Harris hot on the trail — but stayed away from reporter Qs until now
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Vice President Kamala Harris since launching her presidential bid has enjoyed a massive boom in fundraising, volunteer signups and rally attendance, raking in earned media as the cameras turn to the trail.
Why it matters: Despite that mounting momentum, Harris has yet to sit for an interview or take questions from the stump since launching her campaign July 21, but she told press pool reporters on the tarmac Thursday that she hopes to have an interview scheduled by the end of the month.
State of play: Harris' campaign has embraced the zeitgeist driven by TikTok and memes.
- In the 24 hours after it announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as vice president Tuesday, the campaign raised $36 million.
What they're saying: Harris' "top priority is earning the support of the voters who will decide this election," the Harris-Walz campaign said in a statement.
- With the truncated campaign timeline till Nov. 5, the campaign said it's focused on "paid media, on the ground organizing, an aggressive campaign schedule, and of course interviews that reach our target voters."
By the numbers: The campaign said last month that it is spending $50 million on paid media ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which kicks off August 19.
- Politico reported that Harris has routinely interacted with pool reporters who travel with her, often visiting them in the back of the plane but "speaking only off the record."
The other side: Former President Trump has made multiple recent appearances on conservative, friendly media, dialing in to "Fox & Friends" Wednesday to say he "could not be more thrilled" Harris chose Walz to be her running mate.
- The Trump campaign has also targeted Harris for "ducking the media."
- "If Donald Trump is so concerned about the success of VP Harris' campaign blitz, he could, you know, get out there on the campaign trail," the Harris-Walz campaign said in a statement.
He also hosted his first news conference in months Thursday at Mar-a-Lago, delivering hourlong, wide-ranging remarks that prompted several news outlets to conduct fact-checking.
- "She can't do an interview; she's barely competent," Trump said of Harris, reiterating attacks he made on Truth Social earlier that morning.
- In Wisconsin Wednesday, Ohio Sen. JD Vance approached Air Force 2 and the reporters around it, saying he wanted to "check out" his future plane and ask Harris why she "refuses ... to answer questions from the media?"
- The Republican VP nominee was delegated to the trail this week, making several swing state stops shadowing Walz and Harris' tour. Vance will continue to hold press-focused campaign events and town halls from now until Labor Day, Axios has learned.
Zoom out: The first presidential debate between Trump and Harris scheduled for Sept. 10 will put both candidates in the line of media questioning.
- ABC confirmed Thursday that Trump and Harris had both agreed to the debate, which was previously scheduled before President Biden dropped out of the race but was trapped in an uncertain limbo amid pushback from the Trump campaign and the Democratic ticket shakeup.
Between the lines: Politicians typically sit for interviews when they want to shift the narrative or draw attention to themselves or a particular issue area.
- Harris' most recent interviews, such as one with Anderson Cooper the night of Biden's shaky debate performance that catalyzed calls for him to step aside, have struck a more confident tone.
- But others, like her 2021 interview with Lester Holt on the U.S.-Mexico border crisis, drew criticism and underscored a more cautious approach to media.
Go deeper: Kamala Harris media blitz shows Arizona is officially a battleground state again
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional statements and details.
