Vice President Kamala Harris will end a nearly 40-day interview drought on Thursday when she sits down with CNN’s Dana Bash, but even then it will not be one-on-one.
Harris will be flanked by her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), for an interview that will air at 9 p.m. Eastern. While GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has been conducting interviews at a rapid clip, sometimes recording more than one a day, this will be Harris’s first since becoming the de facto Democratic nominee on July 21.
Democratic strategists are downplaying the significance of the occasion, saying Harris is smartly choosing to reach voters by other means.
“This is going to be much ado about nothing,” Democratic strategist Stefan Hankin said. “Unless you are dying to get your name ID up and get people to understand who you are, this is not the best use of your time as a candidate.”
Republicans see it differently, saying the lack of unscripted moments belies a lack of confidence in Harris’s abilities, a perception that’s exacerbated by her ending the drought with a wingman in toe.
“I think it‘s incredibly weak, weak sauce to show up with your running mate,” CNN commentator Scott Jennings said. “The fact that they don‘t have enough confidence in her to let her sit herself, the actual top of the ticket, and do a single interview.”
Voters may rightly wonder what kind of president Harris will be if small decisions, like when to do an interview, require this much hand-wringing, he added.
Ironically, Harris’s most recent news interviews came on June 27, the night of the debate performance that would ultimately knock President Joe Biden out of the race. Harris appeared on CNN and ABC to defend his performance and insist he was ready for another four years.
“Yes, there was a slow start,” she told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that night. “But it was a strong finish. Joe Biden is fighting on behalf of the American people on substance, on policy, on performance. Joe Biden is extraordinarily strong, and that cannot be debated.”
Less than a month later, Biden was gone and the party was rallying around Harris.
The transition appears to have gone off exceedingly well. Harris is leading Trump in most national polls and has received overwhelmingly positive coverage from the press since taking over the Democratic campaign.
Her lack of interviews has led to some complaints, however, and Trump is trying to highlight the contrast by speaking with traditional and nontraditional media alike.
“It’s no coincidence that Kamala’s first interview is scheduled for the Thursday night before Labor Day weekend,” Trump’s campaign posted on X. “They already hope it gets lost — and it hasn’t even aired yet. Kamala is clearly scared to do an interview on her own and it’s pre-taped so they can clean it up.”
Sasha Tirador, another Democratic strategist, isn’t concerned by the criticism surrounding Harris’s lack of interviews.
“We’re never going to put to rest all of those people who are questioning whether she can answer questions or not,” she said. “The majority of those complaints are coming from people who have already made up their minds to vote for Donald Trump.”
Instead, she says it’s important for a candidate to get their message out there, whether through an interview, paid media, or advertisements.
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Republicans and spurned reporters may continue to decry Harris’s techniques, but Tirador thinks that shouldn’t be a concern for Harris’s campaign.
“The media doesn’t dictate what interviews you do in a campaign,” she said. “The consultants and the candidates determine that. She has a debate coming up [on Sept. 10]. I would hold off on more interviews after tomorrow night until the debate is over.”
