Home

“If Dana Bash had shown even half of that intensity in the Harris-Walz interview, voters could have learned something,” a critic remarked.

Vice President Kamala Harris gave her first media interview since joining the Democratic ticket on Thursday, but some critics felt CNN’s Dana Bash should have been tougher, similar to her recent interview with GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance.

In the 26-minute pretaped interview with Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Bash covered topics like Harris’ political record, Trump’s personal attacks, and Walz’s military service claims. However, critics believe Bash didn’t press Harris and Walz as hard as she did Vance in her earlier interview.

Fox News contributor Guy Benson gave mixed reviews of Dana Bash’s interview, noting she “pushed on some necessary subjects, but missed glaring follow-ups.” Vanessa Santos, president of Renegade PR, was more critical, saying, “Dana was fired up when she grilled JD about his ‘cat lady’ comments. If she had brought even half of that energy to the Harris-Walz interview, voters might have learned something last night.” Santos added that Bash “let their nonsensical answers go unchecked and unchallenged.”

During the interview, Dana Bash questioned Minnesota Governor Tim Walz about his past statement claiming he “carried weapons in war,” despite not being deployed in a war zone. Walz responded by emphasizing his 24 years of military service and his passion for issues like gun violence, admitting that he may have misspoken and attributing it to his candid speaking style. Bash continued to press Walz, asking if he indeed misspoke, to which he acknowledged the campaign’s explanation.

In contrast, Bash’s earlier interview with Ohio Senator JD Vance was more intense. She spent six minutes grilling Vance about his criticisms of Walz’s military record and repeatedly challenged his “childless cat ladies” comments from a previous interview.

Critics argued that Dana Bash missed the opportunity to ask tougher questions during her interview with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz on Thursday. Instead of probing deeper into significant policy issues, Bash engaged in a lighthearted exchange with Harris about a viral photo of her niece watching her Democratic National Convention speech. When Bash asked how the photo impacted Harris, the vice president responded by emphasizing her candidacy as being for all Americans, regardless of race or gender. The conversation then shifted to a casual discussion about her niece’s reactions, which some critics felt was a missed chance to press Harris on more substantive topics.