The Wall Street Journal editorial board slammed Vice President Kamala Harris’ strategy for her first interview as the Democratic nominee, accusing her of using a "crutch" by bringing her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn.
Harris scheduled her first interview since the start of her presidential campaign with CNN’s Dana Bash on Thursday night. However, instead of going solo, it was announced that the Democratic candidate would be joined by Walz, prompting criticism from the Journal.
"Don’t think Kamala Harris’s handlers are shielding her from tough questions? Consider that in her first sit-down interview with the press this week, she’s bringing along a crutch: running mate Tim Walz," the editorial board stated on Thursday.
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Harris has been continually dinged by her critics for avoiding tough interviews and unscripted press conferences since President Biden endorsed her candidacy, with Wednesday marking 39 days. Signing up for a tag team interview added a new attack line for her detractors.
"This is a deliberate attempt to limit the potential exposure risks for the Vice President," the board declared, adding that the "one-on-two format will limit Ms. Harris’s time in answering questions. It will also make it harder for Ms. Bash to pose follow-up questions that bore in on the Vice President’s contradictions with previous positions, or get beyond general blather and seek specifics on taxes or foreign policy."
It also noted that Walz will be there to "rescue" Harris if she starts to struggle during the interview.
The Journal didn’t hold back, calling the debate format "one more Harris campaign insult to American voters."
It then provided a list of ways in which Harris has avoided transparency.
"The Vice President was handed the nomination in an inside job a month ago. She is the least known presidential candidate in modern history and has had the least amount of media scrutiny. Her views on the crucial issues she’d confront as President aren’t clear, and what we do know has been dribbled out in campaign press statements that we are supposed to accept as her real views."
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Conservative media figures have also slammed Harris’ joint interview since it was announced on Tuesday.
The Federalist co-founder Sean Davis wrote on X, "Joe Biden can’t get into a car or up a flight of stairs without a handler, and apparently Kamala Harris can’t even talk to a CNN reporter by herself. Embarrassing."
Columnist Phil Kerpen asked, "When is the first interview with just Kamala? Never?"
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board continued: "Her strategy is to float at 40,000 feet from here to November, when we will all learn what she really intends as President. Or, perhaps more accurately, what her advisers and the Barack Obama aides now running her campaign intend."
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It concluded by stating that the vice president’s handlers should "let her stand alone and answer questions by herself" if they have "respect for the voters."
Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
