52 days: Kamala Harris has yet to do formal press conference since emerging as Democratic nominee
Trump, Harris faced off at debate on Tuesday
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Vice President Kamala Harris has gone 52 days as the presumptive, and now, official Democratic nominee for president without holding an official press conference.
She and former President Trump met on Tuesday at the ABC News Presidential Debate.
Under pressure to sit down for a substantive interview after weeks of stonewalling, Harris finally ended her interview drought last month when she was joined by running mate Tim Walz for a pre-taped piece with CNN's Dana Bash last Thursday in Georgia that was a far cry from a traditional press conference.
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"Anyone who wants to lead the free world should be able to handle questions from the press," conservative influencer Tim Young told Fox News Digital. "If Kamala can't handle real questions from the press, she absolutely can't handle negotiations with foreign leaders."
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US Vice President Kamala Harris and former US President Donald Trump during the second presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Getty Images)
Entrepreneur Shawn Meaike objected to Walz tagging along for the CNN interview.
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"CEOs don’t go, ‘Hey, you know what? I’ll do an interview with you, but I’ve got to bring someone with me. I’m certainly not qualified to do this on my own," Meaike told Fox News Digital.
"You want to be the leader of the free world… but you can’t do an interview by yourself? I think that’s insulting," he continued. "As an American, we want answers and deserve answers."
Harris also sat for two taped radio interviews last week, which aired Friday and Monday.
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As to when she'll actually do a formal press conference, that day may never come, at least while she's still a candidate.
Conservative Radio Libre host Jorge Bonilla feels Harris should do a press conference but said it’s almost "irrelevant" because she continues to get a pass.
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"She is highly unlikely to do a press conference because the media have enabled and encouraged her ‘plexiglass basement’ strategy, wherein she preserves the illusion of being out there while remaining wholly inaccessible to the press and therefore unaccountable," Bonilla told Fox News Digital.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz in CNN interview.
Meaike believes the approach is "disrespectful" to Americans.
"As a businessman, I couldn't imagine if the company was just tumbling in the wrong direction. And I said, or any leader said, ‘Hey, guess what? I'm just not going to talk to anyone. I'm not going to take any questions,’" Meaike told said.
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"I don’t think we see Harris in a press conference where there is anyone that’s going to ask her a question that isn’t a softball," he added. "I think Harris will continue to avoid anything remotely confrontational."
Trump has sought to highlight the contrast in media availability between the two, sitting for several lengthy interviews in recent weeks and also holding a pair of press conferences last month.
Harris received mixed reviews for her showing with Bash, where she took the majority of the questions but nevertheless had Walz there for support.
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Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris talks as she visits SandFly Bar-B-Q in Savannah, Ga., Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
"My fear is, because Bash wasn't like, say, CBS's Steve Kroft or NPR's Steve Inskeep salivating at the sight of Barack Obama, the liberal media will claim this and the upcoming ABC debate are sufficient interview time for the campaign," Houck said.
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Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.