The Harris team would not comment on why the Democratic presidential candidate turned her long-awaited first media interview into a double interview with her running mate Tim Walz instead of doing it in private.
CNN, which landed the coveted interview, declined to comment on how the campaign gave the network a two-for-one situation. CNN chief correspondent and anchor Dana Bash will conduct the interview with Kamala Harris and Walz, which will be recorded and is scheduled to air Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.
The meeting is Harris’ first opportunity since she rose to the top of the Democratic ticket this summer to show that she has the knowledge and confidence to be president. But because that one interview was so long ago and there are no more scheduled, any missteps are likely to be amplified and repeated ad nauseam by the Republicans’ sophisticated messaging machine.
Both the Harris campaign and CNN declined to comment on questions about the arrangements or contingencies laid out as part of the agreement to secure the first in-depth interview Harris has given since her poor performance on a call with NBC’s Lester Holt in 2021.
Vice President Kamala Harris celebrates with her husband, Second Gentleman of the United States Doug Emhoff, vice presidential candidate and Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz.
Mike Segar/Reuters
When CNN announced the selection by the Harris-Walz campaign team, it described its upcoming exclusive report as follows: The first interview: Harris & Walz – exclusively on CNN Broadcast on Thursday, August 29th, and live streamed on the broadcaster’s platforms.
It’s unclear how the campaign decided that Harris and Walz would do a joint interview in their first appearance as official nominees. But one thing is certain: The decision and the dynamic were driven by the campaign, not the network.
“Since there have been no interviews, you’re taking whatever you can get from this campaign right now,” a former television executive told the Daily Beast.
Harris has come under scrutiny from her critics and the media for not making unprepared media appearances, including press conferences and interviews.
Democratic presidential candidate and US Vice President Kamala Harris takes the stage on the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Mike Segar/Reuters
Republicans, from Donald Trump and JD Vance to conservative columnists and right-wing Twitter trolls, sharply criticized Harris for choosing a network they described as sympathetic and for bringing her wingman Walz to the set.
“Kamala is obviously afraid to do the interview alone, and it is being pre-recorded so they can clean it up if something goes wrong,” said a statement from the Trump-Vance campaign team. The team accused the Democratic candidate of intentionally choosing the Thursday before Labor Day weekend because many people would likely not tune in then.
Fox News’ Howie Kurtz says Harris is exposing herself to more, not less, attacks from the right. He suggests she and Walz should have done separate interviews to mitigate the attention.
Harris and Walz began a bus tour of southern Georgia Wednesday afternoon that will end with a rally in Savannah on Thursday. The CNN interview is scheduled to be taped sometime Thursday in Savannah, and excerpts from the interview could be released Thursday afternoon.
