Facing criticism for being too walled off, Harris slowly opens the door to more media interviews

Fresh off a debate they thought went well for her, Vice President Kamala Harris’ aides are slowly opening up more engagement for her with the media amid growing concern among allies that she needs to be more accessible, but they have no plans to fundamentally alter their strategy.

The campaign said Harris plans to do more interviews with local media in battleground states and speak more with her traveling media corps in the coming days. She will also take questions from members of the National Association of Black Journalists, with whom former President Donald Trump sat for a contentious interview this summer.

So far, Harris has done only one national television interview since she took President Joe Biden’s place at the top of the Democratic ticket — a joint appearance on CNN with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. She has also recently done two national radio interviews — with Univision and syndicated morning show host Rickey Smiley — and she has done some “gaggles” with traveling reporters.

Her campaign’s media strategy has largely been a continuation of Biden’s, which is to minimize interactions with the media. It’s a risk-averse approach that maximizes control but limits public access and opens her to criticism that she has something to hide or can’t handle unscripted questions.

“You always just have to do enough national stuff to keep the press off your ass,” said Chuck Rocha, a veteran Democratic strategist who specializes in Latino outreach. But Rocha said that for messaging purposes, the campaign would be smart to focus on local media.

“I think she should do as many interviews as possible in battleground states, but the rest is a waste of time,” he said. “[National] interviews mean nothing to persuading voters. Media is too broad now for this to matter. Thirty years ago, though, when there were just three channels, it mattered more.”

Polls and focus groups show that while many voters believed Harris bested Trump in the debate Tuesday night in Philadelphia, undecided voters still need more information about her to support her. That lack of definition — and the possibility that the campaign may still keep her wrapped up a bit — has provided a silver lining for Trump allies who were frustrated that Trump missed a moment for a clear victory.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in one of his first outings as a Trump surrogate, told Fox News, “Harris clearly won the debate in terms of her delivery, her polish, her organization and her preparation,” but he said the substance of her message will collapse in less structured settings.

Some allies said Harris should use the momentum from the debate to change her cadence of interviews.

“I think she’ll do more interviews. I think she should do more interviews. She’s great at them. I don’t think there’s anything to be afraid of there,” said former Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., an MSNBC contributor.

McCaskill defended the campaign’s strategy so far as “pitch perfect” and said Harris and her campaign were right to focus on debate prep and rallies to build enthusiasm, but she said that with the debate behind them, now is a good time to open up more.

The strategy of minimizing unscripted interactions with journalists and even voters can be an effective way for a front-runner to run out the clock ahead of an election. But Harris herself says she is not the front-runner, frequently calling herself an “underdog.” And polls show an exceedingly close race, with both candidates within polls’ margins of error.

“I don’t think you can hide for 56 more days from media interviews,” said a Democratic strategist who requested anonymity to speak candidly.

“The biggest issues with her are because people still don’t know enough about her. It’s going to take a lot more than one debate and one CNN interview to scratch the itch,” the strategist said, adding: “Voters want to know whom they’re going to vote for and what they stand for and want to see them tested. It’s a dangerous strategy of trying to do four-corners defense when there’s still a lot of clock left in the game.”

Conservatives, mainstream journalists and even liberal voices like The New Republic and the left-leaning New York Times editorial board have called on Harris to make herself more available — though the media is obviously self-interested in gaining more access — with some suggesting she should at least do more local media interviews, late night shows and interviews with friendly outlets.

On a call with reporters just hours before the debate, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a close Trump ally, said Harris has “been wrapped in bubble wrap.” Trump spokesperson Jason Miller claimed Harris’ campaign has “had her in hiding for two months” because she can’t defend her record.

The Harris campaign also held a call that day, but it was off the record.

The first policy page appeared on the Harris campaign’s website only Monday. And her campaign has declined to offer much detail about her positions on issues like hydraulic fracturing, immigration and an electric vehicle mandate, o which she now holds different positions from those she did in 2019, during her first presidential bid.

Harris’ campaign has also declined to answer questions even on seemingly favorable storylines, such as her time working at McDonald’s — a previously little-known biographical detail that she chose to highlight during the convention.

The White House News Photographers Association formally complained in a letter sent last month that Harris’ campaign team has engaged in an “unprecedented reduction in access.”

While Trump is hardly a journalism scholar’s ideal candidate, he does give frequent interviews to conservative media, takes questions from mainstream reporters and has a penchant for calling reporters directly and speaking on the record — including those with outlets he criticizes — like NBC News and The New York Times.

Trump has done at least 18 media appearances since Biden withdrew from the race in late July, most but not all of which were with conservative outlets, according to an NBC News tally, in addition to six press conference-like events at which he took questions from reporters.

His running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, has done at least 44 interviews with TV or print outlets, at least 12 formal question-and-answer sessions or news conferences and at least 13 media gaggles (shorter, informal chances for reporters to ask questions), according to the NBC News tally.

By contrast, in addition to the joint CNN interview with Harris, Walz has done only two nationally televised interviews, both after the debate (with ABC News and MSNBC) and a handful of radio interviews, and he has largely avoided taking questions from traveling reporters on the record.

Trump’s interviews on friendly outlets give his supporters a constant stream of new content to promote online and share with their networks, while his more adversarial interactions with the media thrill supporters who see it as proof of his toughness and ability to fight.

“Could you imagine if we had a candidate we couldn’t even put on Fox?” said a Republican consultant, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, noting Harris hasn’t yet sat for interviews with prominent left-leaning TV hosts.

Many voters perhaps do feel like they’re seeing a fair amount of Harris and Walz. With about $1 billion having already been raised by campaigns and outside groups to influence voters — most of which will be dumped into advertising — battleground state airwaves are already approaching saturation.

But research has found there are diminishing returns on TV ads. After a certain point, voters tend to tune out ads, with candidates needing to reach voters between the commercial breaks with so-called earned media (i.e., getting news coverage) or through organic content shared on social media or face to face.

“This election will not be won with TV ads,” said a Harris ally, requesting anonymity to speak candidly, who argued she would be better served if she delivered her message herself more.

The issue comes up not infrequently in polls, focus groups and interviews with undecided voters, even as Harris defenders dismiss criticism of her media strategy as something only pundits and self-interested reporters care about.

“I would like to see more off-the-cuff type of interviews and answering questions that aren’t practiced or set up ahead of time,” Bonnie Fioramanti, 71, a retired elementary school teacher, said after the debate during an NBC News focus group of undecided voters in Arizona.

Fioramanti, who voted for Trump 2016 and Biden in 2020, said that the debate moved her closer to Harris but that she’s not yet sold. “I hope to hear more from her,” she said.

In another recent NBC News focus group, on-the-fence Latino voters used words like “ghost,” “hiding” and “unknown” to describe Harris.

A New York Times/Siena College poll released Sunday found that 28% of voters said they need to learn more about Harris — including 53% of voters under 30, a critical demographic Harris needs to turn out — while just 9% said the same of Trump.

“There’s a long-standing pattern of not-hugely-familiar vice presidents needing to re-introduce themselves to America,” said Rich Thau, the president of Engagious research, who moderates the NBC News Deciders Focus Group. “Vice presidents are infrequently seen and even less frequently heard, so it’s not a surprise that low-information, skeptical voters don’t know much about Kamala Harris.”

Harris’ late entry into the race meant she dodged the scrutiny that candidates typically face during the primary campaign.

But many of her allies continue to dismiss the need for more interviews.

“I don’t understand that critique,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said after Tuesday’s debate, saying it was “an entire two-hour unscripted event, and she cleaned his clock.”

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., said Harris was “doing the most important thing right now,” holding rallies and connecting directly with voters.

Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville said in a text message that he’s not sure a ramp-up of interviews will be “necessary,” especially if there is another debate — which remains up in the air.

Democratic strategist Paul Maslin said he would also recommend that the Harris campaign “concentrate on those seven [battleground] states with paid communication and unpaid communication.” But media outlets not in those areas may be out of luck.

“I don’t think she’s going to give a hoot about the national media,” he said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com