Kamala Harris will give her first major interview since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee on Thursday, seen as a key test of her credibility after a long honeymoon that saw her pull ahead of Donald Trump in the polls.
She and her partner, Tim Walls, will face CNN’s Dana Bash in a pre-taped event on July 21 with Joe Biden, who has dropped out of the race.
The US vice president, who has had alternating one-on-one performances on television in the past, has promised to hold a major interview by the end of August.
CNN reports she has two days left on that pledge.
The terms of her engagement are drawn up joke From the Republican side, Harris cultivated the image of a plain-spoken, everyman without the protection of Walls, the governor of Minnesota.
Abigail Jackson, communications director for right-wing Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, posted on X that “Kamala should hold a live, unedited, solo press conference.” An interview without Tim Walls by her side? Girl power, amirite. “
Others have pointed out that it is customary for presidential candidates to be interviewed by their running mates.
The interview, which will take place in the historic Southern city of Savannah during a two-day campaign swing through Georgia — a key swing state — is expected to focus in part on Harris’ policy positions, which have been vague and criticized in some quarters. His unsuccessful bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination represented a departure from his more liberal positions.
The choice of CNN as the outlet and Bash as the interviewer has been criticized by Trump supporters, who say both are sympathetic to Democrats and unlikely to pose tough questions. The network aired the June 27 presidential debate — Bash co-starred with his colleague Jake Tapper — that prompted Biden to drop out of the race following a poor performance.
Harris’ ability to handle tough interviews in 2021 was questioned with ABC’s Lester Holt, who expressed irritation at being asked why he didn’t go to the southern U.S. border in his vice presidential brief to find the root causes of illegal immigration. .
His reluctance to face interviews has prompted Trump, in recent media appearances, to call out Fox News and Newsmax, two of his favorite outlets, to criticize Harris’ acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention live. Conference last week.
