Whatever you might think about Kamala Harris' strategy of running scared from the media, not answering questions, and sticking almost entirely to scripted and heavily controlled public appearances, it is working for her, and the mainstream media that is trying to push her over the finish line hasn't exactly been calling her out for it.
At least, they weren't. But now it looks like Harris's allies in the mainstream media are starting to realize that it's shady for the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party to be too afraid to speak to them. If she can't face friendly media, how can she argue that she has the chops to be president?
Okay, silly question — we all know the reason why. But still, her media blackout strategy must be backfiring if CNN's Jim Acosta believes that this is a problem for the campaign and is calling them out. On Wednesday, Acosta spoke with Kamala's campaign communications director, Michael Tyler, and made him look like a complete fool over this current strategy.
"You know, Michael, I'm sure this is not going to be the first time you've heard this question, but the Trump campaign is also going after the vice president for not doing enough interviews, for not holding a press conference," Acosta began. "Would it kill you guys to have a press conference? Why hasn't she had a press conference?"
"Listen, the vice president and Governor Walz have been busy crisscrossing this country since the launch of this campaign and adding Governor Walz to the ticket. You saw the ways in which they went across the battleground states last week, generating rallies of thousands — 10,000 here, 15,000 there —"
I'm not sure how that's a valid point when Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have been doing rallies and still manage to find time to speak with the media regularly. Acosta wasn't buying the argument either.
"But, Michael, you know a campaign rally is not a press conference," he retorted. "Do you mind if I cut in? I mean, you know, a campaign rally is not a press conference. Why isn't she at a press conference? She's the vice president. She can handle the questions. Why not do it?"
Boom!
"We absolutely are going to do it," Tyler claimed. "You hear her take questions as she's out on the stump, and as she said last week, we're going to be having a sit-down interview here before the end of the month. What she's going to be focused on and what this campaign is going to be focused on is communicating directly with the voters that are actually going to decide the pathway to 270 electoral votes. That's why she—"
"Can she commit to a press conference this week?" Acosta interjected.
Related: A New Poll Shows That Kamala’s Honeymoon Is Ending
Tyler essentially avoided the question and continued. "That's why we're doing a bus tour in Pennsylvania as we head into Chicago, and it's why we'll sit down for an interview before the end of the month to make sure that we can have a deep dive conversation about the vision that Kamala Harris has for where she wants to take this country and the contrast that we're going to have with Donald Trump. We're going to have plenty of opportunities to do that throughout the rest—." Here, Acosta cut him off again.
CNN: "Would it kill you guys to have a press conference?"
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 14, 2024
HARRIS SPOX: Kamala holds rallies so she can read from her teleprompter!
CNN: "A campaign rally is not a press conference."
HARRIS SPOX: "We're gonna be having a sit-down interview here before the end of the month."… pic.twitter.com/TaVI6qLGci
Acosta didn't seem satisfied with this proposed schedule, and Tyler's responses were undeniably evasive, and even a tad panicked. I can only imagine how the Kamala campaign figured that the mainstream media, which is on their side, would be providing cover for them. Tyler seemed flabbergasted to be treated this way on CNN, of all places, and by Jim Acosta, of all people.
And I think that tells us that this strategy is starting to backfire.
