Harris steps into lion’s den with Fox interview

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Kamala Harris takes her media blitz into opposition territory Wednesday with an interview on Fox News, as Donald Trump seeks to use the same network to connect with female voters wary of his record.

Democratic nominee Harris will sit down with the conservative-leaning broadcaster in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, her most dramatic move yet as she carpets the airwaves to reach out to wavering Republican voters who have tired of Trump’s dark rhetoric.

The White House race is neck-and-neck nationally and in swing states with less than three weeks to go, and both candidates are increasingly looking for ways to gain momentum.

Harris’s appearance on Fox, where she will be quizzed by anchor Bret Baier in a show screening at 6:00 pm (2200 GMT), is a gamble as she tries to move the dial.

The vice president is aiming to neutralise Republican criticisms that she has avoided tough interviews, in which she can appear uncomfortable — but Fox is also the top-rated United States (US) cable news channel with a valuable audience.

Fox has played a key role in Trump’s political rise, but the relationship has been rocky, and he blasted the network over the Harris interview, accusing Baier of being “very soft” and accusing the channel of having “totally lost its way”.

Trump also appeared on Fox News in a pre-recorded town hall with an entirely female audience, as polls show him trailing with female voters, particularly on reproductive rights.

The Republican former president doubled down on the issue in the event in Georgia, another battleground, when a moderator asked about infertility treatments.

“I’m the father of IVF (in vitro fertilisation), so I want to hear this question,” Trump said, according to excerpts in US media.

“We really are the party for IVF. We want fertilisation, and it’s all the way, and the Democrats tried to attack us on it.”

Harris, who has made the defence of reproductive rights a centerpiece of her election platform, attacked Trump over the comments.

“Donald Trump called himself ‘the father of IVF.’ What is he talking about?” Harris said on X.

“His abortion bans have already jeopardised access to it in states across the country — and his own platform could end IVF altogether.”

The Harris campaign said they had bought air-time during the Trump town hall broadcast to show ads on abortion, featuring a woman who was raped by her stepfather when she was 12.

Reproductive rights have been a major vulnerability for Trump since the US Supreme Court, featuring three Trump-picked justices, gutted federal protections for abortion access in 2022.

Many in the anti-abortion movement also want to see IVF curbed.

Trump’s town hall in Georgia was filmed on Tuesday, the first day of early voting in the closely-watched state, with voters casting a record number of 328,000 ballots.

A Georgia judge on Tuesday meanwhile blocked a new rule Tuesday that would have required election workers to hand-count ballots.

Trump has been charged with election tampering in the state, pushing for Georgia officials to “find” enough votes to overturn President Joe Biden’s narrow win there in 2020.

The 2024 election promises to be just as close with both candidates looking for an edge.