Kamala Harris was loose and punchy when I caught up with her last Friday afternoon in Phoenix. Maybe it’s because a fiery President Biden surpassed expectations in the previous night’s State of the Union address, temporarily calming Democratic fears about his age and re-elections chances. Maybe it’s because Harris was also on the way home to Los Angeles for the weekend. Or maybe—as my partner Matt Belloni reported—she was hyped to hit a schmoozy Oscars pre-party on Saturday at the house of CAA C.E.O. Bryan Lourd, where she was fawned over by J.J. Abrams and Barry Diller. 

Whatever the reason, the vice president was as confident and no-bullshit as I’ve ever seen her, a far cry from the early days of the administration, when she came off as cautious and insecure in the job, as Veep-y as it gets. I was interviewing Harris for my Snapchat show, Good Luck America, on a range of topics including abortion, the cost of living, the war in Gaza, and the work she and the president need to do to win over Black and Gen Z voters. (The interview is airing today, Tuesday, and Wednesday on Snapchat—please go check it out).