Former President Donald Trump has joined the growing number of critics over Vice President Kamala Harris’s interview, questioning why the interview is being taped before airing Thursday night.
The interview marks Harris’s first since becoming the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee, a position she is filling in place of President Joe Biden after he dropped his reelection bid last month. Trump, the Republican Party’s nominee, argued the interview is “not even an interview” because it will be edited by the network prior to its release.
“Then she’s doing it with her vice president sitting there,” Trump told the Daily Mail. “So she’s not very smart. When they ask her a question that she can’t answer, she’ll just look at him: ‘You answer it.’ I can’t imagine, everyone’s waiting for her to do an interview ’cause she’s been a very big failure on interviews before, as you know. A tremendous failure.”
President Trump on Kamala’s CNN “interview” tonight: “Why isn’t it live? It’s an interview that’s going to be taped, edited, and then put out. That’s not even an interview. And then she’s doing it with her Vice President sitting there. So she’s not very smart. When they ask her a… pic.twitter.com/7KuEZG3eHS
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 29, 2024
Trump also dished criticism on Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), Harris’s running mate, calling him a “disaster” of a governor. He argued that Minnesota is “in shock” over Walz’s leadership and claimed that Minneapolis was “burned down” and never rebuilt, likely in reference to the Black Lives Matter riots and protests that occurred in summer 2020.
Meghan McCain similarly criticized Harris’s handling of her first interview as a presidential candidate, specifically slamming her choice to bring Walz with her as it could give Harris the appearance of being unable to do an interview alone.
Scott Jennings, a CNN contributor and former senior adviser to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), suggested that the amount of planning that went into this interview, which is being held over a month after Harris jumped into the 2024 race, could showcase a “lack of confidence” in her decision-making.
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As counterprogramming to Harris’s interview, Trump will be in Wisconsin doing a town hall. The event will be moderated by former Democratic lawmaker Tulsi Gabbard, who recently endorsed the former president in the 2024 race.
Next month, Harris and Trump will take the stage on Sept. 10 for a presidential debate, which ABC News is hosting. Like the last debate, microphones will be muted when a candidate is not talking to prevent interrupting, and neither candidate will be allowed to bring written notes.