Harris agrees to first prime-time interview amid criticism she’s been ‘hiding’

Washington: US Vice President Kamala Harris has agreed to her first prime-time interview as a presidential candidate amid pressure to explain her policies and U-turns as the race to the White House tightens.

After a month of avoiding scrutiny in favour of scripted events, Harris will face her first post-convention test at 9pm on Thursday (11am on Friday, AEST) when the 59-year-old and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, sit down for a joint interview on left-leaning cable news network CNN.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during last week’s Democratic National Convention.Credit: AP

The move comes after Hollywood legends, US talk show hosts, podcasters and rappers weighed into the debate over whether Harris should subject herself to the risk of a formal grilling, press conference, or town hall event given her past tendency to stumble under rigorous questioning.

Pulp Fiction director Quentin Tarantino urged the vice president to keep avoiding the media, saying that “sometimes it’s just about f---ing winning, and it doesn’t matter how we look at this moment”.

“It’s a mad f---ing dash, and she is running it,” he said on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, after Maher, a centrist Democrat, criticised Harris for ducking scrutiny. “She’s not stopping to stumble.”

However, influential American radio host Charlamagne tha God – whose The Breakfast Club radio show has become a must-listen for Democrats – took a different view, saying that “votes are earned, not given”.

Director Quentin Tarantino has urged Harris to keep on avoiding the media.Credit: invision

“The whole point of the campaign season is for candidates to go out there and explain to the American people why they should be the one in charge of this country,” he said, responding to Florida rapper Plies saying on social media that Harris should not have to explain herself to anyone.

ESPN presenter Stephen A. Smith also called out the Democratic candidate this month, accusing her of “hiding in plain sight”.

“You running for the presidency of the United States of America,” said Smith, noting that she already had his vote. “What you hiding for?”

Since President Joe Biden stepped down from his candidacy on July 21 and endorsed Harris, her small-target campaign strategy has focused on delivering broad-brush speeches via teleprompters.

Apart from answering a few brief questions from reporters travelling with her (often while she is on the tarmac about to board her plane) she has avoided taking any risks that could dent the momentum she has built since taking over the top of the Democratic ticket.

This has infuriated the Trump campaign, particularly as she is yet to explain her flip-flopping on issues such as fracking (which she once said she wanted to ban), private health insurance (she once supported a plan to eliminate it but no longer wants to), and immigration (she once described a border wall as “un-American” but now says she will build one).

“Kamala is dodging the press for a reason,” the Trump campaign said in a statement. “She doesn’t want to talk about her radical agenda.”

Harris’ campaign, however, has argued that she is “meeting voters where they are”, citing her recently released economic policy and last week’s Democratic National Convention as examples. But privately, some Democrats say they prefer her being shielded to avoid gaffes or missteps.

A billboard displays an advertisement for the Harris campaign on the Las Vegas Strip.Credit: AP

One of her most memorable stumbles, for example, took place early in her vice presidency, when she fumbled and seemed to lose her cool during an interview with US TV newsman Lester Holt, who grilled her over why she had failed to visit the southern border, given she was the person in charge of tackling the causes of the immigration crisis.

While CNN is seen as a friendly outlet for Democrats, the prime-time interview with Dana Bash will nonetheless help voters learn more about Harris and Walz before the campaign hits its final stretch.

Former president Donald Trump debates President Joe Biden in Atlanta on June 27.Credit: AP

A bigger test will take place on September 10 (September 11, AEST), when the former prosecutor debates Trump, now a convicted felon, on a debate stage in Philadelphia – eight days before he is due to be sentenced for falsifying business records to cover up a story about his liaison with a porn star.

In recent days, Trump has raised the possibility of skipping the event because he does not like the host network, America’s ABC News, and his campaign wanted microphones to be muted so questions could be answered without interruption, as they were during the debate with Biden. Harris’ campaign wanted the microphones to remain on.

On Tuesday, however, the Republican posted on his Truth Social platform saying he would participate in the debate after his campaign “reached an agreement with Radical Left Democrats” about the rules.

“Cheat sheet” notes would not be permitted, and candidates would stand throughout, the post said. He did not mention muting specifically, but noted: “The rules will be the same as the last CNN debate, which seemed to work out well for everyone except Biden.”

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.