Chuck Todd of NBC criticizes Kamala Harris for not speaking to the press, stating that any misstep will be heavily scrutinized.

NBC News political analyst Chuck Todd criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for not giving interviews during her presidential campaign weeks earlier.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, would be participating in a joint interview with CNN's Dana Bash, which will be recorded on Thursday afternoon and broadcast during primetime.

On Wednesday, Todd wrote on NBC News' website that the Harris campaign's "first big mistake" was that it had "lowered the stakes" of her first interview by lying low for nearly 40 days.

"Todd stated on NBC News Now that the best way to handle the situation is to go to various locations and conduct interviews, either locally or through a podcast. He emphasized that being laser-focused on a big event can lead to being overwhelmed if there are too many interviews. He explained that spreading out the interviews can help to dilute the situation."

Todd continued, "I believe that her actions during the race have only reinforced the negative stereotype that she was already carrying, which is that she is too anxious and takes too long to make decisions. There is a fine line between being deliberative and being paralyzed by indecision, and I think that the way she has handled the media has been a mistake."

The former president's media strategy in 2016 was recalled by the veteran NBC newsman, who advised Harris to adopt a similar approach.

"The 2016 version of Donald Trump was more open to interviews, while the current version tends to avoid mainstream media. However, the 2016 version did interviews left, right, and center, friendly and adversarial, and even did multiple interviews in a day. Despite this, the 2016 version never made any interview matter, which diluted its impact. In contrast, the current version's handling of interviews has been perceived as playing into her weaknesses, and any fumble will be overly scrutinized in this interview."

Over a month has passed since Harris became the Democratic nominee after Biden dropped out of the 2024 race. Despite facing criticism for avoiding interviews and press conferences, the VP's scrutiny intensified after the Democratic National Convention last week.

Harris will face scrutiny for her policy shifts, as anonymous campaign statements to the press have revealed. She will likely be asked to explain her sudden changes on issues such as fracking, border security, and private health insurance, which she previously took progressive stances on as a presidential candidate in 2019.

Despite defending Biden publicly after his disastrous debate performance, she will likely face questions about what she knew about his mental decline behind the scenes.

As Walz is likely to face questions about his military service record and left-wing policies as Minnesota's governor, he may also be scrutinized for his views on controversial issues.