Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for US president, have agreed to their first joint interview.
The two politicians will be interviewed by CNN in Georgia, which will be broadcast at 21:00 ET (02:00 BST) on Thursday.
It will be the first recorded in-depth conversation between the two candidates with reporters since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race more than five weeks ago and endorsed Ms. Harris as his successor.
Since the vice president emerged as a popular candidate, Republicans have criticized her for appearing to shy away from the media and accused her of keeping voters in the dark about her presidential plans.
The interview will be Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz’s first major test as running mates, offering them a chance to quell criticism. It also fulfills the vice president’s vow to schedule a sit-in by the end of the month.
The interview comes after the pair gave high-profile speeches at the star-studded Democratic National Convention in Chicago, an elaborate and orchestrated party celebration that Ms. Harris will continue to ride after the interview Bus tour of the battleground state of Georgia.
It will be one of the few opportunities for voters across the country to learn more details about the Harris-Walz campaign’s policy positions before Election Day, just 70 days away.
During Ms. Harris’s unprecedentedly brief campaign, there has been growing clamor from Republicans and media figures for the few concrete policy positions or interviews she has had on the campaign trail.
That left her campaign exposed to rebuke and insults from her opponents.
Trump said at a recent press conference at Mar-a-Lago that Ms. Harris was “unable to be interviewed” because she had “little ability.”
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, criticized the media and Ms. Harris for avoiding media coverage. He said earlier this month it was “shameful” that Ms Harris did not “take a genuine question from a reporter”.
“She (Harris) is engaging in a basement tactic of hiding from reporters instead of getting in front of them to answer tough questions about her record and let the American people know who she is.”
Mr. Vance often noted that both he and Trump held numerous interviews and press conferences and often faced “hostile questions” from the media.
Vice President Harris – who likes So far, the campaign has been about “good vibes” — however, avoided some of the gaffes and mistakes that have plagued the Republican ticket in front of the media.
That might be the point, since she had some bad experiences with the media during her first two years as vice president.
NBC’s Lester Holt gave a poor interview on immigration and the U.S. southern border in 2021, which appears to have particularly contributed to her limited media participation since then.
It remains to be seen what impact the interview may have on Ms Harris’ campaign, as multiple national polls show her leading Mr Trump ahead of November’s presidential election.
A Farley Dickinson University poll released last week showed Ms Harris leading Mr Trump by 7 points nationally, 50 to 43 per cent.
It’s a complete reversal of fortune for Democrats, who began trailing Republicans in multiple races when Biden secured the nomination.
Polls often show the president trailing his predecessor by several percentage points, too.
