53 days: Kamala Harris has yet to do formal press conference since emerging as Democratic nominee
Trump, Harris faced off at debate on Tuesday
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vice President Kamala Harris has gone 53 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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"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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Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump during the debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Getty Images)
Harris also sat for two taped radio interviews last week, which aired Friday and Monday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vice President Kamala Harris visits SandFly Bar-B-Q in Savannah, Georgia, Aug. 28, 2024. (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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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.