Kamala Harris’ Campaign RELUCTANT To Schedule First Official Interview

Daily Report August 27,2024

Kamala Harris’ campaign has been contacting reporters asking for their opinion on which media outlet the first Democratic presidential nominee’s inaugural detailed interview should go to.

Harris, who assumed the post in July when President Biden said he would not run for reelection — is aiming to do this sometime before month’s end but has yet to sit down for a formal one-on-one or lay out an agenda with many specifics.

Multiple TV producers have reached out to the Harris campaign urging that top anchors at various networks be allowed to interview the vice president, according to a report by Politico.

But there has been debate internally about the outlet, timing and format for such an interview given that Biden’s campaign advisers have become increasingly wary of his ability to get through lengthy Q&A sessions without committing a gaffe.

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One idea is to put Harris in a big interview with a major anchor. And yet, Politico notes that Harris herself has questioned the value of a “showy” sit-down. There are also worries about putting her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on the campaign event circuit for any solo interviews as he might not be fully briefed around her policy agenda which is limited.

“I’ve talked to my team,” Harris told reporters Aug. 8. “I want us to get an interview scheduled before the end of the month.”

Harris’ team did not respond to Post queries on her interview schedule, but campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon told reporters as recently as Thursday that Harris plans to participate in an interview before month’s end.

Harris’ restricted media availability has drawn comparisons to President Biden’s practice during his time in office. Like Biden, who frequently stayed away from press conferences and generally called on hand-picked reporters in those rare moments that the President did appear before them, Harris’ team too has been wary of opening up with media interactions involving her.