The Harris-Walz campaign has gone quiet, ceasing comments to media outlets, prompting CNN’s Jake Tapper to acknowledge that the vice president’s electoral prospects are rapidly diminishing. CNN’s Abby Phillip provided Tapper and his colleagues at the network’s Atlanta headquarters with a “gut check” from the Harris-Walz campaign headquarters just before 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday.
“Yeah, Jake, let me just give you a gut check here about what we are hearing here as we’ve been sitting here reporting from the Harris headquarters. And I think the operative word right now is silence. There’s not a lot being said because the Harris team appears to be searching for bright spots in the map as these results very very slowly come out,” Phillip reported.
Jeff Zeleny concurred with Phillip’s statement that the campaign is “looking for positive developments.” “Searching for bright spots and also very aware of the warning signs throughout the electorate in Virginia, in Iowa, in other places. I am told that Milwaukee and Detroit and Philadelphia, that is what the Harris campaign tonight is holding out hope for more votes to come in. They have always said the blue wall was the most straightforward path. Now it may be the best, not only at all, because Georgia is also something that is developing tonight,” he said.
The Harris-Walz Campaign remained optimistic about Georgia, despite Decision Desk HQ’s call of the race around 10 p.m. EDT. “Usually, and I know you know this, as the night goes on, the campaign is trying to spin these numbers as they come out. Jeff and I have been sitting here reporting for hours. There’s been a slowdown in that spin because they really are digging into these numbers as they are coming in and trying to understand what’s left out there for them, especially in these big urban centers,” Phillip added.
At that point, Tapper noted that his colleagues’ reporting is ominous for the Harris-Walz Campaign. “Yeah, this is my seventh presidential election. I would observe that when campaigns go silent, it’s generally not a positive sign,” he said. The network’s feed then switched to former President Donald Trump’s campaign headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida, where supporters and campaign staff appeared to be in a significantly more upbeat mood. “YMCA” was playing in the background as supporters enthusiastically mimicked Trump’s signature dance moves.
