The Harris-Walz campaign is on track to make history with the fewest media appearances of any modern U.S. presidential ticket, Axios reported Thursday.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D.), have participated in only seven interviews and press conferences since President Joe Biden withdrew from the race on July 21. By contrast, former president Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance (R.) have made more than 10 times as many appearances during the same period.
With less than two months until the election, the Democratic duo is intentionally minimizing interactions with the press in an effort to avoid negative coverage, individuals close to the campaign told Axios. Harris has yet to provide voters a clear explanation for her sudden shift away from her far-left positions on issues such as the border wall, Medicare for All, and fracking.
Trump and Vance's media appearances include a combined total of 26 national TV interviews and 15 press conferences. Harris and Walz held zero press conferences and appeared in only two interviews on national TV.
Vance alone has taken part in more than seven times as many media appearances as Harris and Walz combined, according to Axios's analysis. The Harris-Walz campaign, however, said in a statement that the candidates have participated in a variety of media interviews.
Prior to becoming Harris’s running mate, Walz regularly took questions from national and local press, even though he was prone to slipping up with "misstatements and exaggerations," Axios reported.
The Minnesota Star Tribune, whose reporters traveled with Walz this month, noted that "off the plane, we were kept at a distance of at least 10 feet. Twice, reporters shouted a question and were ignored by Walz."