Staff Reports
Vice President Kamala Harris seems to have taken a page right out of President Biden’s playbook, opting for a stealth mode operation when it comes to the media. Since Biden found himself unable to run for re-election in 2024, Harris has managed to evade the press like a pro, sticking to the safety of her prepared statements—typically displayed on teleprompters. It’s almost as if she believes that genuine engagement is overrated, showcasing her flair for dramatic avoidance.
After her official nomination as the Democratic standard-bearer, the criticism from Republicans was immediate and relentless. Many pointed out that it raised eyebrows and concerns about her readiness for the public stage. Even some Democrats expressed their worries, suggesting that the party can’t afford to let this cloak of invisibility haunt Harris’s campaign narrative. The question on everyone’s mind is whether Democrats truly think they can sustain their momentum by keeping their nominee hidden from the media glare.
🚨🚨 BREAKING: JD Vance, says Kamala Harris is hiding from the media “in the hope that people don’t realize how ill-prepared she is and how bad her ideas are for the country.”
Who agrees with JD? pic.twitter.com/cpWwamqkqY
— JOSH DUNLAP (@JDunlap1974) August 4, 2024
The 2020 election brought the world a behind-the-scenes look at Biden’s unconventional strategy of hiding in his basement while communicating to America through a web camera. Despite virtually rolling off the couch to the finish line, he somehow secured victory against former President Trump—an anomaly that raises questions about Harris’s current strategy. If Biden could make it work—or at least bluff his way through—why would Harris risk changing a winning approach?
Equally amusing is the way many have noted Harris’s infamous verbal misfires and mixed messages, which rarely fail to amuse or baffle the public. Keeping her as far from unscripted scenarios and press conferences is simply a solid plan crafted by the Democrats. A savvy Democrat strategist claimed that Harris is leaping into a brand new communications game that skirts around the need for clarity by suffocating it under layers of scripted narratives. The media might bite if the ‘robust communications strategy’ ends up being nothing more than a fancy term for avoiding accountability.
To add to the spectacle, Harris’s supporters have argued that her polling numbers have jumped since Biden’s exit. But does that really justify holding her captive for what could stretch out for months? Senators like Tom Cotton have starkly laid out the contrast between Harris’s silence and Trump’s full-throttle engagements with voters. The former President is all about the buzz, while Harris can barely muster a whisper outside of her scripted bubble. Therein lies the confusion: How does a candidate maintain their popularity from behind a curtain?
Republican strategist Matt Gorman suggests there’s a method to the madness: as long as Harris sticks to her pre-prepared scripts, she’s fine. But once the teleprompter goes dark and she’s thrust into any unscripted scenario, it all tends to go haywire. Harris’s team may well keep her under wraps until election day, doing their best to ensure she doesn’t let a slip of the tongue derail the party’s carefully orchestrated narrative. In a world where authenticity is often prescribed as the golden ticket, it’s entertaining to see Harris rely instead on a delicate dance of careful avoidance.
