Kamala Harris’s Campaign Is Playing It Way Too Safe

Kamala Harris has shaken up the 2024 race, regaining ground that had been lost by Joe Biden and providing hope that America could soon turn the page on Donald Trump’s decade as the main character of American politics. She’s built up remarkable momentum, based in no small part on the contrast she’s drawn between her campaign of “joy” and the dark, “weird” vision of her opponent. But can Harris’s campaign win on vibes alone? A New York Times/Siena poll released Sunday suggests probably not.

The survey found Harris and Trump in a dead heat, with the former president leading 48-47 nationally and the vice president tied or leading him in swing states—all within the margin of error. Some of that is to be expected: Even with Harris’s rise, there remains a market for Trump’s noxious politics, and the race was always likely to be close. But the poll also suggests the Harris campaign has to do more to reach voters: Nearly 30 percent of respondents said they need to know more about her.

Harris and running mate Tim Walz have had a rigorous barnstorming schedule in their mad dash of a campaign, practically taking up residency in the handful of swing states that will determine the outcome of this November’s election. But they have continued to shy away from the kinds of interviews, town halls, and unscripted appearances that could help reach beyond their enthusiastic base to undecideds who may not be tuning into Harris rallies or checking their inboxes for the latest snarky campaign statement. Trump and his allies have portrayed that as evidence of the Democratic ticket’s weakness. But really, it’s a wasted opportunity.

The Biden campaign was notoriously overcautious and protective of him—and for good reason, it turns out: The president is no longer able to make the case for his agenda, a fact that became apparent in the June debate that effectively ended his reelection bid. But Harris is able to do that: She proved it in media appearances after Biden’s dismal debate, and she has continued to do so in commanding campaign trail speeches. And yet, her campaign—staffed by some of the same operatives of Biden’s—still seems to be employing the same risk-averse approach with the dynamic 59-year-old vice president as it did with the 81-year-old president.

Harris’s debate with Trump on Tuesday will mark just the second significant unscripted appearance of her campaign, after sitting for a CNN interview late last month alongside her running mate—who also hasn’t been in the media much since joining the Harris ticket. That’s especially curious, considering Walz’s compelling television appearances—which initiated Democrats’ branding of Republicans as “weird”—were what helped separate him from other veep contenders in the first place.

Wouldn’t it be great to see more of that? So much of the grumbling about the tight choreography of the Harris campaign has been cast by some supporters as sour grapes from a self-important establishment media that feels entitled to her time, even as it equivocates on an election that is nothing less than a referendum on the future of democracy. But the reason Harris and Walz should be doing more interviews isn’t for the benefit of the press; it’s because these forums are still an important way of getting your message out there. Yes, social media has allowed candidates to bypass the gatekeepers and tell their own story. But much of that messaging occurs out of earshot of some crucial segments of the electorate. And if they don’t hear it from her, they may hear it instead from, say, JD Vance, who has been on a nonstop media tour since becoming Trump’s running mate in July.

It hasn’t exactly worked for Vance, and one can make a convincing case that the Ohio senator is actually overexposed. But that’s largely because he can’t seem to stop himself from saying extremely odd things, in service of a godawful agenda. And while it is surely tempting for the Harris campaign to stay out of the way and keep letting Trump and Vance step in shit, they shouldn’t take for granted that there are voters sitting at home who are vulnerable to the paranoid vision the MAGA ticket is putting out there—especially when Harris isn’t on those same airwaves countering the lies, cynicism, and absurdity with her more constructive, forward-looking alternative. Tuesday night may be Harris’s biggest opportunity to do that so far. But it needn’t be her only one.