'The vice president can’t afford to stick only to rehearsed answers and stump speeches,' ex-Times journalist Todd Purdum wrote
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The former Los Angeles bureau chief of The New York Times complained about Vice President Kamala Harris’ meandering approach to answering media questions in recent weeks.
Todd S. Purdum published a guest essay in The New York Times on Thursday advising Harris to be more direct in interviews so that voters can get to know her, especially with her already-truncated campaign nearing the finish line.
"Writing about politicians for decades has convinced me that direct, succinct answers and explanations from Ms. Harris would go a long way — perhaps longer than she realizes — toward persuading voters that they know enough about her and her plans," the journalist wrote.
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Former New York Times journalist Todd Purdum criticized Kamala Harris for not being direct enough in answering the media's questions. ( (AP Photo/Matt Rourke))
Purdum brought up several of Harris’ recent appearances, during which he said she’s been taking too long to get to her point with her responses.
Recalling Harris’ interview with a Philadelphia ABC affiliate last week, he wrote, "the anchor asked her to outline ‘one or two specific things’ she would do to fulfill her pledge of ‘bringing down prices and making life more affordable for people.’ She responded by recalling how she was ‘a middle-class kid’ who grew up in a community of construction workers, nurses and teachers who were ‘very proud of their lawn.’"
Purdum added, "Only then, after nearly two minutes, did Ms. Harris outline her plan for a $50,000 tax credit for start-up small businesses; private-sector tax breaks to spark construction of three million housing units over four years; and $25,000 in federal down payment assistance for first-time home buyers."
Purdum criticized her strategy, warning that because of it, she risks losing ground to former President Trump, who knows how to dominate the news cycle.
"But in a campaign in which Donald Trump fills our days with arrant nonsense and dominates the national discussion … the vice president can’t afford to stick only to rehearsed answers and stump speeches that might not persuade voters or shape what America is talking about," he wrote.
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Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) leadership conference, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The former Times bureau chief acknowledged that "there may be times when Ms. Harris’s best strategy is to stay out of Mr. Trump’s way," but noted that even with Trump’s recent outbursts, he’s sucking up all the media oxygen.
"But his recent cats-and-dogs attacks on immigrants, and even his angry accusations that Democrats are to blame for the two attempts on his own life, are once again letting Mr. Trump dominate the news cycle after Ms. Harris’s extraordinary convention-to-debate liftoff," he wrote.
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"The best evidence suggests that millions of Americans still have questions for her and want to see her fighting for the job, continuing to define herself and her priorities, and not ceding precious oxygen to Mr. Trump’s distractions," he wrote, adding that "she should" take more questions.
Since the Harris-Walz ticket formed last month, the pair have combined for only 14 interviews, according to a Fox News Digital review, compared to 55 by Trump and running mate JD Vance in the same time period.
He encouraged the candidate to lean into the fact that she’s changed her policy positions.
"I’m not sure she should be so worried," he said. "She’s had nearly four years in office in which her theoretical thinking — on topics from fracking, to gun control, to ‘Medicare for all’ — has evolved in practice. One person’s flip-flop is another’s proof of a stateswoman’s maturation. Why not own it?"
Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.
