Kamala Harris is scheduled to give her first major interview since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee on Thursday, in what is seen as a key test of her credibility after a long honeymoon since she led President Donald Trump in the polls.
Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, will face off with CNN’s Dana Bash in a pre-recorded event. The event was scheduled following criticism of Harris, who rose to the top of the Democratic field last month to replace Joe Biden, who dropped out of the race on July 21, for her unwillingness to face media scrutiny.
The US vice president, whose performance has so far been uneven in televised one-on-one interviews, had previously promised to do a big one by the end of August.
According to CNN’s date, she has just two days left to make that commitment.
The terms of her engagement have drawn ridicule from Republicans, who accuse Harris of being unwilling to risk high-profile questioning without the protection of Walz, the Minnesota governor who has cultivated an outspoken, folksy image.
“Kamala needs to do a live, unedited, solo press conference,” Abigail Jackson, a spokeswoman for right-wing Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, posted on X. “She wants to be commander in chief, but is afraid to do an interview without Tim Walz by her side? Girl power right there.”
Some have pointed out that it is customary for presidential candidates to interview their running mate.
The interview, scheduled to take place in the historic Southern city of Savannah during a two-day campaign tour of the key battleground state of Georgia, is expected to focus in part on Harris’ policy positions, which some have criticized as vague and marking a departure from the more liberal positions she took during her 2020 Democratic nomination run.
CNN’s selection of the network and Bash as the interviewer has also been criticized by Trump supporters, who argue that both are sympathetic to Democrats and unlikely to ask tough questions. The network hosted the June 27 presidential debate, which Bash co-hosted with colleague Jake Tapper, in which Biden performed disastrously and ultimately dropped out of the race.
Harris raised questions about her ability to handle tough interviews after a scathing exchange with ABC’s Lester Holt in 2021, in which she expressed discomfort when asked why she had not visited the U.S. southern border in her role as vice president to explore the root causes of illegal immigration.
Her delay in giving interviews contrasts with Trump, who has made frequent media appearances in recent days, including calling into his favorite outlets, Fox News and Newsmax, to criticize Harris’ acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention live last week.
