ABC political analyst Matthew Dowd mocked Hillary Clinton’s avoidance of the press Friday on Good Morning America, quipping that she needed to have her face put on a milk carton to find her.
Clinton has just hit the campaign trail again after spending nearly two weeks fundraising, culminating in a $143 million haul in August. However, she has faced increased criticism over not holding a press conference in more than 270 days, dating to last December, and her unfavorability rating hit a record high of 56 percent this week.
ABC host George Stephanopoulos noted the "drip, drip, drip" of Clinton’s email scandal while talking to Dowd, a former strategist for George W. Bush. More emails from her private server released this week showed further proof of Clinton Foundation donors being given access to her State Department, and the department announced this week it will release all of Clinton’s planning schedules while secretary of state to the Associated Press.
"I think this is a real problem for Hillary Clinton, and combined with the fact that she has disappeared, basically, off the campaign trail," Dowd said. "She hasn’t held a press conference in nine months. It’s almost as if you have to put her face on a milk carton to find her these days ... I think she needs to go out and start confronting the press. She needs to have press conferences over the next few weeks ... and basically turn this around again and turn it back on Donald Trump. If it becomes about her, she loses this race."
"So you’re saying she can’t wait for the debates," Stephanopoulos said.
"She can’t wait for the debates," Dowd said. "I think she needs to do a press conference before that first debate to get a lot of this out there, so it doesn’t dominate in the aftermath of the debate."
Clinton was challenged by CNN’s Anderson Cooper last week on the subject, to which she responded, "Well, Anderson, I’m talking to you right now."
ABC reported Friday that Clinton would begin traveling on a larger plane that will make room for the press corps covering her campaign.
Note: This article has been updated.