Vice President Kamala Harris has agreed to an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, which will take place near Philadelphia on Wednesday, shortly before it airs at 6pmET on Baier’s program “Special Report.”
After criticism earlier for avoiding the press and interviews, Harris is looking to turn the tables on Trump, who has refused a second debate, a “60 Minutes” interview, as well as refusing to release his medical records.
“It makes you wonder: Why does his staff want him to hide away?” she said. “One must question: Are they afraid that people will see that he is too weak and unstable to lead America? Is that what’s going on?” — Madam VP
Baier is Fox News’ chief political anchor and one of the few on the network whose identity isn’t associated with conservative commentary.
Most of the MAGA comments to Baier follow a consistent theme – that they lost all faith in Baier after his tough interview embarrassed Trump last year, and that they expect him to go into this interview with guns blazing to win back their favor. They also mentioned some of the previous Harris interview conspiracies – that her earrings were airpods where she was getting the answers, that she was given the questions ahead of time, that Baier and Fox called the 2020 election too early for Biden, etc.
Baier is widely considered the best substantive interviewer at Fox by far, which is why he is usually tapped to moderate their debates and Town Halls. His interview of Trump in June of 2023 was a masterclass in how to interview someone who lies, rambles, and doesn’t like to get pinned down on specifics. It was easily Trump’s worst interview of the campaign – so much so that he trashed Baier afterwards as being “nasty” to him during the interview.
According to Nielsen research, more independent voters tune in to Fox News than CNN or MSNBC. The interview may be perceived as her willingness to face tough questions from a network that explicitly shamelessly supports Trump.
Hillary Clinton was the last Democratic presidential nominee to interview on Fox in 2016, with President Biden only jousting with Peter Doocy (“stupid SOB”) in the White House press pool.
Gov. Tim Walz has interviewed with Fox on the past two weekends.
Governors Gavin Newsom and Josh Shapiro have also stepped up to the Fox plate, as well as Sec. Pete Buttigieg hitting home runs at the network.
“You might recognize me from Fox News,” Buttigieg told the audience at the Democratic National Convention.
