Harris Defends Bringing Tim Walz to Her First TV Interview

The Harris campaign is defending its decision to make the nominee’s long-awaited first media interview into a twofer with her running mate, Tim Walz, instead of doing a one-on-one.

Responding to questions from the Daily Beast, Harris campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz said Wednesday evening that the joint interview is in keeping with tradition. “For at least 20 years, every ticket, Republican and Democrat, sat for a joint interview,” Munoz told the Beast.

CNN, which scored the coveted interview, declined to comment on how the campaign presented a two-for-one situation to the network. CNN chief political correspondent and anchor Dana Bash will conduct the interview with Kamala Harris and Walz, which will be taped and is set to air at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Another Harris campaign official who requested anonymity to speak freely pointed out that a joint ticket interview is a longstanding summer tradition, with the exception of John McCain and the late senator’s vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, in 2008. Campaign officials said Harris will do solo interviews as well over the course of the campaign, but offered no timeline on when those interviews may materialize.

The sit-down with CNN is Harris’ first opportunity since rising to the top of the Democratic ticket earlier this summer to show that she has the breadth of knowledge and confidence to be president—though given the build-up to this one interview, any single stumble will likely be amplified and replayed ad nauseam by the Republican messaging machine.

Both the Harris campaign and CNN declined to comment on specific questions about arrangements or contingencies that were set as part of the agreement to secure the first substantial interview that Harris has given since her rough performance in a sit-down with NBC’s Lester Holt in 2021.

The Harris campaign cites tradition as the reason for doing a joint presidential-vice presidential interview, but the fact is Harris has traveled anything but a traditional path to becoming her party’s nominee. The 2024 presidential campaign is unprecedented and historic. Since President Joe Biden bowed out of his re-election race and passed the baton to his vice president, the overnight nominee has focused on traveling to battleground states, fundraising in record amounts, winning endorsements, and making inroads in the polls.

Regardless of how it happened, CNN is ecstatic about ratings opportunities. In announcing its selection by the Harris-Walz campaign, the network touted its upcoming exclusive as just that: The First Interview: Harris & Walz A CNN Exclusive to air Thursday, Aug. 29, and stream live across the network’s platforms.

It’s unclear how the campaign decided that Harris and Walz would do a joint interview in their first at-bat as official nominees. But one thing is certain: the decision and the dynamics were set by the campaign, not by the network.

“You’ll take whatever you can get right now from this campaign since there have been no interviews,” a former senior network television executive told the Daily Beast.

Harris has come under scrutiny from her critics and the media for not giving unscripted media appearances, including news conferences and interviews.

Republicans, from Donald Trump and JD Vance to conservative columnists and right-wing Twitter trolls, slammed Harris for choosing a network they’ve dubbed sympathetic and for taking her wingman, Walz, with her on the set.

“Kamala is clearly scared to do an interview on her own and it's pre-taped so they can clean it up if things go badly,” the Trump-Vance campaign said in a statement, accusing the Democratic nominee of intentionally choosing the Thursday before Labor Day weekend when many may not be tuning in.

Fox News’ Howie Kurtz says Harris is opening herself up to more attacks from the right, not fewer. He suggests she and Walz should have done separate interviews to mitigate the scrutiny.

Meghan McCain, the combative daughter of the late presidential candidate who was beloved by reporters for his transparency and access, also weighed in, saying her father “wasn’t hiding like a coward from the press the way Kamala is right now.”

Harris and Walz on Wednesday afternoon began a bus tour through southern Georgia, which will conclude with a rally in Savannah on Thursday. The CNN interview is scheduled to be taped sometime on Thursday in Savannah and clips of the interview may be released Thursday afternoon.