Senator JD Vance (R-OH), running mate of former and potentially future President Donald Trump, has been lauded as a fitting mouthpiece for the Trump-Vance campaign. An undeniable point about the 2024 presidential race is that Vance is out there speaking to the people and the press.
Since July 21, when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Vance has done 59 interviews. Trump has done 14. Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, has given just three interviews, while her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), has given four interviews. Vance has given seven times more interviews on his own than the Harris-Walz ticket combined.
The data compiled by Axios and published Thursday morning notes that the counts "include more formal press conference-style Q and A's, but do not include gaggles or interviews with more ideological commentators." Joint interviews, such as the one Harris did with Walz last month with CNN, are "reflected in the presidential nominee's tally only."
New w/ @toreyvanoot
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) September 19, 2024
In the 59 days since Harris joined the race on July 21st, Trump and Vance have done >70 interviews/pressers w/ print and TV reporters
Harris and Walz have combined for just 7.
The ticket is on pace for the fewest in decades.https://t.co/omHZL4sZ2T pic.twitter.com/5N70Wf4u5m
Here's how Axios categorized the data. Note the big fat zero mention when it comes to the 60 days since July 21:
The breakdown since July 21:
- Local TV interviews: Trump, 7; Vance, 15; Harris, 1; Walz, 3.
- National print publications: Trump, 1; Vance, 8; Harris, 1; Walz, 0.
- National TV interviews: Trump, 2; Vance, 24; Harris, 1; Walz, 1.
- Press conferences: Trump, 3; Vance, 12; Harris, 0; Walz, 0. (Vance's press conferences often cater to local reporters and his staffers limit follow-up questions, as The New York Times has noted.)
Making the lack of interviews that the Harris-Walz campaign has done even more laughable is that the DNC War Room sent out a press release on "13 Questions JD Vance Needs to Answer This Sunday." At least Vance goes on Sunday shows, multiple ones per week.
"The Harris-Walz ticket is on pace to do fewer interviews and press conferences than any major party's presidential pairing in modern U.S. history," the write-up mentions, as if the chart wasn't noteworthy enough.
As the piece states:
Why it matters: Vice President Harris' team is betting she and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, can avoid many tough interviews and still win as they run down the clock to Election Day.
- That strategy comes even as many voters say they want to learn more about Harris — and as her campaign has said she's changed many of her past liberal positions to more centrist policies.
- The previously press-friendly Walz has joined Harris in largely dodging the media while campaigning before friendly, enthusiastic crowds.
Axios acknowledges that voters want to know more about Harris, especially as she's flip-flopped on a whole host of issues from when she ran for president for the 2020 cycle. Harris dropped out in December 2019, before any primary contest was held, and thus has failed to win a single primary vote. Even still, Harris claimed in her interview with CNN and during last week's ABC News debate that "my values have not changed."
Sure enough, the piece mentions:
Reality check: Harris' team believes limiting interactions with the press is the right strategy — even if it frustrates reporters, some close to the campaign told Axios.
...
What they're saying: The Harris-Walz campaign declined to make either candidate available for a brief interview.
- The campaign released a statement that said Harris and Walz have been interviewed by a range of media outlets, and it pointed to Harris' appearance this week before the National Association of Black Journalists
- "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," the statement said.
Between the lines: Harris' approach carries risks at a time when polls have shown that many voters still don't know her or her running mate well.
- An ABC poll in mid-August, before the Democratic convention, found that nearly a third of voters had no opinion of Walz.
...
Bottom line: Some of Harris' worst moments as vice president have come during interviews when she made flip or unclear comments about key policies.
- Her campaign is trying to avoid more moments like that.
Such a statement from the Harris-Walz campaign is laughable, especially when it comes to how the candidates have received "tough questions." What not totally biased questions they've received, Harris has had particularly poor responses, including and especially on grocery prices, a key issue for voters.
That "strategy" is also insulting to the American people, and it's certainly consequential for the country, as well as a dangerous one. However, we've seen some insight on that from someone who is also on the far-left, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Earlier this month, Sanders was asked on NBC News' "Meet the Press" if he thinks "Kamala is abandoning her progressive ideals?" The senator responded, "No, I don't think she's abandoning her ideals. I think she's trying to be pragmatic and doing what she thinks is right in order to win the election."
Welker: "Do you think Kamala is abandoning her progressive ideals?"
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 8, 2024
Bernie: "No... I think she is trying to be pragmatic and do what she thinks is right in order to win the election."
Oops, you weren't supposed to say that part out loud!pic.twitter.com/IKKbmGW5YA
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