Vice President Kamala Harris became the leading Democratic presidential candidate 11 days ago but has not given a full interview or press conference since. There are 95 days until Election Day, and early voting begins much earlier than that.
According to reports, after Hollywood elites, Democratic Party officials and donors removed President Joe Biden from the race as the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Biden withdrew from the race on July 21 and quickly endorsed Harris. Harris then received the endorsement of Democratic Party officials and became the presumptive nominee by July 22.
But Harris has yet to give a strong interview or press conference, 12 days after Biden withdrew and 11 days after securing the number of delegates needed for the nomination, according to Fox News’ Brian Flood. pointed This allows her to avoid important questions on key policy issues such as the economy, inflation, immigration and national security.
Instead, Harris has spent the past week and a half communicating with the public primarily through speeches and addresses where she has been able to focus on issues she wants to talk about without the threat of policy questions, such as abortion, which is intrinsically tied to Biden’s historically negative legacy. However, she has had brief conversations with reporters during campaign hours, according to Fox News.
During the 2020 election, Biden came under fire for campaigning from what former President Donald Trump called “Biden’s basement.”
“There’s a sleepy guy in the basement of a house where the press has free access who doesn’t want to do a debate because of COVID,” Trump famously said in April 2020.
Some have argued Biden’s strategy included running out of time by playing down press conferences and interviews, but one expert told Fox News Digital that this didn’t prevent him from leaving the White House.
Jeffrey McCaul, a media studies professor at DePauw University, told Fox News that Harris’ team is “fully aware that Biden won the 2020 election despite avoiding the media throughout the campaign.”
Engaging with the media, which for hundreds of years has been viewed as the fourth estate, or a fourth informal check on the balance of government power, will force Harris to defend her record.
McCall said:
The Harris campaign is well aware that their candidate doesn’t fare well in an unscripted setting — not to mention press conferences and formal interviews where she’d have to defend some of her positions, past statements and accomplishments — so a replay of Biden’s underground campaign looks pretty good, as long as it includes some rallies. Megan Thee Stallion.
He added that engaging with the press would be beneficial for Harris “from a rhetorical strategy standpoint.”
“At some point, she’s going to have to attract moderates and undecided voters who want to see her answer questions,” he said.
