Kamala Harris's Media Avoidance: Is It Deliberate?

CNBC host Joe Kernen grilled Harris campaign co-chair Sen. Chris Coons on the vice president's apparent reluctance to engage with the media. Coons defended Harris's decision to limit her public appearances, while Kernen argued that voters deserve more transparency.

CNBC host Joe Kernen pressed Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), co-chair of Kamala Harris's campaign, on Tuesday about what Kernen described as a "deliberate effort" by the vice president to avoid media scrutiny.

"I'm just wondering, as a campaign surrogate who advises the campaign, there is an effort to rope-a-dope this thing right until the election, in my view," Kernen said, referring to a boxing strategy designed to wear down an opponent without engaging directly.

Kamala Harris's Media Avoidance: Is It Deliberate?

Kernen pointed to the fact that Republican candidate J.D. Vance had given numerous interviews, while Harris had appeared in far fewer. He also criticized Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, for not holding a formal press conference since securing the nomination.

"I don't think I have to take my shoes off to count on my fingers and toes how many interviews she's done," Kernen said. "Along with Gov. Walz, and that looks like a deliberate effort just not to face the hard questions."

Kamala Harris's Media Avoidance: Is It Deliberate?

Coons, however, defended Harris's decision to limit her public appearances, arguing that she had agreed to a second debate with Donald Trump, her opponent in the upcoming presidential election.

"So is just sitting down with an interview with anyone," Kernen retorted.

Kamala Harris's Media Avoidance: Is It Deliberate?

Harris has given a handful of interviews, including one alongside Walz with CNN, more than a month after she emerged as the nominee. She has also done interviews with local news and radio stations and sat down with Oprah Winfrey, who endorsed Harris for president, at a campaign event.

However, Harris has been criticized for lacking specific answers or dodging questions during the interviews she has done.

"This week she couldn't or wouldn't answer a single question straight, and people could see it. She is an artless dodger," The Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan wrote in a column following several of the interviews.

CNBC co-host Becky Quick also expressed concern that voters know less about Harris and Trump than in any previous election.

"I have covered many elections, and I don't feel like I know as much about either candidate this time around," Quick said.

Kernen argued that Harris should be more transparent with voters.

"She owes us these answers. It is wrong that she can't or won't address them. It is disrespectful to the electorate," Noonan wrote, arguing that avoiding questions on illegal immigration was "political malpractice."

"We'd like to see questions asked and answers provided," Kernen said. "We may never get that."