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Kayleigh McEnany Says Trump Can’t Let Harris Get ‘Tailwind’

By Updated: ELECTION 2024

Former White House Press Secretary and current Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany had some words of advice for her old boss during a show segment on Monday, telling him he should quickly agree to several debates with Vice President Kamala Harris to take some of the wind out of her sails.

McEnany stated that Trump’s primary challenge in the 2024 election will be to get Harris to speak without relying on a teleprompter and to break through the liberal media’s “coverup mode.” She urged Trump not to delay until the Democratic National Convention to challenge Harris to their first debate.



“[T]he press doesn’t want her to do any sit-downs,” McEnany said. “They’re in coverup mode. If this were Trump, there would be in the corner of your screen on every major liberal network a countdown or count-up rather of how many days, how many hours he’s gone without a free-wheeling interview or press conference. It’s outrageous; it’s in the interest of the press to ask for this, but they’re not doing so because they flipped the script. Now it’s coverup mode for Kamala.”

“She cannot handle a free-wheeling scenario, there’s no doubt about it. And it’s the job of Trump to get her off the teleprompter,” McEnany continued. “I’ve said the challenge of this cycle was going to be smoking Biden out of this metaphorical basement. The basement became the Oval Office. Now, the challenge for Trump is getting her off the teleprompter. That’s why he should challenge her to three debates and do not wait. Do not wait until after the DNC. Because a third of this 100-day period will be over. Don’t let her get the tailwind. Debate this week, hey, debate this week. Next week.”

WATCH:

Critics have been pointing out for days that handlers for Harris appear to have adopted Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign strategy of hiding out and not speaking to reporters. Harris has not held a formal press conference for more than two weeks since becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee on Sunday.

Harris announced on July 22 that she had secured the Democratic nomination, with commitments from the majority of nearly 4,000 delegates for the upcoming Democratic National Convention. Since then, she has been actively campaigning, speaking at various events, and engaging with reporters, but she has yet to hold a formal press conference or a comprehensive interview in the 13 days following her announcement, Fox News reported.

Harris also missed the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago, where former President Trump made headlines on Wednesday with a contentious Q&A session. On Thursday, she made a brief appearance at Joint Base Andrews, where she and President Biden welcomed Americans freed from Russia in a major prisoner swap, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. But those comments were widely panned as being more of the same kind of “word salad” Americans are used to hearing from Harris.

“This is just an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy and understands the strength that rests in understanding the significance of diplomacy and strengthening alliances,” Harris said at the time. “This is an incredible day.”

WATCH:

National Review senior writer Noah Rothman asked his social media followers on Wednesday, “When is Kamala Harris going to hold a press conference?” And the RNC Research account on X noted on Wednesday that she has only done “teleprompter speeches,” while conservative pundit Ben Shapiro said Harris “has not answered ONE difficult question in the last week and a half.”

NewsBusters executive editor Tim Graham anticipates that Harris will emulate President Biden’s 2020 strategy, during which he was notably criticized for staying in his basement amid the COVID pandemic. “Kamala Harris should absolutely hold a press conference. One would expect it when she names her vice-presidential pick. But we cannot expect her to break from Biden’s serial avoidance of press conferences,” Graham told Fox News Digital.





Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.