LOS ANGELES.–Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, enjoys one big advantage over 78-year-old President Donald Trump, she has the entire U.S. media behind her, making excuses, ignoring her gaffes, and, most importantly, avoiding any media contact with interview and press conferences. Kamala follows the same 2020 strategy as 81-year-old President Joe Biden who let his media PR team sell him like a new cereal, piecing together sound bites and snippets to mold whatever image they thought would influence voters. Biden was sold as the man who would save “the sour of America,” an oblique reference to the months of race riots in wake of George Floyd’s May 25, 2020 death. Biden’s PR team rarely let him in front of cameras to protect his manufactured image, something that duped voters in 2020. Covd-19 was the biggest selling point to replace Trump in 2020.
Kamala finds herself taking criticism from Republicans over her lack of transparency to face the press in interviews and press conferences, claiming she would defer most media contacts until after the Aug. 19 Democratic National Convention [DNC] in Chicago. Letting her media handlers control her image is precisely what they did with Biden in 2020. When you look at Kamala’s campaign speeches it’s primarily focused on vague accusations about Trump destroying America democracy but, like Biden in 2020, pulling the race card to emphasize that she would defend civil and human rights. How ironic that Kamala picked 60-year-old Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over 51-year-old Penn. Gov. Josh Shapiro because of his Jewish faith, something that antagonized Democrat pro-Palestinian progressives. How does that stick up for the Constitution and civil rights?
Harris strategists give some good insights what’s motivating Harris to stay clear of the media as long as possible. “This has been a whirlwind few weeks, and right now, buoyant rally speeches are working really well, so she’s riding a wave,” said 69-year-old Democrat strategist and CNN pundit David Axelrod, former President Barack Obama’s chief strategist. “But I’m sure they know that, in addition, presidential races impose a series of tests, including debates and unscripted interactions with voters and the media, by which people to know you. There is time and I’m sure she’ll get there,” Axelrod said, excusing Kamala for not giving the press any real time to question her. Axelrod exposes for all to see that Democrats are duplicating the winning strategy for Biden in 2020, continue to package Biden with scripted campaign speeches and manufactured political ads.
Unlike Trump, Kamala has the entire media behind her, helping her make as many excuses as possible for why she’s content to deliver heavily scripted campaign speeches and let political ads do the talking. If that strategy worked against Trump in 2020, why would it not work for Kamala in 2024? Democrat strategists know that the best approach for Kamala in 2024 is to tightly control the narrative, painting Trump as a threat to U.S. democracy, frightening voters like they did in 2024. When it came to Democrats over-arching message in 2020, they painted Trump as a white supremacist and racist, botching the government’s approach to managing the Covid-19 global pandemic. Watching friends and neighbors get sick and die from Covid was all voters had to see in 2020. Biden could hide out in his basement and let his PR team manufacture campaign ads to advance the Democrat narrative.
Trump put Kamala under pressure hosting his own press conference at Mar-a-Lago, showing if, nothing else, he’s completely comfortable with the media. All the press does with Trump if engage in fake fact-checking, disputing everything Trump says. Media doesn’t dispute anything Kamala says, even when she’s saying nothing, other than giving pre-packed campaign speeches. “She doesn’t know how to do a news conference, she’s not smart enough to do a news conference,” Trump said at Mar-a-Lago, completely ignored and disputed by the media. “She won’t do interview with friendly people because she can do better than Biden,” Trump said, referring to Biden’s approach of ducking the media whenever possible to avoid any kind of scrutiny of his gaffe-prone statements. Kamala doesn’t want to expose to voters her superficiality over pressing issues.
Voters can expect Kamala, even after the DNC convention, to do minimal interview and press conferences, as long as polls show she’s making ground against Trump. “Where is it written that you have to sit down for a press interview,” said senior Democrat strategist James Carville. Carville was the first high profile Democrat strategist to call for Biden to end his 2024 campaign. “They’ve had to pick a vice president, plan a convention, move around, do this and that, and she’s already agreed to a debate,” Carville said, making all the excuses to continue the Democrat strategy of keeping Kamala, like Biden in 2020, away from the press. Trump faces an uphill battle running against the corrupt U.S. press that seeks to put Kamala in the White House, whether it destroys the economy and starts WW III. Kamala likes to talk only about Roe v. Wade and women’s rights.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
