WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris will give her first interview as the Democrats’ presidential nominee Thursday to CNN — in a high-stakes test of her ability to defend her record and policies after weeks of avoiding such an exchange.
But Harris, 59, won’t be on her own — with CNN promoting it as a “joint interview” featuring both Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Network anchor Dana Bash will conduct the interview — set to air at 9 p.m. ET— in Georgia, where Harris and Walz will be engaged in a bus tour of the battleground state.
Harris hasn’t given any interviews since President Biden dropped his campaign for a second term on July 21 and endorsed her as his successor — resulting in mounting pressure from both the media and Republicans to do so.
The veep’s evasion has allowed for a nearly six-week “honeymoon” phase of soft coverage that has seen Harris rise in the polls against GOP nominee Donald Trump.
Bash co-moderated the June 27 CNN debate in Atlanta, where Biden’s stupefied appearance set in motion the Democratic rebellion that forced him to step aside in favor of Harris.
Trump, 78, has repeatedly praised Bash and co-moderator Jake Tapper for their “fair” conduct in the debate — while savaging Harris as “not smart enough” to handle the press.
Harris said on Aug. 8 that she would give an interview in the subsequent 24 days — and the CNN interview will fulfill her pledge within 22.
The two major party nominees are scheduled to have their first — and possibly only — debate Sept. 10, with ABC News playing host.
The vice president has been seeking to warm up to the press with frequent off-the-record Q&A sessions in the back of Air Force Two — though her staff has not allowed any of her responses to be used on the record by journalists, meaning that any awkward moments, apparent deceptions or ill-prepared lines aren’t circulated outside a very small group.
Harris has had a long career in the public eye, but also has struggled in the past with effectively countering criticism — including over her role as the so-called “border czar” under Biden.
In a June 2021 interview with “NBC Nightly News” Lester Holt, she defended her decision to not visit the US-Mexico border — despite illegal immigration surging to new highs — by saying, “And I haven’t been to Europe. And I mean, I don’t understand the point that you’re making.”
Illegal immigration, which hit record highs in the first three years of the Harris-Biden administration, is a top election issue according to polling — though Harris has previewed some likely defense lines, including pointing to her role targeting criminal groups as a California prosecutor and her support for a failed Senate border deal.
Harris is likely to face questions about other policy areas — including her purportedly evolving positions on a range of issues, such as her since-disavowed support for single-payer health care, decriminalizing illegal border crossings and banning fracking for oil and natural gas.
Trump allies say the Democrat is a political “chameleon” — meaning voters may not know which policies they’re actually getting.
Harris also may have to account for her current position on economic matters — after last month announcing plans to battle inflation with price controls on groceries, from which she has since backed away following widespread criticism, including from the liberal Washington Post’s editorial board.
Trump recently has branded his Democratic competitor “Comrade Kamala” and denounced her vision for the economy as the “Maduro plan” in reference to Venezuela’s socialist strongman Nicolas Maduro, who has presided over an economic collapse in the South American country.
