CNN national correspondent Kristen Holmes suggests that the Trump campaign and GOP need to be more vocal about Vice President Harris's avoidance of the press if they want to pressure her into taking an interview.
CNN national correspondent Kristen Holmes has urged the Trump campaign and GOP to intensify their criticism of Vice President Harris's reluctance to engage in sit-down interviews and unscripted press conferences, arguing that a more vocal narrative is needed to compel her to address the media.
Speaking during a CNN panel discussion on Tuesday, Holmes expressed her skepticism about the effectiveness of the current strategy employed by Republicans and the Trump campaign. "I'm not sure that the narrative is loud enough from Republicans and the Trump campaign at this point to force her to do something," she said.
Trump Campaign, GOP Need to 'Be Louder' to Force Harris into Press Interviews
Holmes pointed out that Harris has not participated in a substantive media interview since Biden endorsed her as his presidential candidate 37 days ago. Despite earlier assurances that she would schedule an interview before the month's end, Harris has yet to fulfill her commitment with only a few days remaining.
According to Holmes, the lack of media scrutiny has not significantly impacted Harris's poll numbers, which remain favorable compared to Trump's. "Democrats are pretty happy with the way things are going right now," she observed.
Trump Campaign, GOP Need to 'Be Louder' to Force Harris into Press Interviews
Holmes also expressed doubts about Harris's pledge to grant an interview by the end of the month. "We're getting to the end of the month," she noted with a laugh. CNN anchor Manu Raju quipped, "Pretty close."
Earlier in the discussion, Holmes suggested that Harris's avoidance of the press could have a strategic benefit, allowing her to reshape her image and policies from her earlier stances in the Democratic primaries. "She has this opportunity to kind of change the narrative because there is not this instant recollection of something she just said in January of this year," she explained.
Trump Campaign, GOP Need to 'Be Louder' to Force Harris into Press Interviews
However, Holmes acknowledged that Harris's abrupt policy shifts, such as her reversal on fracking, should still warrant questions from voters. "There are still questions about how you can go from A to B, particularly make those kind of tight turns at a time where obviously Pennsylvania might be the most critical state – fracking very important in Pennsylvania – to change your opinion on that and not answer questions," she said.
Other CNN colleagues, including Kasie Hunt, echoed the view that Harris's media avoidance should be addressed more forcefully. "I don't think that doing softball interviews is going to put this to rest. But I think the decision that I'm looking for from the Harris team is who are they choosing to sit down with? And is that going to be something where you come away feeling like she took the hard questions or if this snowball continues," Hunt said in a separate segment.
The CNN report also noted that Fox News Digital's Hanna Panreck contributed to the article.
