This is an adapted excerpt from the Aug. 29 episode of “Morning Joe.”
Vice President Kamala Harris’ first interview as a presidential nominee is set to air on Thursday. Harris will be joined by her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota. The interview comes after the vice president faced intense criticism for not formally sitting down with the media since entering the presidential race.
The political operative in me gets what Harris is doing. She’s spending her time on the campaign trail, making her case to voters. Why not push off the first big interview for as long as you can?
On the other hand, as a citizen — and as someone who loves journalism and believes in transparency — I can acknowledge it’s not the best look.
I’m not saying she has to do these huge prime-time interviews with well-known anchors but, why not sit down for an interview with a local journalist? She’s traveling around the country, hitting swing states — she should take advantage of that. If she’s on the road in Georgia, this is the perfect opportunity to sit down with a journalist there.
Harris has to show the American people she’s accessible and she can think on her feet. This is just an unforced error on her campaign’s part. It makes her look like she is too protected, too hesitant. Certainly, Harris can give an interview — after all, she’s the vice president of the United States.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
Elise Jordan
Elise Jordan is a political analyst for MSNBC and NBC News. She was a policy adviser to Sen. Rand Paul’s 2016 presidential campaign. During the George W. Bush administration, she worked in the White House Office of Presidential Speechwriting and at the State Department as a speechwriter.