Harris, Walz prepare for first prime-time interview
- The vice president pledged to do an interview by the end of August
- It will be the first prime-time interview since she took over the ticket
- Harris will be joined by her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz
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(NewsNation) — Vice President Kamala Harris will sit for her first interview since becoming the Democratic nominee for president on Thursday. She will be joined by her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, sparking some criticism from across the aisle.
Earlier in the month, as she was headed to an Arizona campaign rally, Harris told reporters that she wanted to get an interview scheduled by the end of the month.
Republicans have accused Harris of hiding from the press. While she does often speak to reporters on Air Force Two, many of those interactions are off the record.
There is a lot of anticipation for the interview, in part because the campaign allowed that to build by waiting so long to do an interview. Voters and lawmakers on the other side, as well as the media, have been questioning why it’s taken so long, helping spur the narrative that Harris is avoiding facing tough questions.
The interview will come 39 days after President Joe Biden formally dropped out of the race for president and endorsed Harris.
The vice president will sit down with CNN’s Dana Bash, who was one of the moderators for the first presidential debate between Biden and former President Donald Trump, one of the factors that led to Biden’s exit from the race.
While the exact questions haven’t been shared, some obvious topics include policy shifts that Harris has had between 2020 and now. That includes issues such as banning fracking, which she said she no longer supports, and her shift away from supporting a Medicare-for-all style health program.
Harris may also be asked about Biden’s health and fitness, considering those were the concerns that led to her taking over the ticket.
Some Democrats have suggested the reason Harris has been so calculated about planning an interview is that in the past, Harris has said things or answered questions in a way that may not always be clear and may come off as insincere, making headlines for the wrong reasons.
The interview will not be live and will be taped earlier in the day. It comes as Harris and Walz are seeing a surge in polls following the Democratic National Convention.
