Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) slammed Vice President Harris’s joint interview with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), airing on CNN on Thursday night, calling it “offensive” to women in the country.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that the first and ONLY interview from Kamala Harris – the anointed Democrat nominee for President of the United States – is done jointly with Tim Walz,” Stefanik wrote Thursday on the social platform X. “It is offensive to ALL women that Kamala has refused to sit for a solo interview when she is running to be Commander-in-chief.”
Harris and Walz sat for an interview Thursday with CNN’s Dana Bash, the vice president’s first interview since she rose to the top of the Democratic ticket upon President Biden’s exit from the race. The conversation is scheduled to air on CNN at 9 p.m. EDT.
Former President Trump, the GOP’s presidential nominee, and other Republicans have repeatedly criticized Harris for her lack of media interviews and other live, unscripted events on the campaign trail.
Since becoming the Democratic nominee, Harris has only briefly answered questions from reporters traveling with her. She told reporters last month that she would schedule a full interview by the end of August.
Some Republicans, including Stefanik — a longtime supporter of Trump — have baselessly argued the Harris campaign provided CNN questions or talking points to stick to during Thursday’s joint interview.
“And the Democrats’ stenographers in the mainstream media just blindly regurgitate the talking points provided to them directly by the Kamala Harris campaign,” Stefanik wrote. “Kamala Harris and her entire campaign is an affront to the American people.”
Harris is likely to be asked tough questions by Bash, a veteran reporter who hosts “Inside Politics” and is a co-host of “State of the Union.” Bash also co-hosted the June debate between Biden and Trump.
Since Harris entered the presidential race, she quickly consolidated support from Democrats and posed a threat to Trump’s previously healthy lead over Biden when he was the Democratic presidential nominee.
According to a polling index by Decision Desk HQ and The Hill, Harris has a 3.9 percentage point lead over Trump.
The Hill reached out to the Harris campaign and CNN for comment.