Former Clinton adviser Mark Penn attributed the increased popularity of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris to the “uncontested media landscape” that has continuously “praised” her since the launch of her campaign.
“She has been praised unequivocally by the media and we have seen her approval ratings rise from 38 percent to 47 percent,” Penn, who served as chief strategist for the presidential campaigns of Bill and Hillary Clinton, said on Fox’s Morning with Maria Bartiromo Tuesday. “In the background, two-thirds are now dissatisfied with the economy, two-thirds were dissatisfied with the direction the country is heading, almost 60 percent were dissatisfied with the government, and most people did not like her as vice president.”
Penn’s comments come as a recent report from the Media Research Center, a conservative media watchdog group, found that mainstream media coverage is heavily skewed in favor of the vice president. The study showed that 84 percent of coverage of Harris was positive, while 89 percent of coverage of Trump on CBS, NBC and ABC was negative.
“Not only did Harris receive 66 percent more airtime than former President Donald Trump, but coverage of Harris was more positive (84 percent) than any other major party candidate, even when coverage of Trump was almost entirely hostile (89 percent negative),” said the study, which ran from the day President Joe Biden dropped out of the race through August 17.
Although a recent CBS poll showed Trump still ahead on key issues such as the economy, inflation and the southern border, Penn said the media’s distorted coverage of Harris has tightened the race.
“Those things are simply being overcome at the moment by a flood of media attention and a well-orchestrated campaign on her part that has at least evened the race,” Penn said.
As the Democratic National Convention began on Monday and Harris prepared to officially accept her party’s nomination, cable news anchors praised Harris’ “joyful” campaign.
“The word I hear most often is ‘joy,'” said CNN’s Erin Burnett. “Energy and joy,” echoed MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough.
“I have never experienced anything like what we are experiencing now, this excitement, this joy, this happiness,” former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe told MSNBC.
