Trump cancels NRA speech and interviews with NBC and CNBC due to 'scheduling conflicts' — but goes on 'Fox & Friends'
Vice President Kamala Harris — who was criticized earlier in the campaign for her lack of media appearances — has embarked on a full-scale blitz ahead of next month's election.
With less than three weeks to go before the 2024 presidential election, both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have been doing a barrage of media interviews and political events in addition to their campaign rallies.
But several interviews that Trump had scheduled this week were scrapped, including an interview with NBC and an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box. And a sit-down with the Shade Room, a cultural website with a predominantly young Black audience that recently interviewed Harris, was reportedly nixed because, according to a Trump adviser, the Republican nominee was “exhausted.”
Which other appearances were canceled?
The rash of cancellations comes on the heels of Trump backing out of a scheduled appearance on CBS’s 60 Minutes over a dispute about the newsmagazine’s plan to do live fact-checking of the former president. He also refused to agree to a proposed second debate with Harris on CNN.
Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association announced Thursday that it has canceled an event in Savannah, Ga., that was set to feature Trump as its keynote speaker due to a campaign scheduling conflict.
Trump has participated in numerous live and taped events in recent days, including a campaign event that turned into a bizarre dance party in Pennsylvania, a Fox News town hall with an all-female audience in Georgia, a contentious live interview with Bloomberg News editor in chief John Micklethwait at the Economic Club of Chicago and the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York City, in addition to various podcasts.
What does the Trump campaign say?
"President Trump has been running laps around Kamala Harris on the campaign trail and has sat down for nearly three times as many interviews as she has,” Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, said in a statement to Yahoo News. “President Trump has more energy, and a harder work ethic, than anyone in politics.”
Why the cancellations?
According to a campaign official, the interview with NBC was canceled due to an unspecified “scheduling conflict.”
As for the Squawk Box interview, the official said, “There was a scheduling conflict due to President Trump’s trip to Michigan today.” (Trump, though, appeared live on Fox & Friends on Friday from its New York City studios just blocks away from where CNBC tapes Squawk Box.)
The Trump campaign official also said “no date was ever discussed or set” for an appearance on the Shade Room.
Harris had faced criticism earlier in the campaign for not engaging enough with the media. But she has embarked on a media blitz of late, sitting for interviews with 60 Minutes, Howard Stern, The View, Charlamagne Tha God — and even Fox News.
What’s next?
Both candidates continue to hit the campaign trail hard. Trump has rallies scheduled on four consecutive days beginning in Michigan on Friday, Pennsylvania on Saturday and Sunday and ending in North Carolina on Monday.
Harris will make three campaign stops in Michigan on Friday. And next week, she will hold events with former President Barack Obama in Georgia and former first lady Michelle Obama in Michigan.