18 Days: Kamala Harris has not held a press conference since emerging as presumptive Democratic nominee
JD Vance pushes media to stop giving Harris 'a honeymoon'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vice President Kamala Harris has gone 18 days without holding a formal press conference since becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee as of Thursday.
"It's been 18 days and Kamala Harris is still not taking questions from the media or voters. Regardless of who you support, a terrible precedent has been set," Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., posted on X.
Harris became essentially the de facto nominee after President Biden endorsed her on July 21 when he dropped out of the race and she officially clinched the nomination last week. She has been busy on the campaign trail, spoken at various events, and given informal remarks to reporters at various points, but hasn’t done a formal press conference or wide-ranging interview in the 16 days that have followed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She also failed to appear at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago, where former President Trump made headlines last week with a heated question-and-answer session, although she could make a future appearance with the group.
Trump will be conducting a news conference on Thursday from Mar-a-Lago.
KAMALA HARRIS SUPPORTERS UNSURE WHEN ASKED ABOUT VP'S POLICY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vice President Kamala Harris has gone more than two weeks without holding a press conference since becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
This week, she made headlines by picking Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, but the two have still not been questioned formally in interviews or press conferences. It's gotten the attention of GOP vice-presidential candidate JD Vance, who has implored the media to do better on the issue and get Harris to answer questions.
During a Wednesday press conference in Detroit, Vance urged reporters to "show a little bit of self-awareness" and pushed Harris to "do the job of a presidential candidate" by speaking to them.
"Until she does, you guys have got to stop giving her a honeymoon and pretending that she is something she isn't," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Semafor Washington Bureau Chief Benjy Sarlin believes it’s time for Harris to speak, especially since the Trump-Vance ticket has been readily available for the press.
"Trump is holding a presser today, we interviewed him last week and Vance yesterday and Vance is taking open press questions. Time’s just about up on Harris to avoid this becoming a thing," Sarlin wrote.
Harris has been so elusive that The New York Times published excerpts from an interview she conducted last year to see where her answers "land now." Some critics have likened the strategy thus far to what was derided as the Biden "basement" approach in 2020.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Trump War Room, a campaign account with over 2 million followers on X, has taken note of Harris "hiding from the media."
National Review senior writer Noah Rothman recently asked his social media followers, "When is Kamala Harris going to hold a press conference?"
"The most revealing exposure to which a candidate can submit is a prolonged press conference — and that’s precisely what Harris needs to do. Indeed, we know that’s what she needs to do because it was only a few weeks ago that Democratic political professionals and their allies insisted that was what Biden had to do," he wrote for National Review.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HOW LONG WILL THE KAMALA HARRIS HONEYMOON IN THE POLLS AGAINST DONALD TRUMP LAST?
Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance. (Getty Images)
NewsBusters executive editor Tim Graham expects her to follow President Biden’s 2020 playbook, when he was famously accused of hiding in his basement during the COVID pandemic.
"Kamala Harris should absolutely hold a press conference. One would expect it when she names her vice-presidential pick. But we cannot expect her to break from Biden's serial avoidance of press conferences," Graham told Fox News Digital.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Since the 2020 campaign, we have witnessed the bizarre spectacle of Donald Trump granting wide access to networks that suggest he's a fascist and hammer him daily, while Biden and Harris won't grant interviews to media outlets that gurgle all over them and their ‘historic accomplishments,’" he continued. "Either they think the press can never be servile enough or they are projecting a complete lack of confidence in their efforts to put complete sentences together."
THE STATE OF THE RACE WITH 100 DAYS TO GO UNTIL THE NOVEMBER ELECTION
Critics have noticed that Vice President Kamala Harris hasn’t held a formal press conference since President Biden ended his re-election campaign. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. News & World Report senior national correspondent Oliver Knox wrote that "of course" Harris should take questions from the press. He said it’s already a "thing" for people in the media industry but pressure isn’t going to "dissipate" as non-journalist begin to ponder where she stands on certain issues.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"A press conference may be high-risk, low-reward for Harris/Walz. But the longer they don't do a proper q-and-a, the tougher that q-and-a will be on both sides," Knox wrote.
The Harris campaign has not responded to requests for comment.
The Democratic National Convention is set to kick off Aug. 19 in Chicago.
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Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.