Kamala Harris retools media strategy with unscripted interview blitz

Vice President Kamala Harris sat down Tuesday for a trio of interviews with extremely friendly outlets as her campaign shifts its media strategy after largely avoiding unscripted appearances for the first three months of her campaign.

Ms. Harris appeared with the ladies of ABC’s “The View,” radio legend Howard Stern on SiriusXM and CBS late-night comedian Stephen Colbert — all unabashed Harris supporters who frequently rail against former President Donald Trump.

Those appearances follow Ms. Harris’ interviews on CBS News’ venerable “60 Minutes” and on the racy podcast “Call Her Daddy” and fielding questions at a Univision town hall. Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, hit the West Coast media this week with appearances on the “SmartLess” podcast and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

The media blitz fulfills a promise her campaign made last month and an acknowledgment that in a margin-of-error election, she needs to be more visible to the voters. 

“What Harris is trying to do is still introduce herself to the American people, and that doesn’t mean through policy,” said Peter Loge, who teaches politics and communication at George Washington University. “It’s about showing the American people who she is as a person and having them connect with her as a human being.” 

Mr. Trump has participated in more interviews that are policy-focused, but he has also steered clear of less-friendly outlets, preferring to stick to conservative media outlets, including Fox News, “Full Measure” with Shayrl Attkisson, and the Hugh Hewitt radio show. He turned down interviews with both “60 Minutes” and “The View.” 

Mr. Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, have sat down for 69 interviews since Ms. Harris became the nominee, according to an analysis by Fox News. In contrast, Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz have sat for 31 unscripted interviews.

“Trump has a system that works for him, and it’s to talk to his friends and allies at volume, and he’s going to stick with that,” Mr. Loge said.

The Harris campaign sees little choice but to stick her in unscripted interviews to create some daylight between her and Mr. Trump. However, such appearances are fraught with the risk of gaffes and missteps.

Ms. Harris struggled on “The View.” She was widely criticized for telling the hosts that she would not do anything different than President Biden during his nearly four years in office, despite his approval ratings lagging in the high 30s. 

“There is not a thing that comes to mind in terms of — and I’ve been a part of — of the decisions that had an impact,” Ms. Harris said when asked if she’d do anything differently than her boss.

At a campaign rally in Detroit, Mr. Vance pounced on the comment.

“Kamala Harris’s entire campaign is to pretend that she hasn’t been the vice president for the last three-and-half years,” he said, later scolding her for not being better prepared to answer the question. 

In another stumble, Ms. Harris awkwardly implied that the late Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican — who died in 2018 — and Sen. Mitt Romney, Utah Republican, had endorsed her.

“There are over 200 former members of both Bush presidencies, John McCain, Mitt Romney, who have endorsed me,” Ms. Harris said.

Though neither had backed her, she appeared to be referencing a letter released in August signed by more than 200 Republicans who had worked alongside Mr. McCain and Mr. Romney.

Ms. Harris was more surefooted when she unveiled her plan to expand Medicare coverage to include at-home care for seniors. She said the proposal is aimed at helping “the sandwich generation,” which are Americans who are simultaneously raising children and caring for their elderly parents.

During a gushing interview with Mr. Stern, she fared much better. Mr. Stern managed to toss her more softball questions than “The View” hosts.

He pressed the vice president on her favorite breakfast cereal, what her mother would think of this year’s presidential campaign, whether or not she liked jigsaw puzzles and her morning exercise routine. 

At one point, Mr. Stern leaped to defend the Biden administration when Ms. Harris said she would work to bring down grocery prices.

“Prices in every presidential election have been way too high. There’s never been an election where we said prices weren’t too high,” he told her.