Harris Ripped For Bringing ‘Emotional Support Animal’ to First Interview

Vice President Kamala Harris has spent over 35 days since being designated as the Democratic Party’s nominee by President Joe Biden without participating in a sit-down media interview or a formal press conference, a decision that has drawn significant criticism.

This week, however, Harris's campaign announced she would be interviewed by CNN’s Dana Bash. This announcement sparked further controversy when it was revealed that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her running mate, would be joining her for the interview.

On Tuesday, CNN conservative commentator Scott Jennings criticized Harris for bringing Walz, arguing that it underscores her perceived weakness as a candidate.

During a panel discussion on CNN with anchor Anderson Cooper, the question was raised about whether critics would focus on Harris’s continued avoidance of solo interviews or press conferences since becoming the Democratic Party’s de facto 2024 nominee.

“Is the line now going to be, well, why isn’t she doing it by herself?” Cooper asked.

“I think people are going to bring that up,” Jennings responded, adding that while he had “great confidence” in both the network and anchor Dana Bash, he agreed it didn’t reflect well on Harris to include Walz.

“I think it’s incredibly weak — weak sauce — to show up with your running mate. The fact that they don’t have enough confidence in her to let her sit, herself, the actual top of the ticket, and do a single interview …” Jennings remarked. “I think the hand-wringing and gyrations over this last month show a troubling lack of confidence in her political ability. Which also makes you wonder as a voter, well, what kind of president would you be if this kind of a small-time decision — can we do an interview or not? — what does that look like for your decision-making process?”

Jennings concluded by saying, “Yes, I think Republicans are going to think it’s pretty weak to show up with, effectively, someone to take up half the time,” referring to Walz as Harris’ “emotional support animal” for the interview in an X post.

Former Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway also weighed in during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” with host Ainsley Earhardt, accusing “sexists and misogynists” within the Democratic campaign of preventing Vice President Kamala Harris from traveling or speaking “alone” with the media because they “don’t trust” her.

On Tuesday’s show, Earhardt played a clip of Trump criticizing Harris for “flip-flopping” on the Biden administration’s economic policies and suggesting that voters “don’t really know what her policies are.”

Conway, who served as a senior counsel in President Donald Trump’s White House, urged Democrats to “free Kamala already.”

“No question that they don’t trust Kamala Harris enough to speak regularly. This is amazing to me,” Conway continued. “There’s something exciting about a woman, and sexists and misogynists in her campaign are not allowing her to travel alone or to speak on her own extemporaneously to members of the media. Have a town hall; don’t be afraid to take questions. They can make it as friendly as the pep rally that was the Democratic Convention if they want to. But free Kamala already. Let her out. Let us hear from her.”

Conway then criticized Harris for not openly discussing her policy objectives, particularly taking issue with the VP’s tax policy positions, which she labeled as “truly frightening.”

“And, Ainsley, let’s get past the laughs and gaffes and get serious here. When she does tell us what her vision is, when she does promise these policies, that’s when she gets truly frightening: 65 percent estate death tax – that’s going to decimate family businesses up and down this country, 44 percent on capital gains,” she said.

Conway concluded by contrasting Harris with Trump, stating, “And then the unrealized gains being taxed? Donald Trump is preparing for every single day by doing things like he did yesterday, facing the cameras, showing everybody the real people impact at the border, of the groceries and gas prices,” adding that he’s “out there” in swing states “facing the music” every day.