AILSA CHANG, HOST:
OK, the Democratic Convention is over. Vice President Harris delivered a speech last night, introducing herself to voters and telling them in broad brushstrokes how she would lead. The next phase of the presidential campaign begins now. NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith is in Chicago and joins us to talk through the challenges that Harris faces in the sprint to Election Day. Hi, Tam.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Hi.
CHANG: Hi. OK, so what is the next big milestone that you're looking to for Harris?
KEITH: Well, she has promised that she'll sit down for an interview by the end of this month. So there's about a week left for that to happen. Up to this point, her campaign has been a one-way conversation, where she has been in full control of the message. The next phase of the campaign will be much more of a two-way conversation, where she'll have to respond to attacks from Trump and answer questions about how her policy proposals would work. Republican political consultant Doug Heye told me that she did what she needed to do with her convention speech last night, but now is where the hard part starts.
DOUG HEYE: I think we've seen somebody who's improved over the past few years, certainly has an injection of confidence now. But as the crucible of the campaign really takes form now - and it is a crucible - how does she react to that? And is she a strong candidate who can deal with having sand thrown in her eyes the way that we know Donald Trump does?
KEITH: The Trump campaign is already up on the airwaves now with negative ads, trying to tarnish the image that she's projected over these past few weeks. And then comes the debate on September 10.
CHANG: Yeah, let's talk about that because debates are a place where candidates get a real stress test, right? It's also where they can try to sharpen the contrast between them. And I'm wondering, to you, like, was there anything from last night's speech that gives you an idea of how Harris will approach a debate with Donald Trump?
KEITH: Well, at one point, during the speech last night, Trump posted on Truth Social, asking, is she talking about me? And she was. A lot. And there were a few thematic lines of attack that I think are worth noting. Democrats have often, over the years, pumped up Trump as this huge existential threat. But in a way, Harris is also trying to make him look small.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.
KEITH: She also attacked him for being all about himself rather than for the American people and hit him for cozying up to dictators while falling for flattery from the likes of North Korea's Kim Jong Un.
CHANG: In terms of her campaign, what do you think Harris still has to do to define herself?
KEITH: The speech last night told the story of her family and the experiences that made her who she is. But she also spent a lot of time on what I would describe as building a case that she can pass the commander in chief test, showing that she can be tough and strong, at least with her words. And that matters because the United States has never had a female commander in chief before, and she needs to help undecided voters see her in that role.
This has been a month where Harris really hasn't had to deal with a bad news cycle. And the political math right now still means that this race is still incredibly close. It will be right until the end. As pumped up as Democrats are, Republicans are solidly behind Trump. And the universe of undecided voters is quite small and hard to reach.
CHANG: That is NPR's Tamara Keith. Thank you so much, Tam.
KEITH: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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