Vice President Kamala Harris has gone 32 days without holding a formal press conference or interview since becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
While she has been busy on the campaign trail, speaking at several events (including Monday on the first night of the Democratic National Convention) and giving informal remarks to reporters at times since effectively replacing President Biden on the ticket last month, she has not held a formal press conference or wide-ranging interview in the month since.
Last week, the editorial board of the left-leaning Washington Post criticized Harris for dodging the media and said of her opponent that she has “at least answered questions.” The Post said Harris should account for her numerous policy shifts, including those related to fracking, border security and private health insurance. Liberal columnist Perry Bacon also called on Harris to answer questions in an article published Sunday.
Former President Trump sat down for a lengthy interview this week with comedian Theo Von and also held two press conferences this month, in addition to a two-hour chat on X with his supporter Elon Musk.
KAMALA HARRIS SUPPORTERS HAVE FELT UNCERTAINTY WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE VICE PRESIDENT'S POLITICAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Vice President Kamala Harris has gone more than four weeks without holding a press conference since becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Last week, liberal CNN host Jim Acosta criticized Harris' campaign over the issue, asking communications director Michael Tyler, “Would it cost you your life to do an interview?” Tyler laughed before reiterating Harris' vague promise to do an interview before the end of the month.
CNN ANCHOR PRESSES HARRIS CAMPAIGN SPOX ON VP'S SCHEDULE WHILE AVOIDING PRESS: 'HE'S GOT TIME' FOR AN INTERVIEW
“We are committed to engaging directly with the voters who are really going to decide this election,” Tyler said. “And that will be done with rallies, one-on-one interviews, press conferences, and all the digital resources we have at our disposal.”
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance even urged reporters to “show some self-awareness” and pushed Harris to “do the job of a presidential candidate” by speaking to them.
Vance sat down with three Sunday shows and answered pointed questions from CNN, CBS and ABC, while Harris and Walz sent representatives.
Trump also criticized his lack of media access during his lengthy press conference at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month.
“She doesn't know how to hold a press conference; she's not smart enough to hold a press conference,” he said.
HOW LONG WILL KAMALA HARRIS' HONEYMOON LAST IN THE POLLS AGAINST DONALD TRUMP?
Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance (Getty Images)
For all the talk among progressives about the importance of the media in the Trump era, some in Harris’s orbit are defiant that she won’t talk to reporters.
“Who cares?” CNN commentator and former Bill Clinton adviser Paul Begala asked on Wednesday.
FORMER CLINTON AIDE PAUL BEGALA DEFENDS HARRIS FOR AVOIDING MEDIA: 'WHO CARES'?
Former Obama administration ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul wrote in X that Harris's “overriding goal” was to win.
“If a press conference helps her win, she should do it. If it doesn't, she shouldn't. It's that simple. She has no 'moral obligation' to talk to the press. Let's tone it down, guys,” he wrote.
However, five years earlier, he wrote: “People who believe in truth and transparency should not be afraid of the press.”
NewsBusters executive editor Tim Graham hopes Harris will follow President Biden's lead in 2020, when he was famously accused of hiding in his basement during the COVID pandemic.
“Kamala Harris should hold a press conference, no doubt. You'd expect her to do that when she announces her vice presidential nominee. But we can't expect her to abandon Biden's tendency to avoid press conferences,” Graham told Fox News Digital.
“Since the 2020 campaign, we have witnessed the bizarre spectacle of Donald Trump granting broad access to networks that suggest he is a fascist and attack him on a daily basis, while Biden and Harris will not grant interviews to media outlets that praise them and their 'historic achievements,'” he continued. “Either they believe the press can never be servile enough or they are projecting a complete lack of confidence in their efforts to put together complete sentences.”
THE STATE OF THE RACE 100 DAYS BEFORE THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS
Critics have noted that Vice President Kamala Harris has not held a formal press conference since President Biden ended his reelection campaign. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Harris' campaign told Fox News Digital last week that it was pursuing a strategy to better reach voters.
“With less than 90 days until the election, 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 frame and in a fragmented media environment, that requires us to be strategic, creative and quick to get our message to those voters in the ways that will have the greatest impact — through paid media, on-the-ground organizing, an aggressive campaign program and, of course, interviews that reach our target voters. It’s very different from Trump’s losing and ineffective strategy of publishing angry messages, harassing reporters and insulting the voters he will need to win.”
“If Donald Trump is so concerned about the success of Vice President Harris' campaign, he could, you know, take to the streets. We're more than happy for him to highlight his losing election agenda: ending the ACA, killing a bipartisan border bill, and supporting a national abortion ban.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
