In just over a week, mainstream media outlets have gone from hailing Kamala Harris’ Democratic nomination as a “stunning” event for which crowds went “ballistic,” to making clear their dissatisfaction with her lack of substance on matters of policy.
Harris also appears to be damaging her standing among journalists, not least by continually avoiding pre-election interviews, suggesting a disdain for democratic engagement.
Take The New York Times as an example. On August 9th, the establishment publication celebrated that “Harris Used to Worry About Laughing. Now Joy Is Fueling Her Campaign.” Just over a fortnight later, it ran a piece by Patrick Healy, the deputy opinion editor, leading with the line: “Joy Is Not a Strategy.”
Healy noted that “being our joyful Momala is not going to win the election,” echoing fears within the Democratic Party that—as one South Carolina official put it—while “energy is one thing … it’s not worth anything unless it’s harnessed and targeted.”
Another recent piece in the NYT—this time by National Review editor Rich Lowry—suggested the Republicans could easily make the “deeper case that Ms. Harris is weak and a phoney and doesn’t truly care about the country or the middle class.”
The media is particularly frustrated by Harris’ unwillingness to talk to journalists.
Democrats have tried to frame her run as a bid to “preserve democracy.” But writing in the Washington Post, Perry Bacon Jr. argued that if this was really the case, Harris “should be doing interviews and other engagements with journalists, in recognition of their important role in democracy.”
The Financial Times’ U.S. national editor, Edward Luce, noted that one reason Harris is avoiding the media is because it “would be easier to stick to her exuberant rallies and the occasional TikTok encounter. Social media influencers do not pose awkward questions about price gouging, or border controls.” But, Bacon chipped in, she is “making a mistake” by avoiding journalists so comprehensively—especially given that the nominee pledged to “schedule” an interview before the end of August.
There’s also the question of Harris’ September 10th debate with Republican nominee Donald Trump. Her team has rejected the claim that this must be run with the same rules as the June Trump-Joe Biden debate, which The European Conservative’s Sven R. Larson described as being like “a Trump Infomercial.”
Trump has insisted that “the debate will be ‘stand up,’ and candidates cannot bring notes, or ‘cheat sheets.’” But a conversation is ongoing about whether the microphones should be live at all times, even when only one candidate is talking. Harris’ team claimed that she is “ready to deal with Trump’s constant lies and interruptions in real time. Trump should stop hiding behind the mute button.” If only she was as ready when it comes to interviews.
More details concerning the highly-anticipated debate should emerge in the coming days.
