Kamala Harris's Interview Strategy Draws Criticism for Lack of Transparency

The Wall Street Journal editorial board slammed Vice President Kamala Harris's 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.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board has vehemently criticized Vice President Kamala Harris's decision to bring her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., to her first interview since the start of her presidential campaign. The board accused Harris of using Walz as a "crutch" to avoid tough questions and unscripted press conferences, a strategy that has drawn widespread criticism from her detractors.

Harris's interview with CNN's Dana Bash on Thursday night marked her first sit-down interview since President Biden endorsed her candidacy 39 days ago. However, the announcement that Walz would be joining her prompted immediate backlash from the Journal, which stated that "in her first sit-down interview with the press this week, she's bringing along a crutch: running mate Tim Walz."

Kamala Harris's Interview Strategy Draws Criticism for Lack of Transparency

The editorial board argued that Walz's presence would limit Harris's exposure to tough questions and make it more difficult for Bash to pose follow-up questions that could reveal contradictions in her previous positions or force her to provide specifics on key issues such as taxes or foreign policy. The board also suggested that Walz could "rescue" Harris if she started to struggle during the interview.

"This is a deliberate attempt to limit the potential exposure risks for the Vice President," the board declared. "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."

Kamala Harris's Interview Strategy Draws Criticism for Lack of Transparency

The Journal did not hold back in its condemnation of Harris's strategy, calling it "one more Harris campaign insult to American voters." The board listed several ways in which Harris has avoided transparency, including her lack of media scrutiny, her vague and often undisclosed policy positions, and her refusal to engage in unscripted press conferences.

"The Vice President was handed the nomination in an inside job a month ago," the board stated. "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."

Kamala Harris's Interview Strategy Draws Criticism for Lack of Transparency

Conservative media figures have also slammed Harris's joint interview since it was announced. The Federalist co-founder Sean Davis wrote on Twitter, "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 concluded by stating that Harris's handlers should "let her stand alone and answer questions by herself" if they have "respect for the voters." A representative for the Harris campaign told Fox News Digital: "For at least 20 years, every ticket, Republican and Democrat, sat for a joint interview. The only exception was when Donald Trump walked out of his joint interview four years ago with 60 Minutes' Lesley Stahl because he couldn't handle her holding him accountable on his extreme, unpopular record."