Vice President Kamala Harris has gone 23 days since Tuesday without holding an official press conference or sit-down interview since becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
Harris became the de facto nominee after President Biden endorsed him on July 21 when he dropped out of the race, and he has officially won the nomination. He has been busy on the campaign trail, speaking at various events, and giving informal comments to reporters at various points, but has not completed an official press conference or wide interview in the three-plus weeks that followed.
Harris, amid a barrage of criticism, spoke with reporters traveling with him in Michigan on Thursday. Speaking for just over a minute, he said he was looking forward to debating former President Trump on September 10 on ABC and defending the military record of his running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
He also said that his team is trying to set up an interview by the end of the month. On Saturday, he briefly spoke to reporters in Phoenix, asking about his policy platform, the latest on the Gaza war, and the role of the Federal Reserve.
The left-leaning Washington Post editorial board challenged Harris for avoiding the media on Sunday, saying of his opponent, “at least he has asked.” The post said he would have to implement many policy changes, including on fracking, border security and private health insurance.
SUPPORTERS OF KAMALA HARRIS are unconvinced when asked about the VP’s policy achievements
Vice President Kamala Harris hasn’t held a press conference in three weeks since becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The issue also got the attention of GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance, who called on the media to do better on the issue and asked Harris to answer questions.
During a press conference Wednesday in Detroit, Vance called on reporters to “show some self-awareness” and urged Harris to “do the job of a presidential candidate” by talking to him.
“Until he does, you should stop giving him a honeymoon and pretend he’s not,” he said.
Vance sat down with three Sunday shows on August 11, taking clear and even hostile questions from CNN, CBS and ABC, while Harris and Walz were content to send surrogates.
Trump also suffered from a lack of media access during a lengthy news conference at Mar-a-Lago last week.
“He doesn’t know how to do a press conference; he’s not smart enough to do a press conference,” he said.
National Review senior writer Noah Rothman recently asked his social media followers, “When is Kamala Harris going to hold a press conference?”
“The most obvious exposure a candidate can have is a long press conference — and that’s exactly what Harris should do. Indeed, we understand that’s what we have to do because just a few weeks ago Democratic political professionals and their allies insisted that this is what Biden should do,” he told National Review.
HOW LONG IS KAMALA HARRIS’S HONEYMOON IN THE POLLS AGAINST DONALD TRUMP?
Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance (Getty Images)
NewsBusters executive editor Tim Graham expects him to follow President Biden’s 2020 playbook, when he was famously accused of hiding in his basement during the COVID pandemic.
“Kamala Harris really needs to hold a press conference. One would expect that when she names the vice president. But we can’t expect her to cut out Biden’s series of press conferences,” Graham told Fox News Digital.
“Since the 2020 campaign, we have witnessed the strange spectacle of Donald Trump giving massive access to networks that show him to be a fascist and defeat him every day, while Biden and Harris will not give interviews to media outlets that gurgle everything and ‘historic achievements,'” continued. “Either they think the press can’t be servile enough or they think they lack confidence in trying to put together a full sentence.”
THE 100-DAY RACE COUNTRY LEADS TO THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS
Critics note that Vice President Kamala Harris has not held an official press conference since President Biden ended his re-election campaign. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
The Harris campaign told Fox News Digital last week that it is working on a strategy to reach the best possible voters.
“With less than 90 days left, the Vice President’s top priority is to get the support of the voters who will decide this election,” the spokesperson said. “In the limited time and fragmented media environment, which requires us to be strategic, creative, and fast to send messages to these voters in the most effective way – through paid media, in the regulatory space, aggressive campaign schedule. , and certainly an interview that reaches our target voters It is far from losing Trump, the ineffective strategy of anger-posting, accosting journalists, and insulting the voters that will be necessary to win.
“If Donald Trump is so concerned about the success of VP Harris’ blitz campaign, he could, you know, get out on the campaign trail. We’d rather have him shine the spotlight on his losing election agenda: the ACA, kill the bipartisan border bill, and support a national abortion ban .
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
