With less than three weeks until Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris, who faces former President Trump in a contest with a margin of error, is stepping up her dialogue with the media in the final stages of the campaign.
That effort will further intensify on Wednesday when the vice president is scheduled to sit down with Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier in battleground Pennsylvania for an interview on “Special Report” starting at 6 p.m. ET. .
Harris is scheduled to speak to Fox News after an afternoon campaign event in Bucks County, a key battleground district in Philadelphia's northern suburbs.
Baier said the Democratic presidential candidates will sit down for about 25 to 30 minutes around 5 p.m. ET, about an hour before the live broadcast of “Special Report.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to address a campaign rally at Erie Insurance Arena on Monday, October 14, 2024 in Erie, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin)
“We intend to broadcast the show without interruption or editing until the end,” Baier said on the eve of the interview.
The vice president's first official interview on Fox News is an opportunity to speak directly to a cross-ideological audience that doesn't normally tune in to rival cable news networks CNN or MSNBC.
“Special Report” is regularly one of the most-watched programs on cable news, and the show's Common Ground corner features political leaders from across the aisle with the goal of finding compromises. people discussing the issues of the day.
“We have a lot of people to watch. We have Democrats, independents and Republicans,” Baier said. “We have the largest audience of cable news, and this will probably get even more attention. I think tough but fair is what I proposed it for. . And I think that's what they see.”
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Harris has largely avoided interviews since replacing President Biden at the top of the Democratic Party's 2024 ticket in mid-July. Her first formal sit-down interview (with CNN) did not occur until late August. But she has appeared in media outlets in recent weeks, including on CBS News' “60 Minutes,” ABC's “The View,” interviews with late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert and radio personality Howard Stern, and numerous podcasts. He is increasing his appearances. Most of those encounters were perceived as friendly interviews.
But Mr. Baier's interview on Fox News may add to the perception that the vice president is prepared to face tough questions in the final stages of the campaign.
“She knows there are tough questions, and she can handle them,” veteran Democratic strategist and communicator Chris Moyer told Fox News. “Once you go through that process and deal with it, it’s like getting a little bit closer behind enemy lines.”
“Doing well in this area is a good boost for the campaign,” said Moyer, a veteran of multiple Democratic presidential campaigns. “I want to know,” he said.
Vice President Kamala Harris will be interviewed by FOX News Channel's Bret Baier on Wednesday.
Harris will be the first Democratic presidential candidate in eight years to give an interview on Fox News – 2016 standard bearer Hillary Clinton spoke with Chris Wallace.
But key Harris surrogates, including the governor, California's Gavin Newsom and Pennsylvania's Josh Shapiro, as well as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, went on Fox News this summer and fall. He made a notable appearance.
And Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, was interviewed on “Fox News Sunday” over the past two weekends.
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Harris' aides have approached Fox News about scheduling her second appearance.
“The public has a right to hear where we stand on this issue. Vice President Harris and I, as you know, have a new agenda for progress, manufacturing. I will be in Michigan this week. 'And I think the public is still undecided.' And you're going to ask some great, tough questions, and our viewers will get a chance to hear them.'' Walz said last weekend. He told “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream.
Former President Trump holds a town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania on October 14, 2024. (Spencer Pratt/Getty Images)
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Harris and Baier's meeting will take place on the same day that Fox News will conduct a town hall with Trump, where the former president will field questions from an all-female audience on issues such as abortion and child care.
The show will be taped on Tuesday in the battleground state of Georgia and will air Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET on “The Faulkner Focus.”
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report
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