MSNBC co-host Michael Steele chided the media for “whining” about Vice President Kamala Harris’ limited cooperation with the press and wondered Saturday if she could bypass reporters fully and to present their point of view to the public “without them”.
In an interview with MSNBC’s “The Weekend” on Saturday, Steele defended Harris for largely avoiding the media since becoming the Democratic nominee and accused reporters of treating former President Trump with kid gloves during his press conference last week.
“What I’ve noticed since Donald Trump’s press conference is the kind of intellectual way the press has approached Kamala Harris,” Steele said. “In my view, they were whining, ‘She’s not talking to us. She hasn’t sat down with us. She hasn’t given us interviews.’ And I look at that press conference and think, ‘Well, when you start asking Donald Trump actual real questions and pressuring him, that creates some kind of space for balance.'”
Vice President Kamala Harris is under pressure to answer questions from the media after avoiding formal interviews or press conferences since her nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate. (REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/Pool)
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Harris is under increasing pressure to answer questions from the media after speaking to reporters for just two minutes last Thursday. Prior to that, Harris had not spoken to the press for 18 days and continues to avoid official media engagements.
Steele pointed to polls showing Harris currently leading in swing states and wondered whether it would be beneficial for the vice president to give any formal interviews between now and November.
“At what point do you strategically say, ‘Why do I need to talk to you now? I’m talking to the American people and we’re having a conversation. You’re happy to follow it and report on it,'” Steele said.
US Vice President Kamala Harris attends an infrastructure event in Washington, USA, June 3, 2021. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
“You know she’s going to sit down at some point. But is there really a need right now for her to get the press imprimatur, so to speak, for her campaign and her efforts when she seems to be having very good conversations with the American people without it?” he continued.
Harris answered a handful of questions on the airport tarmac during her campaign appearance in Michigan on Thursday. The informal press briefing lasted about two minutes. When a reporter asked her to respond to criticism that she has not given any interviews or formal press conferences since being named the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Harris replied, “I’ve spoken with my team. I’d like us to set up an interview before the end of the month.”
Kamala Harris finally answers questions from the press after avoiding the media for 18 days since her nomination by the Democrats.
NOTUS reporter Jasmine Wright told MSNBC later Thursday that her team was thinking about Harris’ “damaging moments” in the past and was intentionally keeping her away from the press.
“We’ve seen some, sort of, damaging moments when she spoke to the press, particularly the first interview she did in 2021 with Lester Holt about her work on immigration,” Wright said of the infamous moment when Harris panicked as she was further pressed Visiting the southern border.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ team is reportedly keeping her away from the press. (C-Span)
Over the weekend, a major liberal media outlet published an article urging journalists to pester Harris with questions about her policies so that voters would know where she stands as November approaches.
New Yorker editor Jay Caspian King wrote that Harris’ campaign strategy is to stay away from the press and wait for former President Trump to make a mistake, but he argued that it is the media’s job to not let the Democratic nominee get away with hiding before potentially assuming the most powerful office in the world.
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“In a healthy democracy, it is the job of the press to make sure voters know who they are supporting. An unvetted candidate can become anything and be under the influence of anyone if he comes to power,” he wrote.
Trump held a long press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday. His campaign team described the press conference as a “stark contrast” to Harris’ lack of media availability.
