Harris and Walz to sit with CNN for exclusive first joint interview

We are learning that CNN will hold an exclusive interview with Kamala Harris, her first since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee for running Tim Walz will join as well for this first interview. This is also their first interview together as the Democratic ticket. Let's bring in our CNN political director, David Chalia So, David, what are we learning? Yeah, I mean, we have been waiting to see this next sort of important hurd for Kamala Harris and her campaign to jump, which is after a very successful six weeks here since she became the Democratic nominee, coalesce, the party beh raised a ton of money, injected enthusiasm, got a running mate, pulled off a convention. All of that, though, Alex. Very scripted. Now, a couple other things comin They said they were going to schedule an interview, a sit down interview, an extensive interview before the end of the month. That now is happening on CNN with our colleague Dana Bash, our anchor and chief political correspondent. down in Georgia, Harrison Walls are going on this starting tomorrow in Georgia. The interview will take place on Thursday. It will air as a primetime special at 9 p.m. eastern here on CNN on Thursday. And as you noted, it is, of course, the first joint inter that the Democratic nominee and the vice presidential nominee are doing together. But it's also her first intervie the vice president, as the Democratic candidate. This is the first time she's going to take questions, in a in a concerted effort like this in an interview format since Joe Biden six weeks ago upended this entire race by making that historic decision to bow out of his campaign, endorse his vice president, Kamala Harris, and that sent her on to these la six weeks here and there are a lot of questions that have been lingering out the for her to answer as we go into this fall campaign And in speaking with the campaig they've made the point that you It's been a busy 30 plus day. She's had a lot to do, not least of which was, last week at the DNC. But as you note, that was all very scripted. So how much more revealing can an interview like this be for the voters? And I guess, more importantly, for those undecideds who are still going to be making up their minds the Yeah. So I don't think voters look at it like we do and say, oh, do an interview, do an interview, take more question afterwards. Exactly. But I do think voters learn valuable information from a candidate seeking the highest office in th about how they think in these unscripted, moments and how they think through a pressing challenge or question that they are being asked. So they are valuable to voters. And in fact, you know, Kamala Harris, had a bit of a rough go with one of these big intervi out of the gate. As vice president, she sat down with NBC's Lester H and she had some answers about, whether or not why she hadn't ye visited the border. And, her response to those questions have been obviously area of Republican critique. But throughout her first year as vice president, an area of Democratic concern about Harris's performance, she obviously has worked to address much of that. And we've seen a far different H in these last six weeks on the campaign trail, a far more Surefooted Harris. but now is the opportunity, to hear her ruminate aloud with asking her about her policy posi her plans for the future, her plans for the country in an unscripted setting, and, of course, to see the Democratic with each other, interacting with each other. And as political director, you're certainly going to have a hand in helping, Dana, with those questions and and formulating those, what do you think are some of the issues that Dana is going to have to fo Listen, I think it is pretty clear from all the surveys out there what the American people are foc the most important issues time a we learned in every poll the economy, is number one, above all the cost of living. Those are things that Kamala Harris herself addressed in that speech in North Carolina a couple of we but to flesh that out, no doubt, and it is what we hear day in and day out from Donald T and JD Vance on the campaign tra on the issue of the economy, it's what we see both the Harrison Trump campaign spending all their advertising m on right now, sort of going back and forth in these battleground states on the airwaves over the economy So that's issue number one for v But there are a whole host of issues of policy positions, both foreign policy and domestic that we just haven't heard from in this capacity as the Democratic nominee. So this debate is going to be happening on Thursday, which is an interview. Yeah. Excuse me, but it's happening just two week the September 10th debate. So this will be her first unscripted moment essentially since the DNC. And yeah, in in this in this interview fashio But David Chalian, stay with me. I want to turn to Kristen Holmes who covers the Trump campaign. And, Kristen, something we've heard time and t from, Donald Trump is that she has not sat down for an interview. She has not face tough questions we should note she has been getting some questi kind of in an ad hoc manner from reporters on the campaign trail. Donald Trump has held these press conferences which he's actually been quite r about it, saying that she's not smart enough to to sit down and face these tough questions. do you think that that is what she's doing now? Sitting down with CNN for this i is going to, take away that argument, mute some of that argument? I think you might start a new ar I think that what they're lookin is any sort of mistake, any sort of misstep. And that's partly why they are pushing her to do some sort of debate. They or interview. We know that she has, yes, taking questions from reporters. But as you said, it's been spars It's been here and there. Sometimes it's in response to so And in those settings she can be whisked away at any t That's how a campaign is. She's underneath a wing of an ai Usually they want her to sit and answer for some of the questions, particularly on her policy. For example, the fact that she had ran actively against fracking and now says she's not that oppo to fracking. That obviously comes at a time where Pennsylvania might be one of the most critica in the 2024 election, and fracking is something that is important to a lot of vo There. They are hoping that she will ge on these various topics, because what they have seen is that she has not been out the in the spotlight. Now, if you talk to Democrats, if you talk to a lot of people who know Kamala Harris, who know her well, they say that she has developed over the last several years that she is a different person than she was when she made those first gaffs early on in her tenure as vice p when she was not as exposed. But if you talk to Republicans, they believe there's a reason sh sat down for an interview that Democrats are really trying to capitalize off this moment. And there might be some fear. And again, this is talking to Republicans, that there's something there that she might make those same missed steps that she made back in 2020 or in During those interviews, David mentioned the Lester Holt interview, for example. Just a reminder that Lester Holt interview is played on repe when Republicans run ads against Kamala Harris, particularly on immigration. So part of what they're looking here is another opportunity on t because right now, what she's had is a pretty great six weeks and a lot of momentum and a boun They're looking for anything that might shift that and the opportunity to have her answer for some of those policies. They're looking essentially for new fodder because they've had a political Of course they are. Yeah. Trying to to go after her after after the president droppe even a can you follow the the Harris campaign? There has been this discussion over to what extent she actually needs to sit down with a journalist, take these tough questions. She's essentially saying to this that, yes, this is a vital part of the proc So what do you think that she and her running mate are going to be looking to accomplish in this interview? So I think that this will answer to some of the criticism that she's faced. This will be an opportunity for her to show that she has a good mastery of the policy iss Most important, to most Americans, I haven't heard this clamoring f to do this interview as much from her supporters as I heard from my colleagues he certainly, I understand why there is this, this appetite for But, Alex, I also think that she's going to use this interview to try to connect with Americans You know, she has talked a lot a economic policy. And what really strikes me about that is so much of the policy, so much in talking about the policy, is her trying to connect with everyday Americans, talking about growing up in a working class family, reall being intentional about saying, hey, I know what it is like to s I worked at McDonald's as a youn and I saw some of my colleagues then when I was a college studen try to make that salary work to raise an entire family. So yes, she is going to now be in a posi where she has to answer for some of these reversals on key policy issues. But I think she's also going to use the plat to try to be relatable and try to get more people to really like her, understand her, empathize and connect with her. And David, the they're doing this together, whi which is quite notable. They've been trying to play up t their relationship and how they, they get along qui What are the advantages and disa of sitting down to this, to this joint interview? Well, first of all, this is a pretty, traditional play out of a media playbook in a campaign, once, a nominee has chosen a running mate, we've often seen, in the following weeks, him sitting down for an interview. In fact, Kamala Harris was in the other r just four years ago, when she and Joe Biden sat down for a joint interview a put her on the ticket. So that's something we see. But I also just think this in ad everything we've discussed about she just hasn't done this yet. And we're going to be able to se think in front of us about these policy positions and and what she wants to communicat to the American people. But also, there has been nobody in our lif that has been put in a position in presidential politics like Kamala Harris has in these last six weeks. So that's just a fascinating thi to understand about what she's been experiencing as she had this big change, of her plans, moment at the end of July when Joe Biden stepped away from and endorsed her. And she immediately stepped in and coalesced the party behind h We just haven't seen anything li And so also just understanding how she is processing that is going to be an interesti I think part of just hearing her in this moment.