CNN says Vice President Kamala Harris has agreed to her first "in-depth, on-the-record conversation" with a journalist since President Biden dropped out of the White House race and endorsed her more than a month ago. The network says Harris and running mate Tim Walz will speak to Dana Bash, its chief political correspondent, in an interview that will air at 9pm Eastern on Thursday. The announcement follows weeks of criticism from Donald Trump and other Republicans over Harris' failure to grant interviews or hold press conferences, ABC News reports.
"You know why she hasn't done an interview? Because she's not smart," Trump said earlier this month. "She's not intelligent." After the CNN interview was announced on Tuesday, his campaign said it was a joint interview because "she's not competent enough to do it on her own," the AP reports. CNN, describing Harris' campaign as "heavy on vibes but light on concrete policy," says the interview will be her "first chance to elucidate her position on various domestic and foreign issues"—and to draw a contrast with Biden's policies, if she chooses.
Trump, meanwhile, confirmed Tuesday that he still plans to debate Harris on ABC News on Sept. 10, the Washington Post reports. Trump, who suggested Sunday that he was considering dropping out, said a post on Truth Social that the interview "will be Broadcast Live on ABC FAKE NEWS, by far the nastiest and most unfair newscaster in the business." The Trump and Harris campaign bickered over debate rules Monday. In his Tuesday post, Trump said the rules would be the same as in the "last CNN Debate, which seemed to work out well for everyone except, perhaps, Crooked Joe Biden." (More Kamala Harris 2024 stories.)