Though Maura Healey once played pro basketball, dodgeball is clearly her game now, judging by the governor’s Sunday visit to ABC’s “This Week.”

Host Martha Raddatz and Healey were talking about Vice President Kamala Harris’s debate performance on Sept. 10 against Donald Trump, and referred to the moment in which Harris said, “There is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world, the first time this century.”

Not true, of course.

ABC fact-checkers specified that there are 900 U.S. military personnel in Syria and 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq, Politico reported. “We also have action in the Red Sea,” Raddatz said, adding that “every single day, the Navy SEALs, Delta Forces special operators can be part of any sort of deadly raid.”

It’s not surprising that Harris added 900 and 2,500 and came up with zero. Her boss Joe Biden said in 2021 that the Democrats’ plan to spend $3.5 trillion over the next 10 years will “cost zero dollars.”

Healey, however, did a deft two-step..

“I think what’s important here, Martha, is that Kamala Harris in contrast to Donald Trump demonstrated herself to be commander-in-chief. We are in a world where there are all sorts of conflicts and it’s all the more reason we need somebody who’s serious and who supports the military,” said Healey, who endorsed Harris the day after Biden dropped out.

Late last month, which marked the third anniversary of America’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan,  Harris asserted that she stood firmly behind Biden, and referred in a statement to “our Administration” in emphasizing her support. That’s nothing to highlight on a resume when one hopes to be the next commander in chief.

Raddatz didn’t forfeit the game yesterday, lobbing this question:  “You say she demonstrated her ability to be commander-in-chief, but did she not know about these people in Syria and Iraq? Why would she say that?”

Healey demonstrated her skill at being a Harris cheerleader. She pointed to former President Trump’s military history, saying that he “stands with Vladimir Putin. So, you know, I think that’s what’s really important. Kamala Harris, she respects our military, she respects our service members. Donald Trump calls them suckers and losers.”

It’s hard to imagine that the service members serving overseas felt particularly respected, or even seen, by Harris after her debate statement.

Did Healey answer Raddatz’s question? No. But the progressive governor’s deflection was on point. Taylor Swift may have more name recognition and Instagram followers as she declares her allegiance to Harris, but Healey’s verbal sleight-of-hand is indispensable in the trenches.

Raddatz gets points for even asking the question when so many in the mainstream media toss softballs to Harris. Between that and Democratic die-hards like Healey going to the mat, Team Harris has boosters to spare.

Editorial cartoon by Steve Breen (Creators Syndicate)