New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (Democrat) responded to critics of Harris not giving interviews, saying she would have “plenty of time” to do so.
Murphy was asked on CNN News Central on Tuesday whether it was an “issue” that Harris hadn’t yet been interviewed. CNN’s Kate Bolduin pointed out that former President Trump interviewed tech billionaire Elon Musk on social media platform X on Monday.
Murphy said that wasn’t an issue for Harris, and criticized Trump’s interview with Musk.
“You wouldn’t be surprised, but I didn’t have time for the interview with Mr. Musk and Mr. Trump, so I can’t comment on the content. But not at all. I think she’s done a fantastic job over the last few weeks. Tim Walz is a great choice. She’s on a roll. As he said, she’s brought joy back to the whole political arena,” Murphy said Tuesday.
“There’s plenty of time for interviews. And as for last night, even if you didn’t hear about it, God knows it wasn’t an interview. So when she does do an interview, it’ll be with a real journalist like you,” he added.
Harris has come under fire from the Trump campaign for not taking questions from reporters in the early weeks of her campaign, after saying last week she hoped to be available for full interviews by the end of August.
Trump spoke with Musk for about two hours on Musk-owned social media platform X on Monday night after the conversation was delayed by technical issues. The two discussed a wide range of topics during a livestream, including the assassination attempt on Trump and his views on immigration and the economy.
Musk is supporting Trump in the 2024 election.
Murphy served as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association until last year, when he was succeeded by Walz, who was replaced as chairman by Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat. I quit my job last week.
Speaking on CNN, Murphy praised Harris for choosing Waltz as her running mate.
“First of all, he’s a great guy. A great choice. He’s a great governor. He’s done a great job in Minnesota. He succeeded me as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association. He’s led that organization well,” he said.
