Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris could refuse to answer questions from the establishment media at least until Labor Day, a longtime Harris ally told Politico’s West Wing Playbook on Wednesday.
Harris has not given one interview or press conference since she joined the presidential race on July 21 — 18 days ago — and she may continue to avoid the press until Labor Day — September 2 — 25 days away.
Harris could be avoiding the media out of fear of answering questions about her radical-left policies. Harris already appears to be backpedaling on many policies she previously championed, raising concerns about if voters can trust her. Neither Harris nor campaign aides have yet to fully embrace the changed policy positions in on-the-record, public statements.
“Harris’ top communications aides are deeply skeptical, as Biden’s inner circle was, that doing big interviews with major TV networks or national newspapers offer much real upside when it comes to reaching swing voters,” Playbook reported:
One longtime Harris ally suggested to West Wing Playbook that Harris could hold off on big interviews until after Labor Day. “There’s really no need,” the person said. “The voters that she needs are at the local level. They’re not reading the national press.”
Walz, whose viral cable TV appearances helped propel him onto the ticket, could be deployed on television more liberally than Harris in the coming months, the two people said. But it’s also quite possible both candidates will focus much of their media outreach on podcasts, influencers and other platforms outside the traditional news media.
“What is the incentive for her [to take more questions]?” another person close to the campaign told Playbook. “She’s getting out exactly the message she wants to get out.”
Both Harris and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), Harris’s vice presidential pick, ignored questions from reporters on Wednesday, giving Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (OH) the chance to mock Harris in Wisconsin.“I wanted to go say hello to the vice president and ask her why does she refuse to answer questions,” he told reporters of his approach to Air Force Two, which Harris boarded moments earlier.
“I thought the reporters traveling with Kamala might be a little lonely given that she never answers questions from them, so I figured I’d come say hello and check out my new plane while I was at it.”
Vance just got off of his plane and is walking over to Air Force Two, which touched down just a few minutes ago at the same airport here in Wisconsin pic.twitter.com/FEVEVhuowW
— Kate Sullivan (@KateSullivanDC) August 7, 2024
Avoiding media questions appears to be Harris’s strategy, Democrats admitted Friday. “The vice president is showing all of us that you don’t need to do high-profile interviews or press conferences in order to get attention from the media or from voters,” Democrat strategist Christy Setzer told the Hill. “I’d say she has a robust communications strategy.”
When Harris does speak to supporters, she delivers the same campaign speech, according to the Republican National Committee’s research team.
Harris, known for word salads, committed two gaffes in August when speaking off-script. She accidentally called herself “president” during the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s eulogy and delivered a word salad during an unscripted comment about a hostage deal with Russia.
“This is just an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy and understands the strength that rests in understanding the significance of diplomacy…” she rambled.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
