This Thursday, Kamala Harris will sit down for her first major interview since launching her presidential campaign after Joe Biden’s dramatic departure from the race.
It follows weeks of demands from Republicans and members of the media for the presidential hopeful to take questions.
The vice-president and her running mate, Tim Walz, will be interviewed together by CNN’s Dana Bash on Thursday afternoon, in an event to be aired during prime time on Thursday night.
Despite significant press attention and a surge of support since entering the race, Harris has yet to do a formal interview or hold a press conference. She’s taken just a handful of questions from reporters on the campaign trail.
Earlier in August, she vowed to schedule a formal interview before the end of the month.
Here’s what else to know about the Harris-Walz interview with CNN.
Who is the interview with?
CNN’s Dana Bash, the outlet’s chief political correspondent and anchor, will interview Harris and Walz.
Earlier in the election cycle, Bash, along with Jake Tapper, moderated the June presidential debate between Biden and Donald Trump.
The president’s performance in the June debate left viewers startled and supporters horrified, as he spoke in a hoarse voice, mangled his syntax and lost his train of thought on multiple occasions. He failed to mount an effective argument against a gleeful Trump. It marked the beginning of the end of his re-election campaign.
How to watch the interview
The interview will air at 9pm ET on CNN. The network said the interview will air on its website and app Thursday night, and on demand on Friday.
The Guardian’s political reporters will be covering the interview, including with a live blog Thursday night.
Where is the interview taking place?
CNN will tape the interview from the battleground state of Georgia, to be aired during prime time.
Harris and Walz are on a two-day bus tour in Georgia that culminates on Thursday with Harris holding a rally in Savannah.
What CNN said about the interview
“There are a lot of questions that have been lingering out there for her to answer as we go into this fall campaign,” David Chalian, CNN’s political director, said after announcing the interview on the network on Tuesday.
“We have been waiting to see this next important hurdle for Kamala Harris and her campaign to jump,” Chalian added, noting that Harris and Walz successfully rallied the party, raised heaps of money and pulled off a successful Democratic national convention.
“All of that is very scripted,” he said. “This is the first time she is going to take questions.”
“Now is the opportunity to hear her ruminate aloud,” Chalian said, “with Dana asking her about her policy positions, her plans for the future, her plans for the country, in an unscripted setting – and, of course, to see the Democratic ticket interacting with each other.”
What else to know
The interview will be the first joint interview with Harris and Walz, and the first for Harris in more than a month.
Thursday’s CNN appearance is just one interview, and is unlikely to quiet the attacks from Trump; his running mate, JD Vance; and other Republicans who claim that Harris and Walz can’t handle scrutiny from the press.
In a tweet earlier this week, JD Vance said Harris “wants a promotion but refuses to interview for the job”.
It’s unclear when Harris will sit down for a solo interview, or whether the pair will schedule more encounters with the media.
What’s ahead on the US election calendar?
The next presidential debate has been scheduled for 10 September, with both Harris and Trump confirmed. However, in recent days, the Trump and Harris teams have been engaged in a back-and-forth as the campaigns argue over which rules have been agreed to.
The dispute has centered on the issue of microphone muting, which Biden’s campaign made a condition of his decision to accept any debates this year.
A debate between Vance and Walz has been confirmed for 1 October.
Voters head to the polls on 5 November.
