Democrats defend Harris’ lack of substance: Americans 'don't vote on policy prescriptions’

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Democrats tell CNN Americans don't vote on policy issues

Democratic representatives at the Democratic National Convention told CNN's Manu Raju Thursday that they don't believe Americans vote based on policy issues.

Vice President Kamala Harris doesn't have to disclose her positions because Americans "don't vote on policy," Democrats reportedly told CNN Thursday.

CNN’s "The Lead" featured a panel discussing criticism of Harris going more than 32 days without having a formal interview, press conference or discussing policies.

Anchor Manu Raju revealed how those he spoke to at the Democratic National Convention, think Harris can continue to skate by on vibes because voters don’t care about details.

"They're concerned about her doing that could potentially trip her up and give Trump some ammunition. In fact, a lot of those Democrats I spoke to today said, ‘Avoid those policy prescriptions,’" Raju said before introducing a clip package of Democratic representatives saying just that.

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Georgia Rep. Nikema Williams told CNN's Manu Raju that voters care more about "vision" than policies. 

"I haven't heard from many voters looking for white papers and policy papers, what they wanted here is what her vision is for this country," Georgia Rep. Nikema Williams said.

"The American people don't vote on policy prescriptions," Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly said.

Michigan Rep. Dan Kildee responded, "I actually think the way the American people think about this choice is less about the minutia of policy and more about the direction of the country, number one. And secondly, about the person, the character. It does matter."

Raju reported Connolly also told him, "Remember what Elizabeth Warren did when she ran back in 2020. She had a white paper for every policy position the sun, and what happened? She collapsed in the primary."

"So, there’s belief, that perhaps if you put more ideas on paper, that's a bad idea. But the question is, do voters want to see some of those ideas?" Raju asked.

Fellow anchor Kasie Hunt replied, "Maybe. If you go with the vibes, it’s a vibes election."

"That’s right," CNN’s Erin Burnett agreed.

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Harris' campaign website still does not have a section on her policies. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The day before, Burnett questioned whether Harris was better off ignoring any calls to sit down for interviews or explain her policies.

"She hasn’t done a big interview in a while here and certainly not since announcing," Burnett told media personality Charlamagne Tha God. "Are you going to talk to her soon? What do you think? What do you think she should do? Or does she do better to ignore all those calls to talk and just keep doing what she’s doing?"

In addition to no formal interviews, the official Harris-Walz website, as of Thursday, does not provide any specific policies. It offers short biographies of both Democratic nominees and information about donating and volunteering, but no overview of the campaign's policies.

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Fox News' Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.