Huckabee Sanders blasts Harris for doing joint interview with Walz: Can't do it 'by herself'

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders slammed Vice President Kamala Harris for choosing to do her first formal interview as the Democratic nominee for president alongside her running mate on a friendly network.

"They know Kamala Harris can't get through an interview all by herself. There is not a lot of confidence in somebody to become the leader of the free world and ask people to make her president of the United States when she can't even sit down [for] an interview," she told "Fox & Friends."

CNN revealed Tuesday that anchor Dana Bash would be taping a joint interview with Harris and Walz to be broadcast Thursday evening. 

It will mark the first time Harris has given a formal interview to the press since President Biden stepped out of the race on July 21 and essentially anointed her as his successor. With no opposition, Harris quickly clinched the necessary delegates to win the nomination without having to earn any primary voters' support. 

VP HARRIS MOCKED FOR BEING ‘TOO SCARED’ TO DO INTERVIEW WITHOUT WALZ: ‘SHE SIMPLY CANNOT BE LEFT UNATTENDED’

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders slammed Vice President Harris for doing her first formal interview with her running mate, after weeks of avoiding the press. (Fox News)

Sanders, who sparred with reporters frequently as President Trump's second press secretary, said the move seemed like an admission by Harris' team that she was unprepared to handle an interview by herself.

"This isn't even a tough interview. This is on CNN. This is one of their media allies," Huckabee Sanders continued. "She should take this opportunity to show the American people that she can handle hard questions. It's clear that her own team, in her own party, think she needs a babysitter, and that's why they're putting her vice presidential nominee on the stage with her so that he can step in and answer questions if things go like the clips we just saw, like she has done in previous interviews."

As vice president, Harris dodged media interviews for nearly a year after holding a "disastrous" interview with NBC's Lester Holt in 2021, where she failed to explain the Biden-Harris administration's strategy for securing the border, according to a New York Times report.

"[W]hite House officials — including some in her own office — noted that she all but went into a bunker for about a year, avoiding many interviews out of what aides said was a fear of making mistakes and disappointing Mr. Biden," the Times previously reported.

VP NOMINEE TIM WALZ SITS FOR RARE INTERVIEW TO DISCUSS GUTTER MAINTENANCE WITH TIKTOKER

Harris was mocked by conservatives for refusing to do a solo interview for her first formal media interview since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. (Photo by Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)

Sanders told "Fox & Friends" that the contrast "could not be more stark" between Harris and her old boss.

"This matchup could not be more stark between the two candidates. Donald Trump has a record of success, of leading on things like building a strong American economy, securing our border, helping us have a strong presence on the world stage. While on the other hand, Kamala Harris has been part of an administration of total failure. Look at everything that has happened in the last four years. She has to own that. She cannot run away from it. And even prominent Democrats don't have confidence in her ability to lead this country," she said.

Former Democrats Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard both endorsed Trump for president this month and joined his transition team this week. 

Sanders argued that even former Democrats don't think Harris is capable of leading the country.

"She was the laughingstock of the Biden administration just a few months ago, and now the hypocrisy is so unbelievable. They want us to believe that they truly think that she can take this job on," she continued.

"I think that the fact that they're not letting her do an interview by herself tells us everything that we need to know. She is not prepared to lead the country. Donald Trump is, because he's shown he can do it. Even prominent voices in the Democrat Party see that. And they're joining the ticket and starting to campaign for him around the country. And I think it's a great thing that he's building this huge coalition that will help push him over the top in November."

Fox News' Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.

Kristine Parks is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Read more.