It has been widely reported that Vice President Harris, who has secured her party's nomination for president, has gone more than three weeks without facing the typical gaggle of reporters covering the 2024 presidential campaign. It's also come to the attention of GOP Sen. JD Vance – Donald Trump's running mate – who recently urged reporters to "show a little bit of self-awareness" and push Harris to "do the job of a presidential candidate" by speaking to them.
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Friendly media willing to endure Harris' silence -- and shares responsibiliby for it
To her credit, however, Harris finally faced the press … briefly … last week on the tarmac in Detroit. The whole thing was over in 70 seconds – but it hardly mattered because the press only had one person on their mind:
Reporter: "President Trump had a press conference today. He talked about a lot of things. I wonder if you have a reaction?"
Harris: "I'm just glad that he's finally agreed to a debate on September 10. I'm looking forward to it."
Six questions, five short, one-sentence answers about Trump; and one question about when she was going to sit down for an interview ("I want us to get an interview scheduled before the end of the month," she responded). No questions addressed any of the policy positions her ticket is pushing.
Tim Graham of Media Research Center says mainstream journalists know the public is more likely to listen to or read something about Trump instead of a policy issue.
"If they're trying to get sound bites for their stories, their stories are going to obsess over Trump," Graham tells AFN. "So, to work Kamala in, it's 'Let's ask Kamala about Trump.'"
He says the mainstream media is still gatekeeping for the Democratic ticket – as it did with Biden, so it will do with Harris – so they're going to avoid the tough questions.
"They're aware of the vulnerabilities in the Biden/Harris record on inflation, on immigration, on a number of things – and then there's … Kamala's wild staff turnover. They're just not going to ask these questions," says the MRC spokesman.
And when an issue becomes so obvious that the press just has to ask about it? "I think that … Harris's controversies will be covered as: Trump or Vance 'pounced' on this issue," Graham concludes.
But there's evidence even some left-leaning media outlets are frustrated by Harris seemingly avoiding the press. The editorial board of the Washington Post pointed out on Sunday that "at least he [Trump] has taken questions, including hostile ones …."
