24 Days: Kamala Harris has not held a press conference since emerging as presumptive Democratic nominee
Vice President Kamala Harris has gone 24 days as of Wednesday without holding a formal press conference or sit-down interview since becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
Harris became the de facto nominee after President Biden endorsed her on July 21 when he dropped out of the race, and she has since officially clinched the nomination. While she has been busy on the campaign trail, spoken at various events, and given informal remarks to reporters at various points, she hasn’t done a formal press conference or wide-ranging interview in the three-plus weeks that have followed.
Harris briefly talked to reporters traveling with her in Michigan on Thursday. Speaking for just over a minute, she said she looked forward to debating former President Trump on Sept. 10 on ABC and defended the military record of her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. She also said her team was trying to set up an interview by the end of the month. On Saturday, she briefly addressed reporters in Phoenix, taking questions about her policy platform, the latest news out of the Gaza war, and the role of the Federal Reserve.
The left-leaning Washington Post editorial board challenged Harris over dodging the media on Sunday, saying of her opponent, “at least he has taken questions.” The Post said she should account for her numerous policy shifts, including on fracking, border security and private health insurance.
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Vice President Kamala Harris has gone three weeks without holding a press conference since becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
CNN’s John Berman pressed Harris spokeswoman Adrienne Elrod on the issue on Tuesday, saying the candidate clearly had time to do an interview if she was so inclined. That same day, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told Berman that Harris wouldn’t face difficult questions because she had an “indefensible” record.
The issue has gotten the attention of GOP vice-presidential candidate JD Vance. During a Wednesday press conference in Detroit, Vance urged reporters to “show a little bit of self-awareness” and pushed Harris to “do the job of a presidential candidate” by speaking to them.
Vance sat down with three Sunday shows on Aug. 11, taking sharp and even hostile questions from CNN, CBS and ABC, while Harris and Walz were content to send surrogates.
Trump also hit her lack of media access during his lengthy news conference at Mar-a-Lago last week.
“She doesn’t know how to do a news conference; she’s not smart enough to do a news conference,” he said.
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Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance (Getty Images)
NewsBusters executive editor Tim Graham expects her to follow President Biden’s 2020 playbook, when he was famously accused of hiding in his basement during the COVID pandemic.
“Kamala Harris should absolutely hold a press conference. One would expect it when she names her vice-presidential pick. But we cannot expect her to break from Biden’s serial avoidance of press conferences,” Graham told Fox News Digital.
“Since the 2020 campaign, we have witnessed the bizarre spectacle of Donald Trump granting wide access to networks that suggest he’s a fascist and hammer him daily, while Biden and Harris won’t grant interviews to media outlets that gurgle all over them and their ‘historic accomplishments,’” he continued. “Either they think the press can never be servile enough or they are projecting a complete lack of confidence in their efforts to put complete sentences together.”
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Critics have noticed that Vice President Kamala Harris hasn’t held a formal press conference since President Biden ended his re-election campaign. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
The Harris campaign told Fox News Digital last week that it was conducting a strategy to best reach voters.
“With under 90 days to go, the Vice President’s top priority is earning the support of the voters who will decide this election,” a spokesperson said. “In a limited time period and a fragmented media environment, that requires us being strategic, creative, and expeditious in getting our message to those voters in the ways that are most impactful – through paid media, on the ground organizing, an aggressive campaign schedule, and of course interviews that reach our target voters. It’s a far cry from Trump’s losing, ineffective strategy of rage-posting, accosting reporters, and insulting the voters he’ll need to win.
“If Donald Trump is so concerned about the success of VP Harris’ campaign blitz, he could, you know, get out there on the campaign trail. We are more than happy for him to shed a spotlight on his election-losing agenda: terminating the ACA, killing a bipartisan border bill, and supporting a national abortion ban.”
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Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
