For the first time since becoming the likely Democratic presidential candidate five weeks ago, US Vice President Kamala Harris has conceded to having a comprehensive interview. The interview will take place on CNN with her running mate, Tim Walz, the Governor of Minnesota. The interview, which will take place in Georgia, is scheduled for Thursday and will be led by Dana Bash, a CNN anchor who was also a co-moderator during the June debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The interview will be recorded on Thursday afternoon and aired later that evening.
There has been a growing curiosity about when and where Ms. Harris would decide to have an in-depth conversation with the mainstream media, given her apparent reluctance to engage in unscripted exchanges with journalists. Her few spontaneous interactions on the campaign trail allowed hardly any room for probing about her policy proposals.
With regards to Ms. Harris not confronting the media so far, her supporters argue that the fast-paced nature of her candidacy has made it necessary for her to be shrewd about her media exposure. They contend that she smartly used the prime-time platform at the Democratic National Convention last week to control the way she presents herself to the American public.
Critics, particularly Mr. Trump, feel she has been evading scrutiny. He has frequently alleged that Ms. Harris is unwilling to subject herself to questioning, while he himself has been quite forthcoming, freely giving interviews to assorted media outlets, both traditional and experimental.
This forthcoming interview is seen as a huge coup for both CNN and Ms. Bash, especially considering the network’s significant influence on this year’s campaigning. The Democratic fear elicited by the network’s June debate, moderated by Ms. Bash and Jake Tapper, led to Mr. Biden’s exit from the race. As for Ms. Harris and her team, they had to weigh multiple aspects before deciding which news anchor to interact with first.
Joining MSNBC, a channel known for its dedicated liberal audience, might be perceived as an easy route by some electorate. Leaders from the Democratic party maintain a cautious approach towards Fox News. The upcoming debate between Ms Harris and Mr Trump in the next month is being organised by ABC News, while the vice-presidential debate slated for October 1st, featuring Mr Trump’s partner, senator JD Vance of Ohio and Mr Walz, is being facilitated by CBS News. The source of this write-up is originally from The New York Times.