AP panned for saying Harris is 'having it both ways' as a sitting VP, change candidate: 'You're letting her'

The Associated Press was panned by critics for saying that Vice President Kamala Harris is "having it both ways" as both a sitting incumbent and a change agent. 

"She’s the sitting vice president who has been in office for 3 1/2 years. She’s also the presidential candidate of just five weeks promising a ‘new way forward,’" the AP began a report Monday. "Kamala Harris is having it both ways as she hits the campaign trail after the Democratic National Convention, taking credit for parts of President Joe Biden’s record in rallies staged in front of Air Force Two while casting herself as a new leader who rails against ‘the politics of the past.’"

"In every presidential cycle candidates run on experience or freshness, but Harris so far appears to be successfully harmonizing two seemingly competing messages, much to the frustration of former President Donald Trump and his allies," the AP continued. 

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The Associated Press said Vice President Kamala Harris is "having it both ways" running as both an incumbent and a change candidate. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The AP was mocked on social media for wondering how Harris is "having it both ways" on the campaign trail.

"Because you're letting her," conservative commentator Chad Felix Greene told the AP. Versus Media podcast host Stephen L. Miller similarly wrote "Because you're helping?"

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Critics accused the AP of allowing Harris to "have it both ways" running as the sitting VP and a candidate of change. (Getty Images)

"'Here's how we are helping Kamala Harris escape accountability from everything she has ever said and done,'" GOP strategist Matt Whitlock paraphrased the AP. 

"There's no 'on the other hand' or any skepticism whatsoever in this puff from @ZekeJMiller," Mediaite editor Caleb Howe wrote, calling out the co-author correspondent. 

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Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have received glowing coverage ever since they emerged as the Democratic ticket. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The AP did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Harris is fresh off of the Democratic National Convention, where she officially accepted her party's nomination just weeks after President Biden exited the 2024 race. 

The VP is facing scrutiny over her dramatic policy changes she has undergone since her first presidential bid in 2019 and her campaign promises she is vowing to uphold in the White House despite being the No. 2 in the Biden administration. 

Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.