The Harris campaign is declining to say why the Democratic presidential nominee has turned her long-awaited first media interview into a twofer with her running mate, Tim Walz, instead of doing a one-on-one.
CNN, which scored the coveted interview, declined to comment on how the campaign presented a two-for-one situation to the network. CNN’s chief political correspondent and anchor Dana Bash will conduct the interview with Kamala Harris and Walz, which will be taped and is set to air at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday.
The sit-down is Harris’ first opportunity since rising to the top of the Democratic ticket earlier this summer to show that she has the breadth of knowledge and confidence to be president—though given the build-up to this one interview and the lack of any others on the schedule, any single stumble will likely be amplified and replayed ad nauseum by the sophisticated Republican messaging machine.
Both the Harris campaign and CNN declined to comment on questions about arrangements or contingencies that were set as part of the agreement to secure the first substantial interview that Harris has given since her rough performance in a sit-down with NBC’s Lester Holt in 2021.
In announcing its selection by the Harris-Walz campaign, CNN touted its upcoming exclusive as just that: The First Interview: Harris & Walz A CNN Exclusive to air Thursday, Aug. 29, and stream live across the network’s platforms.
It’s unclear how the campaign decided that Harris and Walz would do a joint interview in their first at-bat as official nominees. But one this is certain: the decision and the dynamics were set by the campaign, not by the network.
“You’ll take whatever you can get right now from this campaign since there have been no interviews,” a former senior network television executive told the Daily Beast.
Harris has come under scrutiny from her critics and the media for not giving unscripted media appearances, including news conferences and interviews.
Republicans, from Donald Trump and JD Vance to conservative columnists and right-wing Twitter trolls, slammed Harris for choosing a network they’ve dubbed sympathetic and for taking her wingman, Walz, with her on the set.
“Kamala is clearly scared to do an interview on her own and it’s pre-taped so they can clean it up if things go badly,” the Trump-Vance campaign said in a statement, accusing the Democratic nominee of intentionally choosing the Thursday before Labor Day weekend when many may not be tuning in.
Fox News’ Howie Kurtz says Harris is opening herself up to more attacks from the right, not fewer. He suggests she and Walz should have done separate interviews to mitigate the scrutiny.
Harris and Walz on Wednesday afternoon began a bus tour through southern Georgia, which will conclude with a rally in Savannah on Thursday. The CNN interview is scheduled to be taped some time on Thursday in Savannah and clips of the interview may be released Thursday afternoon.
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