Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms claimed Friday that Vice President Kamala Harris has done so few media interviews because she's “very busy.”
The 59-year-old Harris is expected to be the candidate with the fewest interviews of any major party presidential candidate — she has given just six interviews since President Biden ended his reelection bid on July 21 — drawing criticism from supporters and critics alike.
Bottoms, a senior adviser to the Harris-Waltz campaign, was asked about the vice president's reluctance to speak to the media during an appearance on CNN's “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” when she suggested the vice president may not have time to give interviews.
“She's a very busy person,” Bottoms said. “She's the vice president and she's the candidate.”
Harris aides argued that Democratic candidates are already effectively communicating their policy positions to voters through scripted rallies.
“We heard her today share her views on these policies,” Bottoms said, “maybe not in the format that the media prefers, she may not be sitting down and doing a one-on-one interview, but we heard her today in Georgia talk about where she stands on reproductive freedom.”
The interview, Harris' first since replacing Biden as the Democratic nominee, came about a month after the 81-year-old president endorsed her to run in his place.
She had her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, 60, sit next to her during her August 29 interview with CNN's Dana Bash.
Harris also spoke with ABC News Philadelphia, Spanish-language radio host Chiquibaby and a panel at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) meeting.
By comparison, former President Donald Trump, 78, conducted at least three times as many interviews in the same period, some of which lasted at least an hour, such as his recent one-on-one interview with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk at X-Space.
Meanwhile, the Republican vice presidential nominee, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, 40, has become a regular guest on Sunday morning network public policy shows.
