Democrats are raising concerns about Vice President Kamala Harris' media strategy as she trails former President Trump in national polls, with some suggesting her avoidance of interviews could hurt her chances of winning the 2024 election.
Vice President Kamala Harris' media strategy is facing increasing scrutiny from Democrats as she trails former President Trump in national polls, with some suggesting that her avoidance of interviews is a risky strategy in such a tight race.
According to a recent report from NBC News, some Democrats are worried that the Harris campaign's approach of keeping her away from the media may not help win over undecided voters.
Harris Faces Scrutiny for Media Engagement in Tight Presidential Race
"They're trying to keep her away," Steve Shurtleff, former Democratic speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, told NBC News. "It's like seeing your favorite Hollywood actor, and then they're on a talk show and they can't even speak."
"The President of the United States has to be able to be on their toes all the time and answer questions," he continued. "It’s so obvious she’s been avoiding the one-on-one interviews, and the voters deserve better."
Harris Faces Scrutiny for Media Engagement in Tight Presidential Race
Other Democrats in the report said that the Harris campaign's approach of avoiding the media is a risky strategy in such a tight race.
"The campaign is taking a chance that they can run out the clock and Trump’s weaknesses will be enough to win," Chris Kofinis, a Democratic strategist, told NBC. "But the danger in that is if you don’t define your own candidacy well enough, people will start defining it themselves."
Harris Faces Scrutiny for Media Engagement in Tight Presidential Race
"It’s been a mistake to shield Walz and Harris from interviews," a Democratic lawmaker also told NBC. "It’s like playing basketball — if you don’t play for weeks, you’re not going to get it into a game and do well. You’ve got to be on the court… I would have them out there very extensively."
Harris campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said in a statement to NBC, "Our task for the final stretch of this campaign is ensuring that [Harris'] winning vision reaches the undecided voters who will decide this election in places and ways that will actually reach them. That may look different in today’s evolving media environment than prior campaigns, but coupled with campaign events, aggressive organizing and a historic paid media campaign, it’s a winning approach."
It's uncertain if this strategy will convince undecided voters to support Harris. According to the latest Fox News poll of voters in Pennsylvania, Harris retains a narrow edge over Trump among registered voters and the race is tied among likely voters in the battleground state.
However, some Democrats believe that Harris's lack of media engagement could hurt her chances of winning the election.
"Voters want to see their candidates out there, answering questions and engaging with the media," said Democratic strategist Mo Elleithee. "Hiding from the media is not a good way to win an election."
It remains to be seen how Harris's media strategy will impact her chances of winning the 2024 election. However, the concerns raised by some Democrats suggest that she may need to reevaluate her approach in order to convince undecided voters to support her.
Fox News' Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
