Former Clinton adviser Mark Penn credited Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’s increased popularity to the "unopposed media," which has been non-stop "praising her" since she launched her campaign.
"She’s had unopposed media praising her, and we’ve seen her numbers move from 38 percent favorable to 47 percent favorable," Penn, who served as chief strategist on Bill and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns, said on Fox’s Mornings With Maria Bartiromo Tuesday. "Now, in the background, two-thirds are unhappy with the economy, two-thirds were unhappy with the direction of the country, almost 60 percent were unhappy with the administration, and most people didn’t like her as vice president."
Penn’s comments come as a recent report from Media Research Center, a conservative media watchdog group, found that mainstream media coverage has been heavily skewed in favor of the vice president. The study showed that 84 percent of Harris’s coverage has been positive, while 89 percent of Trump’s has been negative on CBS, NBC, and ABC.
"Not only has Harris received 66 percent more airtime than former President Donald Trump, but the spin of Harris’s coverage has been more positive (84 percent) than any other major party nominee, even as Trump’s coverage has been nearly entirely hostile (89 percent negative)," according to the study, which ran from the day President Joe Biden exited the race until Aug. 17.
Although a recent CBS poll showed Trump still holds the lead on top issues such as the economy, inflation, and the southern border, Penn said the media's skewed coverage of Harris has tightened up the race.
"Those things right now are just overcome by a surge of media and a ride and a well-orchestrated campaign on their part that has at least moved this race to even," Penn said.
As the Democratic National Convention kicked off Monday and Harris prepares to formally receive her party’s nomination, cable news hosts lauded Harris’s "joyful" campaign.
"The word I hear more is the word 'joy,'" said CNN's Erin Burnett. "Energy and joy," echoed MSNBC's Joe Scarborough.
"I have never seen something like what we're seeing going on, the excitement, the joy, the happiness," former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe told MSNBC.