Ancient Romans thought it was important to seize the day. Sen. Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, seized the moment. When he saw he was sharing a runway with Kamala Harris, he and his trailing entourage walked across the tarmac. It wasn’t to address Harris. Harris isn’t addressing anyone these days – and that was the point Vance was making. It was the moment he wanted to seize.
Vance stopped in front of reporters gathered at the steps of Air Force Two (see image above) and asked them if they were tired of being ignored. “Have they given you any explanation as to why she won’t take questions from reporters,” Vance asked.
He was met with silence.
Silence has become a Harris trademark as the unpopular sitting vice president has surged in popularity among Democrats in her new role as the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, the new QB1 in the Trump takedown effort.
“Joe Biden addressed a minimal number of press conferences. It took 3½ years to figure out why that was, that he had the beginnings of dementia, and they were afraid to put him before the press. Now we have the same situation here with Kamala,” Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wisconsin) said on Washington Watch Thursday.
Media’s different approach to Harris
Grothman told show host Jody Hice the media should share responsibility for the silence.
He compared Harris’ absence to the media approach from former President Richard Nixon in the last days of his administration. The difference is the media then constantly hounded Nixon’s aides for more access. That’s not what’s happening now.
“The liberal press was always asking for more press conferences,” Grothman said. “Now we have the same situation here with Kamala; and one more time, the press – which is usually leading the charge, [saying] we’re going to judge the president by how many press conferences he has – is relatively mute on why Kamala Harris doesn’t want to meet with the press.”
Various theories have been floated for Harris’ silence – from the possibility that she’s a “poll-driven” candidate and is still working to decide how to address a number of contentious issues, to the idea that her handlers lack confidence in Harris to help herself with a press conference.
The first theory seems a bit off as Harris champions “reproductive rights” for women and dances with transgenders. Trump appears to lean into the second theory.
“She doesn’t know how to do a news conference; she’s not smart enough to do a news conference,” Trump told reporters in his hour-long news conference at his South Florida home Thursday. “She won’t do interviews with friendly people because she can’t do better than Biden. She should be doing interviews. She doesn’t want to do interviews.”
Axelrod: Harris’ interviews will come
Democratic strategist David Axelrod suggested patience to The New York Times.
“Right now, buoyant rally speeches are working really well. Presidential races impose a series of tests, including debates and unscripted interactions with voters and media, by which people come to know you. There is time, and I’m sure she’ll get there,” he wrote in an email to a newspaper.
The media is not known for patience. The Times was not as it described Trump’s news conference as “discursive” and criticized Fox News for covering it live.
“For whatever reason, she’s not going out and taking interviews; and the press, which normally would crucify a candidate for not having press conferences, doesn’t deal with the issue,” Grothman argued.
The Trump news conference on Thursday further highlighted the blinding contrast between the two candidates, according to Grothman. The border, national security, continued spending in the face of debt that exceeds $35 trillion, inflation and energy are just a few topics in which Harris and Trump differ, he said.
“You’ve got the energy situation, which is fanning the flames on inflation; President Trump saying let’s drill more, let’s produce more oil, which obviously would reduce the amount of money we’re sending to Iran, to Russia; Kamala presumably following in the footsteps of Joe Biden and not wanting to produce the stuff here,” Grothman said.
“You’re never going to have an election in which the difference between the two candidates is more stark.”
Grothman also contends sitting vice president is contributing to racial division in the U.S.
“Kamala Harris is judging people by race, believing that how you think is [determined by] where your great-grandparents came from. President Trump is more up front with people, judging people by who they are,” he said.
Don’t oversell the bad on Walz
The stark contrast extends to their running mates, Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Grothman said.
Representing a Minnesota border state, Grothman has strong views on Walz – a folksy politician whose rise into the national conscious is bringing his progressive views into sharper focus. Grothman argues that Harris’ selection helps Republicans … and he hopes she won’t have second thoughts.
“I never would have dreamed two months ago this guy who we believe is hurting the Democrat brand in Minnesota was going to be named a vice president candidate of the United States,” he said. “I hope the Republicans haven’t told everybody how bad Walz is prematurely. If I were the Democrats, I’d be looking to swap him out for somebody else.”
