Harris Campaign Promises More Interviews Amid Criticism of VP's Media Avoidance

Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign spokesperson Ian Sams defended her limited press availability, asserting that she would grant more interviews as the election approached. Dana Perino, co-anchor of "America's Newsroom," questioned the strategy, highlighting Harris' lack of recent Q&A with the media beyond debate preparation.

Despite recent polling indicating a lead for former President Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris, her campaign spokesperson Ian Sams dismissed concerns about her limited media exposure, maintaining that she would increase interviews as the election drew near.

Harris Campaign Promises More Interviews Amid Criticism of VP's Media Avoidance

In an interview with Dana Perino on "America's Newsroom," Sams pushed back against criticism that Harris was taking a risky approach by relying heavily on next Tuesday's debate against Trump without having engaged in substantial Q&A with the media outside of debate preparation.

"Well, I reject that," Sams asserted. "She sat down with Dana Bash for a long interview on CNN that aired."

Harris Campaign Promises More Interviews Amid Criticism of VP's Media Avoidance

Perino countered, "One interview in 47 days."

Sams suggested that the media had not paid sufficient attention to Harris' earlier interviews, which totaled 90 before she became the Democratic presidential nominee. "People maybe weren't paying attention or listening," he said. "She's taking questions from reporters on the campaign trail so far in this campaign. People who are covering her every single day, she's going to do more interviews and talk to the press more and take more reporter questions."

Harris Campaign Promises More Interviews Amid Criticism of VP's Media Avoidance

Perino challenged Sams' claim that Harris had engaged with the media on the trail, arguing that simply providing updates on debate preparations did not equate to answering tough questions from reporters.

"Ian, come on," Perino interjected. "Do the American voters not need to hear from her directly? She wants to be the commander-in-chief. We paid attention to her. And you guys didn't like that, either."

Sams countered that Harris had been traveling across battleground states and speaking to large crowds, unlike Trump. "She's been traveling across the battleground states, talking to thousands of people in packed arenas, arenas that are much more packed than what President Trump is speaking to," he said.

However, data indicate that Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), have granted at least 39 interviews since the Harris-Walz ticket was formed, compared to just six non-scripted interviews for the Democratic presidential ticket.

Harris has scheduled two new taped interviews to air on Friday. Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her running mate, ended their extended interview drought last week with a conversation with CNN's Dana Bash in Georgia. This was Harris' first sit-down interview with a journalist since selecting Walz on August 6th.

Trump and Harris are set to face off in a debate hosted by ABC News on Tuesday.