A CNN reporter said Thursday that he's “disturbed” that the media is “too preoccupied” with interviewing Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
“It's a little worrying because so much of the media is about how much access she's getting and how much conversation she's getting in the places that we think are most valuable to voters, but this campaign is actually reaching people in interesting ways that are impacting them directly,” said Audie Cornish, host and correspondent for CNN's audio podcast “The Assignment.”
Cornish's comments came shortly after the vice president spoke to Dana Bash on CNN on Thursday night, alongside running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz.
VP Harris criticized for insisting that “my values haven't changed” amid policy shifts: “I'm still an extremist”
After completely reversing her far-left stance in 2019, Vice President Kamala Harris caught people's attention when she told CNN's Dana Bash that her “values haven't changed.” (Screenshot/CNN)
The highly anticipated interview marks her first in-depth media appearance since first becoming a presumptive nominee. There was no press conference. Within 40 days.
Harris has largely avoided media interviews since she was named as the Democratic front-runner to replace President Biden after he dropped out of the race, and rarely answered questions from the media during her campaign.
After Harris faced fierce Republican backlash for shying away from the media, Cornish said, “And I think today she showed she has the ability to sit down and have the conversation that Republicans are talking about: 'Can she really do this?' How many more times can she do that?”
“I don't know how important it is,” she said.
She went on to explain that Harris is “good at asking pointed, tough questions of people who deserve scrutiny,” but that “the risks are heightened” when the vice president is herself under scrutiny.
CNN reported that Harris gave her “most explicit statement yet” about the possibility of becoming president in an interview, sparking fierce criticism.
Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally for the United Auto Workers Local 900 in Wayne, Michigan, August 8, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)
With limited access to the media, Harris has been able to avoid tough questions about her frequent shifts in policy positions since she rose to the top of the Democratic field, exposing her to scrutiny and criticism.
In an interview with CNN's Bash, Harris said she would not ban fracking if elected, and claimed she made her position on fracking “clear” during the 2020 election.
“No, I said in the 2020 debates that I would not ban fracking. As vice president, I did not ban fracking. As president, I will not ban fracking,” Harris said.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz speak to CNN.
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But Harris He ran for president for the first time in 2019 but gave up “There's no question I'm in favor of banning fracking,” she said at a CNN rally on her first day in office as Biden's running mate.
The interview with CNN took place just 68 days before Election Day.
