Getty PicturesThree weeks in the past, simply days after being formally chosen because the Democratic nominee for president, Kamala Harris was compelled to endure a deliberate sit-down interview.
“I’ve talked to my workforce,” she informed reporters on the tarmac on the Detroit airport. “I am hoping we will schedule an interview earlier than the tip of the month.”
On Thursday night time, Ms. Harris will — grudgingly — make good on that promise, giving her first main interview to CNN’s Dana Bash.
However Ms. Harris gained’t be there alone. The Vice President will be a part of her operating mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, in a prime-time look, airing at 21:00 ET (02:00 BST).
Ms. Harris could have answered the query of when she may have a deep, substantive dialogue of her candidacy and agenda — customary process for all main get together presidential candidates.
However the resolution to make a joint look, led by Mr. Walz, can be more likely to gas rising criticism that, after escaping the pains of months-long presidential primaries, she is now dodging the pains of a solo interview. evaluation.
“I feel it’s extremely weak to point out up along with your operating mate,” Scott Jennings, a former particular assistant to President George W. Bush, mentioned on CNN, including that Harris There’s a “troubling insecurity” in his personal marketing campaign.
However Ms. Harris’s supporters insist she is transferring at a smart tempo given the unprecedented nature of her candidacy after President Joe Biden abruptly dropped out of the race.
“I feel the tempo is about proper,” mentioned Peter Giangreco, a Democratic strategist in Chicago. “Win the nomination, decide your nominees, develop your financial plan, maintain your conference, now do some sit-downs and amplify it.”
Joint interviews between two presidential candidates will not be uncommon.
In 2008, after Biden was chosen because the vice presidential nominee, Barack Obama and Joe Biden sat down collectively for a 60 Minutes interview. (Hillary Clinton) and her operating mate Tim Kaine did the identical factor. For Ms. Harris and Mr. Biden in 2020, they selected ABC’s 20/20. Lower than every week after Trump introduced J.D. Vance as his operating mate, the 2 gave a joint interview to Fox.
However since Mr. Biden handed the torch to her late final month, Ms. Harris has restricted most of her contacts with the media to scripted and extremely managed environments. Her final official interview was on June 24, greater than two months after her political profession.
Her occasional interactions with reporters — briefly answering questions posed loudly on her option to and from the marketing campaign path — have achieved little to quell Republican claims that she is evading any alternative to place her document and agenda underneath the microscope.
Getty PicturesThe harshest criticism has come from her Republican opponents, who’ve given quite a few interviews over the previous month.
“She’s not sensible sufficient to carry a press convention,” Trump informed reporters in early August. “She’s not going to offer interviews to pleasant folks as a result of she will’t do a greater job than Biden.”
The Democratic candidate has gained momentum since coming into the race. Now, after her whirlwind introduction to American voters, she must “amp up” that power, mentioned Chip Felker, a Republican strategist and Trump critic.
“She has to get out of there,” he mentioned. “She has to point out she will suppose underneath stress as a result of that is a part of what a president has to do.”
By means of the joint interview, the Harris marketing campaign could have calculated that the stress and problem could be shared at the least between the 2 of them. This ensures that each events are on the identical web page when deciphering coverage.
Democratic strategist Gian Greco predicted that Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz would attempt to flip the main focus to their financial plan, which she first introduced at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, to decrease the price of dwelling and supply financial safety agenda.
Mr. Giangreco additionally pointed to a different potential advantage of the joint interview: contrasting Mr. Walz with fellow Republican J.D. Vance, whom he referred to as “bizarre.”
Nonetheless, the true influence of Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz’s sit-down gained’t be recognized till the negotiations are over.
Ms. Harris has a blended document on high-pressure interviews. In 2021, she had a broadly considered dialog with NBC’s Lester Holt, through which she fumbled solutions to questions on her position within the administration’s border coverage. The query of the position performed.
However in a current one-on-one look with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Harris defended Biden’s disastrous debate efficiency, showing calm and calm amid a political storm. confidence.
If the high-stakes CNN interview falls into the latter class, the Harris marketing campaign will hope a lot of the criticism goes away, mentioned Republican strategist Felker.
“They simply want to have the ability to say ‘see, we informed you so,'” he mentioned. “Then hold going.”
