A veteran CNN host delivered a harsh critique of Vice President Kamala Harris’s noticeable absence from the press on Tuesday morning. The former host, who spent over a decade at CNN, criticized Harris for her reluctance to engage with major media outlets, contrasting her approach with the media-friendly stance of her predecessors.
Chris Cillizza pointed out the alarming silence from the vice president since her formal nomination on his X account: “It’s been 23 days since Joe Biden ended his candidacy. It’s been 7 days since Kamala Harris was formally named the Democratic presidential nominee. She has yet to sit for an interview with ANY media outlet. And she has answered less than 5 total questions from the press.”
The media standoff with Harris occurs at a crucial juncture in the current election cycle. Former President Donald Trump, known for his penchant for media exposure, took advantage of the situation by participating in a high-profile interview with X owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. In the over-two-hour conversation, Trump adeptly fielded a range of questions, using the platform to critique Harris’s stances on the economy and immigration. Musk has since made an offer to Harris to host her in “X Spaces,” but her campaign has not made any commitment.
Meanwhile, despite the appearance of enthusiasm surrounding Harris after President Joe Biden essentially anointed her to become the 2024 Democratic nominee, CNN’s senior data correspondent poured cold water on her and her party regarding her race against Trump. During a network segment on Tuesday, Harry Enten warned Democrats that Trump is very much in the contest and has a better-than-average chance of winning.
“We put out those poll numbers yesterday, you know, New York Times-Siena College, we covered them. I showed you the Ipsos polling, all of which showed Kamala Harris with clear momentum and enthusiasm potentially on her side. But I just want to take a step back and sort of point out we’ve kind of been here before,” began Enten. “So August 13, how far where the polls off in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — and this is in 2016 and 2020 — Trump was [under]estimated both times around and by significant margins.”
He continued, “Take a look here. In 2016, the average poll in those states they mentioned, those Great Lakes battleground states, Trump was underestimated by nine points on average at this point in 2016. How about 2020? It wasn’t a one-off; look at this: He was underestimated by five points on average. And of course, Kamala Harris’s advantage in those New York Times-Siena College polls was four points in each of these key battleground states: Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin.”
“The bottom line is this: If you have any idea- if you’re a Kamala Harris fan and you want to rip open the champagne bottle, pop that cork, do not do it,” he continued. “Donald Trump is very much in this race. If we have a polling shift like we’ve seen in prior years, from now until the final result, Donald Trump would actually win. I’m not saying that’s going to happen, but I am saying that he is very much in this ballgame based upon where he is right now, and compare that to where he was in prior years.”
Enten highlighted that despite the talk of enthusiasm for the Harris campaign, recent polling reveals a different picture. Republicans are more inclined to vote, while Democrats are less likely to head to the polls compared to a few months ago.
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.