A spokesman for Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign pushed back against criticism of the Democratic candidate's poor media presence, insisting that the candidate will give more interviews as the election approaches.
“America's Newsroom” co-host Dana Perino on Friday asked Ian Sams, a senior spokesman for the Harris-Waltz campaign, whether it was a “risk” for Harris to “put it all on the line.” [her] She spoke about “chips” facing off against former President Trump next Tuesday, even though she has rarely answered questions outside of debate preparations.
“I deny that,” Sams said. “She sat down with Dana Bash and did a lengthy interview on CNN, and that interview aired.”
“That's one interview in 47 days,” Perino responded.
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Democratic presidential candidate and US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally in Savannah, Georgia, US, 29 August 2024. REUTERS/Elisabeth Franz (Reuters)
Sams suggested the media is only paying attention to Harris now that she's a presidential candidate, and ignoring the 90 interviews she gave before becoming a candidate this year.
“People probably weren't paying attention or they weren't listening. She's been answering questions from reporters so far throughout the campaign. The people who cover her every day, she's going to be interviewed more, she's going to talk to more reporters, she's going to answer more reporters' questions,” he said.
“Ian, please,” Perino interjected.
She denied Sams' assertion that Harris was engaging with the media during the campaign, arguing that simply telling reporters that debate preparations were going well wasn't answering tough questions from reporters.
“Don't the American voters need to hear from her directly? She wants to be commander in chief. We've been paying attention to her. And you didn't like it,” Perino continued.
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Ian Sams, a senior spokesman for the Harris-Waltz campaign, told Dana Perino on Friday that Vice President Kamala Harris will be giving more interviews and answering more questions from reporters. (Fox News)
“I hear the question. It's funny how they're acting as if she's in a witness protection program. She's been traveling through battleground states, speaking to thousands of people in packed arenas. Those arenas are much more packed than President Trump is speaking to,” Sams said.
Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, have given at least 39 interviews since the Harris-Waltz coalition was formed, but only six unscripted interviews have been given by any Democratic presidential candidate to date.
Harris has recorded two new interviews that will air on September 6th.
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After refusing to speak to the media for weeks, Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, sat down with CNN's Dana Bash in Georgia last Thursday, ending a long interview drought.
The highly publicized interview was Harris' first with reporters since Aug. 6, long before she selected Waltz, while Trump and Vance gave interviews to a variety of news outlets during that time.
Trump and Harris are scheduled to face off in a debate hosted by ABC News on September 10.
Fox News' Brian Flood and David Latz contributed to this report.
