Kamala Harris and Tim Walz Set for First Joint Interview on Election Campaign Trail

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will sit down with CNN’s Dana Bash for their first major interview of the presidential campaign.

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Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, are set for their first major TV interview of their presidential campaign. They will chat with CNN’s Dana Bash on Thursday while traveling through southeast Georgia on a bus tour.

A Key Moment for Harris

This interview is a big opportunity for Harris to respond to criticism about avoiding tough situations. It also gives her a chance to explain her campaign and show her skills before a debate with former President Donald Trump on September 10. Harris and Walz hope this moment will help them gain support and prove their political strength.

Building on Momentum

The interview is happening at a crucial time. After Joe Biden’s exit from the race and last week’s Democratic National Convention, Harris’s team wants to keep up the new energy. They are touring Georgia, a vital battleground state, to reach out to voters.

Joint interviews are common in election years. Past candidates like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Donald Trump and Mike Pence, and Barack Obama and Joe Biden have done similar interviews at this point. What makes this different is that those other candidates had also done solo interviews by now.

A New Challenge for Harris

Harris hasn’t had an in-depth interview since she became the top candidate five weeks ago. Before that, she did interviews while serving as Biden’s running mate. Compared to Trump and Biden, who are well-known to voters, Harris and Walz are still working on their public profiles.

The CNN interview, airing Thursday evening, will happen during Harris’s two-day bus tour in southeast Georgia. This tour is part of their plan to win over voters in important areas of the state, especially GOP strongholds.

Facing Criticism

Harris has been more visible in on-camera and print interviews compared to President Biden, except for Biden's media blitz towards the end of his campaign. However, Republicans have criticized Harris for not doing enough media appearances recently.

The Trump campaign has kept track of how many days Harris has gone without giving an interview. On Wednesday, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s former press secretary and current Arkansas governor, suggested Harris needed a “babysitter” for the interview. She questioned Harris’s ability to handle such tasks alone.

Trump has mostly talked with conservative media outlets but has held more open press conferences recently. He is trying to regain attention from the spotlight that Harris’s campaign has taken.