Vice President Kamala Harris continues to resist press appearances as new details emerge about her campaign to keep her away from press appearances or difficult interviews.
After a brief interview with CNN’s Dana Bash in August, Harris has shied away from traditional interviews with mainstream news organizations, focusing instead on friendly podcasts and live events.
Earlier this week, Harris appeared alongside Spanish-language podcaster Stephanie “Chiquibaby” Himonidis and on Thursday she’ll hold a live event with supporter Oprah Winfrey.
That’s part of her strategy, her campaign manager says, claiming she appears in the media “regularly.”
“She’s doing a steady dose of media coverage because she believes it’s important to speak to a broad range of voters where they consume their news and information. It’s how you reach people where they are,” campaign spokesman Ian Sams told CNN.
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris has shied away from more traditional media interviews since receiving the Democratic nomination for president
Former President Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have given more than 70 interviews, press conferences and print interviews in the past 59 days. By comparison, Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, have participated in just seven, according to to Axios.
As vice president, Harris was seen as unprepared for the role. She struggled to answer interview questions and her comments often spiraled into wordiness.
Harris is reportedly keeping the press at bay because the campaign fears her comments could be cut short or interpreted in a way that would be damaging to the campaign.
In a recent interview with a local Pennsylvania outlet, she was mocked more than praised after she commented on her middle-class upbringing when asked about the economy.
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute
Kamala Harris sits down for an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash
Harris has portrayed herself as a “happy warrior,” but she also wants to emphasize her image as a “tough” female leader.
When one of the moderators asked her about her “joyful warrior” brand during a meeting with the Association of Black Journalists on Tuesday, Harris interrupted.
“But you didn’t see that a minute ago,” she joked, referring to previous angry comments about Trump.
After the audience laughed, Harris continued, “Okay. I’m back to my happy part.”
Despite Harris’ reluctance to participate in interviews, her campaign team appears more willing to use Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff to promote Harris and her “bada**” brand.
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff applauds as Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Phoenix Awards
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (left) walks alongside her husband, US runner-up Doug Emhoff
Since Harris received the Democratic nomination for president, Emhoff has appeared in several long-form podcast interviews and even an interview with ABC News’ Jimmy Kimmel.
Emhoff explained in a podcast interview with journalist John Heilemann that the campaign realized Harris was having problems and admitted there had been a lot of discussions behind the scenes to help her resolve the issues.
“We thought long and hard about how to address this and how to end the caricature that existed of her, because those of us who know her well know that there was such a misrepresentation of her,” he said, referring to her first three years as vice president.
Emhoff emphasized to Heilemann and the Pod Save America hosts that Harris was a “bada**” who was “ready to lead from day one” because of her experience as vice president.
“It’s like she’s the most complete version of herself, the most badass version of herself, because she’s really just been waiting for this moment,” he told Heilemann.
The campaign has also deployed Emhoff on the fundraising circuit, pushing him to be more outraged about the things said about his wife. During a fundraising speech in Brooklyn, New York, Emhoff emphasized Harris’ toughness.
“You saw it yesterday… she lashed out at the little aide JD Vance, for his cynical fabrications that were deliberately designed to terrorize a community,” he said.
Emhoff even went so far as to reenact part of Harris’ debate performance, reminiscing about the moment Harris stepped onto the debate stage, shook hands with former President Trump and introduced himself.
While some viewed the Harris moment as awkward or funny, Emhoff praised it as a power move, reliving some of Harris’ strongest moments on the debate stage.
“Guess what, he never looked at her, he didn’t even have the courage to look her in the eye, despite all the nonsense he’s been spreading on Twitter, Truth Socializing and saying at these meetings,” he said, referring to Trump.