Vice President Harris appeared to overcome a hurdle in the presidential race during an interview with CNN's Dana Bash on Thursday alongside her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D).
It's a moment of truth for the Democratic presidential candidate, who has been repeatedly criticized by Republicans for refusing to do interviews where he would face tough questions.
Harris has not given an interview alone since July when she became the leading candidate to replace President Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee. She was selected as the party's nominee at last week's convention.
Harris is likely to face tough questions from Bash, the veteran reporter who hosts “Inside Politics” and co-hosts “State of the Union,” and who also co-moderated the debate between Biden and former President Trump in June.
Waltz, Harris' running mate, will be at her side, which will help Harris' presidential candidacy in a number of ways.
Harris has only given brief responses to questions from reporters accompanying her on the trip since becoming the Democratic nominee, after telling reporters last month that she planned to do a full interview by the end of August.
Republicans have been pressuring Harris to answer tougher questions from the media in hopes of changing the course of the presidential race.
Since Harris entered the race, former President Trump's large lead over Biden, who was then the Democratic front-runner, has all but evaporated.
An updated analysis of the presidential race released on Monday gave Harris a 55% chance of beating Trump, up significantly from Biden's 44% chance of winning when he dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris on July 21.
Harris also predicts the House and Senate will go in favor of the Democrats, but Decision Desk HQ/The Hill analysis shows Republicans are likely to win majorities in both chambers.
Republicans reacting to the news Tuesday that Harris would be giving a key interview with Walz as her top aide expressed scorn for the decision.
“Kamala is apparently afraid to do the interview alone, so she is pre-recording it so it can be edited,” the Trump campaign said. He said in a post on Wednesday. On social platform X.
Republicans who are cold towards President Trump also voiced their criticism.
“I'm not sure the Democrats fully understand how damaging it would be to their image if their first female presidential candidate couldn't give an interview on her own without the help of a man.” Meghan McCain said:She is the daughter of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a frequent critic of President Trump.
Republicans are happy to point out that Trump actually answered tough questions from journalists when he took the stage at the National Association of Black Journalists in late July, shortly after Harris took over from Biden.
The appearance showed Trump's willingness to walk through the fire of grilling, but the episode appeared to be damaging for the former president, who courted controversy by mocking Harris' racial background.
In response to criticism of the Harris-Waltz joint interview, Democrats pointed to a joint interview that took place after the Republican National Convention, when President Trump and Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio gave with Fox News' Jesse Watters, a close friend of the former president.
Harris' shaky 2021 interview with NBC's Lester Holt has been brought up repeatedly as weeks go by without any significant interviews by the Democratic candidate.
Holt pressed Biden on why the vice president had not visited the border, given that Biden had directed Harris to address the root causes of migration. Harris was widely seen as defensive in the interview, at one point even saying she had never been to Europe.
Jamal Simmons, Ms Harris' former communications director, acknowledged the interview with Holt was “challenging” but added that it was three years ago and “people have to grow up”.
“The vice president is a seasoned politician, she's been in the business for decades, she does a lot of interviews — if you look at her career, there are a lot of interviews on camera and in print, but like anybody, she has bad days sometimes. But just because she did an interview three years ago that wasn't very good, we can't model her entire media history on that,” Simmons said.
Harris then made headlines in 2022 during an interview on NBC's “Meet the Press” when she said domestic threats to democracy were “undermining” the United States.
In 2023, a month after the Oct. 7 attacks, she appeared on CBS's “60 Minutes” for an interview that focused on the Biden administration's pro-Israel stance.
Harris has also participated in interviews with reporters from The New York Times and The Washington Post. 2019 Profile Harris likened campaigning to prison while speaking with her sister, Maya, and later deleted the quote. Two years laterThe outlet claimed to have updated some biographical articles ahead of Biden's inauguration. Fox News It was reported at the time.
Some of Harris' best reviews came after Biden's dismal performance in the debate when she gave media interviews, including one with CNN's Anderson Cooper immediately after the debate, in which she staunchly defended Biden, arguing that the president started slow but finished strong.
“She's very thorough. She's a lawyer, so she knows the arguments in a case. And I think in this interview you're going to see someone who's much more comfortable with the job and very confident in her abilities as a presidential candidate,” Simmons said.
How much of a difference the CNN interview makes will depend on Harris, Waltz and Bash, who each face different kinds of pressure.
Bash will face criticism if he doesn't ask tough questions about Harris' record so far, her defense of the Biden administration and tough issues like the border. The Trump campaign suggested 10 questions for Bash to ask, including why rising housing prices aren't a priority for Harris right now and why the Biden administration hasn't done a good job of making homes affordable for Americans.
Both Harris and Walz will need to be well prepared, proactive and charismatic, among other things.
Still, some Democrats downplayed the significance of Thursday night.
“It's just an interview,” said Ivan Zapien, a former Democratic National Committee official.
“I don't know how many people will watch this interview and decide who they're going to vote for. Whether good, bad or neither, this too shall pass,” he added. “They don't have time to dwell on it. This interview appeals more to the press and elites than it does to ordinary people.”
