Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz greet supporters at a campaign rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Millions tuned into CNN to watch Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for their first televised sit-down. AFP

The first television interview of presidential candidate Kamala Harris and vice presidential pick Tim Walz since the start of their campaign drew nearly 6 million viewers to CNN Thursday night, rocketing it to the No. 1 cable news slot, according to early Nielsen national figures.

That made the interview with its impressive 5.987 million watchers the largest draw to the 9 p.m. ET time slot since the June debate between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump with 9.5 million viewers, and previous to that, Biden's inauguration.

The Harris-Walz sit-down, which drew more viewers than MSNBC and Fox combined, also lured an average of 1.064 million viewers between the ages of 25 and 54, the demographic most favored by advertisers in news programming.

The figures are expected to be updated later Friday and will likely grow.

CNN news host Dana Bash quizzed Harris and Walz Thursday on their planned agenda in office, and asked Harris why she has recently appeared to moderate some of her views on issues such as border control.

Harris rebuffed a question about Trump's comments on her race and gender, responding curtly: "Next question, please."

She also discussed some of her plans for helping middle-class Americans and brushed aside other barbs from Trump, calling them the "same old, tired playbook."

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