SAVANNAH, Georgia — Former President Trump offered his thoughts in advance on his 2024 presidential rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, in her first interview since replacing President Biden as the Democratic national leader.
In a social media post on Thursday morning, Trump called on CNN to conduct a “fair but tough interview” with Harris, arguing that if it did happen, it would “expose her as completely unfit and unqualified for the office of the President.”
Since succeeding her boss as the party's presidential nominee about six weeks ago, Harris has been riding a wave of energy, enthusiasm and momentum in both the polls and fundraising.
But she has so far refrained from holding press conferences or giving major interviews.
The state could decide the 2024 showdown between Harris and Trump
Vice President Kamala Harris visits Sandfly BBQ in Savannah, Georgia, on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin)
And that has drawn constant attacks from President Trump, the Republican vice presidential nominee, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, their campaigns and allied Republicans.
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“She can't answer the question,” Trump charged while answering reporters' questions in northern Virginia earlier this week. “Why isn't she doing what I'm doing right now?”
He then claimed that the vice president “can't speak. We can't have another idiot as president.”
Former President Trump spoke at a campaign event at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office in Howell, Michigan on August 20, 2024. (Nick Antaya/Getty Images)
Throughout the campaign, Vance repeatedly claimed the vice president was “running an underground campaign that refuses to go before a free press and answer their questions.”
In response, Harris' campaign accused the Republican candidate of “dodging the question.”
“Trump is confused, Vance is dancing: Republican candidate dodges every question from reporters and lies,” was the headline of an email sent to reporters by the Harris campaign on Monday.
The popular Republican governor has said his state is a must-win for Trump.
Ms. Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are scheduled to speak with CNN's Dana Bash on Thursday afternoon before Ms. Harris headlines a major rally in Savannah, a historic coastal city in southeastern Georgia, a key battleground state. CNN said the interview will air in primetime a few hours later.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz step off the campaign bus in Savannah, Georgia, on August 28, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
“The vice president of the United States has finally mustered enough stamina after 40 days to sit down in a joint interview, to have a conversation with reporters and to share her vision for America,” Corey Lewandowski, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, told reporters hours before the interview.
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“It's no coincidence that Kamala and Tim's first interview is coming on the Thursday before the long weekend, because while the interview hasn't happened yet, we know their hope is to drown the news of how disastrous their policies are going to be for this great country,” Lewandowski argued.
Ahead of the interview, Trump and his allies have listed the questions they want CNN to ask Harris, with a call at the top of the list asking the vice president to explain why he has changed his positions over the past few years on key issues like border security, immigration and crime.
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