Vice President Kamala Harris’ interview interview finally ended Thursday, but after 44 days as the presumptive and now official Democratic presidential candidate, she has yet to hold an official press conference.
Under pressure to sit down for a substantive interview after weeks of stonewalling, he agreed to sit down with the CNN Fundraiser last Friday in Georgia, joined by running mate Tim Walz.
Harris has defended some of his policy flip-flops on issues like fracking and immigration, saying his “values” haven’t changed. He was also pressed on whether he regretted defending President Biden’s mental acuity after the debate, as he dropped out of the race less than a month later. He also said he wanted to “turn the page on the last decade of what I believe has been contrary to the spirit of our country.”
Bash pointed out that Harris had been vice president for three and a half years, but Harris denied that he had to move on from this “era,” seemingly referring to Donald Trump’s political resurgence that began in 2015.
Vice President Kamala Harris in her first interview with the media since rising to the top of the Democratic ticket. (CNN)
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After Harris’ first interview, NBC News Washington correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, known for her glowing Biden-Harris coverage, seemed unimpressed.
“Harris continues to say ‘my grades haven’t changed’ while not explaining why his position has changed,” Alcindor wrote.
While he will hold an official press conference, that day may never come. Sunday marked exactly six weeks since Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris; no other Democrats challenged him and he quickly wrapped up the nomination from there.
“You won’t see a press conference from him for the next 75 days until Election Day,” Fox News contributor Joe Concha predicted earlier this month.
NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck felt the vice president “obviously owes it to the American people to hold a free-wheeling press conference where journalists can, unlike what happened (Thursday) with the CNN Dana Bash, ask follow-up questions.”
“For every softball from, say, ABC or NPR, you would hope a liberal reporter would show some courage to do the right thing,” Houck told Fox News Digital.
“The interview had a positive vibe. From the hype video-like opening by Bash, CNN assumed it was an event, not a fact-finding mission,” Houck continued. “He missed a lot of topics with Harris. Allowing death row inmates to vote, closing ICE, defunding the police, ending private insurance, girls’ sports, the filibuster, Jussie Smollett, the Minneapolis bail fund, systemic racism … areas that could be touched on. “
Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz in a CNN interview.
Former President Trump has sought to highlight the contrast in media availability between the two, sitting down for several lengthy interviews in recent weeks and also holding a pair of press conferences.
Harris received mixed reviews for his show on Thursday with the Bash, where he took the majority of questions but Walz was there for support.
One point that drew praise from liberals was that he brushed off questions about Trump’s suggestion that he didn’t embrace being Black until he was an adult. Calling Trump’s race-related attacks a tired “playbook,” he told Bash to move on to the next question.
But conservative CNN commentator Scott Jennings said the Trump campaign should be “salivating” over one revelation from the interview, in which he appeared to embrace so-called “Bidenomics.”
“He’s made it clear that he’s going to embrace it and it’s going to be a continuation of Biden’s economic policies — his record — what he’s been doing,” he said. “He offers no remorse, no remorse, no introspection about anything he’s done.”
HUCKABEE SANDERS BLASTS HARRIS FOR DOING INTERVIEW WITH WALZ: CAN’T DO ‘HERSELF’
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks as she visits SandFly Bar-BQ in Savannah, Ga., Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
By doing the interview, Harris met the bar he had set three weeks ago if he wanted to make the schedule by the end of the month. Whether the pressure will grow for him to do more, and also his first solo interview as a candidate, remains to be seen.
“I’m afraid that because the Bash isn’t like, say, CBS Steve Kroft or NPR’s Steve Inskeep salivating at the sight of Barack Obama, the liberal media will claim this and the upcoming ABC debate is a reasonable interview time for the campaign,” Houck said.
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Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
