It wasn’t that long ago when the initials “CNN” were enough to make the Democratic Party squirm. Everything went pear-shaped for the Democrats after Joe Biden visited the Cable News Network on June 27 to debate Donald Trump. It wasn’t even really a debate; Jake Tapper and Dana Bash were supposed to moderate, but they didn’t.
So here we are with the Dems returning to CNN this Thursday night (9:00 PM ET) for a sit-down interview with Bash. The circumstances are much different this time, with Harris taking over for Biden to become the Democratic nominee – and Trump won’t be anywhere in sight.
Tim Walz will be. The Governor of Minnesota and vice-presidential candidate will be alongside Harris for Thursday’s interview; given the friendly banter these two have exchanged on the campaign trail, it’s easy to imagine them breezing through this interview, no matter what questions Bash lobs at them.
Then again, as we’ve said more than once in this space, the Trump vs. Biden debate odds were very much in Biden’s favor the last time the Dems were on CNN. And with the 2024 presidential election once again becoming a “coin flip” following the departure of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this past Friday, the slightest error by Harris or Walz could be enough to derail their campaign.
SELECT SCORE:
5
SELECT SCORE:
5
- Dynamic Betting Variety
- User-Friendly Interface
- Daily Odds Boosts
- Multilingual Support
SELECT SCORE:
5
SELECT SCORE:
5
- Lucrative Rewards Program
- Exciting Odds Boost Promotions
- User-friendly Interface
- Depth of sports coverage
How Harris-Walz Can Win The Election
As it was with Biden back in June, the mission for Harris and Walz this Thursday is not to make any mistakes. There isn’t really any mystery to what their political positions are on today’s most pressing topics; the most Bash can hope for is to get some details about specific policy plans.
Meanwhile, viewers at home want to see how Harris performs on TV. Will she keep her composure when Bash asks the inevitable tough questions regarding Israel/Palestine? Will Harris hem, haw and prevaricate? Up to this point, the Vice President has struck a reasonably balanced yet confident and optimistic tone on the campaign trail. All she has to do is more of the same.
The fact that Walz is there makes all the difference. Again, Thursday is more about the social performance of the candidates rather than any specific policies; the easy interaction between Harris and Walz will ease much of the tension that may have otherwise thrown them off in separate interviews.
Provided everything goes as planned for the Dems, the viewers at home – and those reading about it in the papers afterwards – will see Harris and Walz in much the same light they did after the Democratic National Convention. Then the politics odds will keep moving towards Harris, in 10-cent increments on the moneyline.
How Harris-Walz Can Lose The Election
It would only take one false move for Harris and Walz to blow this election Thursday night. Trump’s presidential odds peaked at around -300 after Biden’s dismal performance at the first debate. That was also in the wake of the July 13 shooting, so -300 might not represent Trump’s true ceiling if bettors lose faith in the Dems again, but it does give us some indication of how bad things can get for Harris-Walz if they mess up the way Biden did.
This is live TV – if you discount the standard seven-second delay networks commonly use these days – so it’s impossible for Harris and Walz to completely choreograph what happens Thursday. Maybe someone will have one of those awkward TV moments that all politicians dread. Suffice to say, if Harris lets one rip on CNN, this election is over.
On that note, we’ll point out that Harris has actually done multiple interviews since she hit the campaign trail on July 21, just not with mainstream media outlets like CNN. Nothing untoward happened then, and Thursday isn’t likely to be any different. Bet accordingly.
