Former President Donald Trump’s campaign is well aware that Vice President Kamala Harris hasn’t bothered to hold a serious press conference since President Joe Biden decided to end his reelection campaign and publicly endorse her as his successor, so officials have come up with a plan to force her into the open, so to speak.
The Trump campaign plans to put pressure on Harris begins with deploying Senator J.D. Vance to trail her on the campaign circuit, according to sources close to the Daily Caller. While Trump has been active with media appearances and interviews recently, Vance’s role will be to contrast his policies with Harris’s and spotlight her tendency to avoid the media.
“To highlight that, Senator Vance and President Trump are showing up where Kamala Harris is not,” a campaign spokesperson, granted anonymity to preview strategy, told the Caller. The spokesperson highlighted that Trump attended the National Association of Black Journalists conference while Harris did not. Trump has also made appearances with non-traditional media personalities, such as streamer Adin Ross and Elon Musk.
“Senator Vance is doing the same by going to the same places that Kamala Harris is going but refusing to take questions. Anyone can show up in a state and read off of a script, off a teleprompter, and then leave 20 minutes later, that’s exactly what Joe Biden was doing, and it didn’t work for him. We’re not going to let it work,” the spokesperson continued.
After Biden withdrew from the presidential race and endorsed Harris, she swiftly launched her own campaign. This shift revitalized the Democratic Party, which had been plagued by infighting and uncertainty. The transition energized the party, leading to a surge in fundraising and a series of well-attended rallies. “But in the 18 days the campaign has been on the road,” the Caller reported, “Harris has not done a sit down interview, held a press conference or allowed for many unscripted moments. In fact, Biden is slated to do a sit down interview, appearing on CBS News on Sunday, before Harris does.”
On Thursday, Vice President Harris took questions from reporters on the tarmac for the first time during her campaign. While she did not address the significant shifts in her policy positions since her 2020 presidential bid, she stated her goal of arranging at least one media interview by the end of the month. She added that she was “open” to the idea of additional debates with Trump, who said at a press conference earlier in the day that he had agreed to three.
The Trump campaign’s strategy was evident on Wednesday when Vance arrived in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. As he disembarked and walked towards Air Force Two on the tarmac, Harris had already departed, leaving reporters waiting. “I wanted to take a good look at the plane because, hopefully, it’s going to be my plane in a few months, but I also thought you guys might get lonely because the Vice President doesn’t answer questions from reporters and hasn’t for 17 days,” Vance told the journalists.
WATCH:
Vance after walking over to Harris’s plane: “Hopefully it’s going to be my plane in a few months. I also thought you guys may get lonely, because the VP doesn’t answer questions from reporters.” pic.twitter.com/x2Mgnf5YLH
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 7, 2024
“Well, I hope that she changes her mind because it would be good for the American people and I think it would be good for you all if she actually ran a real campaign instead of one from her basement with a teleprompter,” Vance added, as a member of the Trump campaign told the Caller that the pressure on Harris will eventually work. “The dam is going to break,” that person said.
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.