Trump calls for 'fair but tough interview' ahead of Harris' first campaign sitdown: 'It will expose her'
SAVANNAH, GA. - Former President Trump is weighing in – in advance – on 2024 election rival Vice President Kamala Harris' first interview since replacing President Biden atop the Democrats' national ticket.
Trump, in a social media post on Thursday morning, called for CNN to conduct a "fair but tough interview" of Harris and if that occurs, the former president argued "it will expose her as being totally inept and ill-suited for the job of President."
Harris has been riding a wave of energy, enthusiasm and momentum in both polling and fundraising since succeeding her boss as their party's presidential nominee nearly six weeks ago.
But she's refrained from holding a news conference or sitting for a major interview – until now.
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And that's brought continuous incoming fire from Trump, GOP running mate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, their campaign, and allied Republicans.
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"She can't answer questions," Trump charged earlier this week as he took questions from reporters during a stop in northern Virginia." Why doesn't she do something like I'm doing right now?"
And he claimed that the vice president "can't talk. We can't have another dummy as a president."
Vance, on the campaign trail, has repeatedly argued that the vice president "is running a basement campaign where she refuses to go before the free press and actually answer their questions."
Firing back, the Harris campaign has charged that the GOP ticket is "ducking and dodging questions."
"Trump Is Stumped and Vance Dances: GOP Ticket Dodges and Lies Through Every Question from Reporters," read the title of an email Monday from the Harris campaign to reporters.
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Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will sit down with CNN's Dana Bash on Thursday afternoon, before the vice president headlines what's expected to be a large rally in Savannah, an historic coastal city in southeastern Georgia, a crucial battleground state. CNN has said the interview will be televised hours later in prime time.
"The Vice President of the United States has mustered enough stamina after 40 days to finally sit down for a joint interview to finally have a conversation with reporters to lay out what we hope to be her vision for America," Trump campaign senior adviser Corey Lewandowski told reporters hours before the interview.
"It is no coincidence though that Kamala and Tim’s first interview is transpiring on the Thursday before a long weekend because we know their desire, even though the interview hasn’t occurred yet, is to bury the news of how disastrous their polices are going to be on this great country," Lewandowski claimed.
In advance of the interview, Trump and his allies have been laying out the questions they want to see CNN ask Harris. At the top of the list – they urge that the vice president be asked about why she's changed her positions over the past few years on key issues, including border security, immigration and crime.