House press team says, prices are getting worse, not better. 

Ms. Harris simply does not project the toughness, seriousness, and competence for which the times call. Americans increasingly understand this. Whatever they think about President Trump’s style, they realize things were more stable and peaceful when he was in the White House.

Another contrast with Ms. Harris’s incompetence was the Tuesday press conference by Governor DeSantis. Mr. DeSantis calmly and competently described everything the state government was doing to recover from Hurricane Helene and prepare for Hurricane Milton. Mr. DeSantis was a profile in steadiness and managerial strength. It is impossible to imagine Ms. Harris in that setting with any sense of reliability or believability.

Ms. Harris faces a more complex challenge as well: The gap between most Americans and the passionate, militant minority that supports her. She can’t give blunt, direct answers on a wide range of issues. She will either alienate most Americans or face a rebellion from her left-wing base.

One potential schism is growing between the radical Democrats who hate Israel and those who hate terrorism. Historically, the Democratic Party has been supported by a substantial majority of American Jews. All this has now been challenged by the alliance between Muslim activists and leftwing radicals. Ms. Harris’s efforts to avoid losing one side or the other are irritating both.

Whether the issue is high prices, irrational foreign policy, refusing to close the border, or opposing American energy production, Ms. Harris is trapped between most Americans and her militant base. In the end, she can’t do well in serious interviews, because her base and beliefs won’t let her.