Benedict Smith
19 September 2024 3:57pm
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are giving fewer interviews than any other presidential candidates in modern US history, according to analysis.
Ms Harris, who has been frequently criticised for dodging media scrutiny, has spoken to non-partisan TV and print interviewers just three times since entering the race in July, according to Axios.
In total, the Democratic candidates have granted just seven interviews between them, while their Republican rivals Donald Trump and JD Vance have given more than ten times that number over the same time period.
Figures close to the Harris campaign told Axios that limiting interactions with the press was a deliberate strategy, suggesting they hope to shield the vice-president from bruising media encounters with the election just weeks away.
In the 59 days since Ms Harris became the Democratic presidential candidate, Trump and Mr Vance, the Ohio senator, have given 73 interviews. The bulk of those were done by Mr Vance, with Trump giving 14 interviews.
Mr Walz, the Minnesota governor, was once seen as media-friendly but has given just four interviews in the more than seven weeks since Ms Harris chose him to join her ticket.
“Kamala Harris has fully embraced the Joe Biden basement campaign technique – except even worse,” MAGA Inc, a pro-Trump campaign group, said in a statement.
“Her handlers have made a full-time job out of actively dodging the press in an effort to ensure she doesn’t embarrass herself again.
“President Trump is unafraid of his convictions and has a record of success to run on, while Kamala Harris continues to duck questions on her record of failures.”
Ms Harris is expected to change her tactics in the coming weeks and start appearing on local and national outlets, podcasts, radio stations and daytime talk shows, The New York Times reported this week.
“If you want to know the kind of things we plan to do, look at the things she was doing all year before the ticket switch,” said Brian Fallon, a senior adviser on the Harris campaign. Ms Harris has become more press averse since replacing Mr Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket in July.
The Axios analysis did not count interviews with what it called “partisan commentators”. This meant it excluded the Republican duo’s talks with Fox News, Newsmax, the New York Post and others.
Likewise, it did not include Mr Walz’s interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, a liberal commentator.
It comes after claims that Ms Harris has been lauded with glowing coverage from the media while avoiding reporters. Among the articles that she declined an interview for was a Time magazine profile in August that praised her as an “overnight sensation”.
Trump has claimed that his opponent is getting a “free ride” from the press, and that the Time piece made her look like “the most beautiful actress ever” on its front cover.
Ms Harris only gave her first solo interview on Saturday, almost two months after joining the presidential race.
In a column for the liberal-leaning New York Times on Thursday, Todd S. Purdum criticised Ms Harris for answering questions by recycling her rally speeches on the occasions that she agreed to an interview.
“The vice president can’t afford to stick only to rehearsed answers and stump speeches that might not persuade voters or shape what America is talking about,” he said.
Mr Purdum added: “The best evidence suggests that millions of Americans still have questions for her and want to see her fighting for the job, continuing to define herself and her priorities.”
The Harris campaign said in a statement to Axios that Ms Harris and Mr Walz had been interviewed by a range of media outlets, noting that the vice president spoke at the National Association of Black Journalists this week.
“In each of these settings they answer questions, often tough ones, about the important issues facing Americans in this election and share their views and vision,” it said.
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