Harris Campaign's Process For Selecting Interviewer More Planned Out Than A Moon Shot

Posted • August 28, 2024: As you might have heard, Vice President Kamala Harris, who Dems and the media would like everybody to believe isn't closely connected with the policies of Joe "Bidenomics" Biden in any way, has agreed to an interview on CNN. The chat will reportedly be pre-recorded. Oh, and Harris will have a wingman -- or an assistant coach as it were -- Tim Walz: And Dana Bash gets the first interview w Harris/walz. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GWBIexNWIAEkEKE?format=jpg&name=large -- Dana Bash? Yep, this is sure to be a very challenging interview for Harris and Walz: Kamala is afraid to do a one-on-one interview, so she and Walz have agreed to do a joint interview with CNN and Dana Bash. Dana Bash recently insisted that Kamala was never the “Border Czar." It’s sure to be a hard-hitting journalistic tour-de-force. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GWBNc-tX0AAalIK?format=jpg&name=medium

In fairness to Bash, however…she did have a fairly funny and accurate description of the male attendees at the Democrat National Convention: Dana Bash explains that Democrat men are low testosterone and don’t identify with real men. Maybe Bash can remind Tim Walz about that during the time he spends serving as Harris' crutch during the interview… or perhaps vice-versa. In order to lock down this first interview, Team Kamala and Tim apparently went through a painstaking process for a presidential and VP candidate to have only one interview. The Apollo space program didn't go through this much advance work before the moon shot: Normal politician: Does interview. - Kamala Harris: All hands on deck for Operation Enduring Joy: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GV_6_NzWkAEc7Wl?format=png&name=900x900 -- The Harris campaign wants everybody to believe that she's tough enough to take on Putin and Xi, but not strong enough to handle any interview solo or without first making sure the fix will be in?

This is something else: “Here are some of the questions rattling around about the decision … — Who should you send your pitch to? One source of intrigue concerns who in Harris world will actually make this decision. BRIAN FALLON, the campaign’s senior adviser for communications, is generally considered the key person. But the interview has to be coordinated with Harris’s official office, where the communications director is KIRSTEN ALLEN. We hear there are some tensions. Another source with knowledge of the process said that STEPHANIE CUTTER, senior adviser for message and strategy, will have an outsized role, as well. Campaign chair JEN O’MALLEY DILLON and senior advisor DAVID PLOUFFE represent another camp. And MAYA HARRIS and TONY WEST, Harris’s sister and brother-in-law, will weigh in with their own views. The political operatives on this list all have long-term relationships with TV networks and their major talent.”

“But unlike Biden, Harris herself doesn’t have the same deep history with the journalists now wooing her. — What’s the goal? There has been considerable debate in Harris world about the purpose and timing of the interview. The main narrative in the political press is that Harris needs to do a lengthy serious interview with a brand-name news anchor who will push her on issues.” -- It's the safest of safe bets that Harris and Walz will not be pushed too hard on the issues or shown video of past comments, such as expressing a desire to ban fracking. It takes a village to sit down for an interview. Hillary Clinton will be proud. -- “The” interview. Like they’re only expecting one. How this interview goes for Harris/Walz will determine if there will be future interviews, or if Harris ever does one solo. All anybody really needs to know is that the Harris campaign is afraid to let her speak extemporaneously or face any challenging interviews or press conferences. That should be all the information voters need.

Politico: Playbook: Inside Harris’ big interview decision
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2024/08/27/inside-harris-big-interview-decision-00176402