Sunday Talk Shows

Sunday shows preview: Harris, Trump racing to finish line; Tension in Middle East grows

Vice President Harris and former President Trump are racing toward the finish line with less than six weeks to go until Election Day and less than a week until the vice-presidential debate as tension in the Middle East continues to grow following the death of the Hezbollah leader. Both topics are likely to be discussed in this week’s Sunday shows.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) is set to appear on ABC’s “This Week” where he is likely to discuss how vice-presidential debate prep has been going with Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio). Two sources confirmed to The Hill last week that Emmer is standing in for Harris’s running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D), a Minnesotan politician like Emmer.

National Security Council (NSC) spokesman John Kirby will also be on ABC’s “This Week” where he will likely talk about the tension between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. He had told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Thursday that “getting into a full-scale war is not the way to achieve” Israel’s objectives.

“There’s no way in that situation that people are going to be able to go back,” he said, pushing for “a diplomatic resolution that creates that environment to get people home,” The Hill reported.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) will appear on CBS’s “Face the Nation” after the state made headlines in recent weeks as gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson (R) found himself in the center of attention following a bombshell report released by CNN, linking the state’s GOP lieutenant governor to an account that made many offensive statements on a porn site’s message board.


Earlier this year, Cooper was floated as a potential running mate for Harris, but had dropped out of the race late July after saying it wasn’t the right time for him to join the ticket. Trump leads Harris in the state by less than one point, 48.4 percent to 47.8 percent, according to polling from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D), who knows Walz, will be discussing the vice-presidential debate on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures.” Lamont will also talk more about the economic proposals of Harris and Trump.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is set to appear on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Earlier this week, Graham criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s trip to Pennsylvania, where he appeared with Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) in what many Republicans saw as a political event. Zelensky was in Washington las week meeting with members of Congress, and Harris and President Biden, which sparked criticism from a host of Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.).

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff is set to appear on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki.” With less than six weeks until Election Day, The Hill reported on Friday that Emhoff slammed Trump for not disavowing past remarks from Robinson, including calling himself a “Black Nazi.”

Emhoff also condemned Trump last week for his remarks at an event raising awareness for combating antisemitism in which the GOP nominee suggested Jewish people will partly shoulder the blame if he loses in November.

Here’s the full list of appearances on this week’s Sunday talk shows:

NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday” — Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Conn.); Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.); Whit Ayres, founder and president of North Star Opinion Research; Michael Meehan, CEO of Squared Communications

CBS’s “Sunday Morning” — President Biden will talk about former President Carter’s 100th birthday.

ABC’s “This Week” — National Security Council spokesman John Kirby; Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.); former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.)

MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki” — Second gentleman Doug Emhoff

NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.)

CBS’s “Face the Nation” — Gov. Roy Cooper (D-N.C.); former Gov. Larry Hogan (R-Md.); Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.); Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.); retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal

CNN’s “State of the Union” — Gov. JB Pritzker (D-Ill.); Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)

Fox News’s “Fox News Sunday” — Sens. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), and Chris Coons (D-Del.); Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell.

Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” — Donald Trump Jr., Trump Organization Executive Vice President; Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman; Kari Lake (R), Arizona Senate Candidate; Andrzej Duda, President of Poland; John Ratcliffe, former Director of National Intelligence