OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
Vice President Kamala Harris has not done a formal solo press conference in the nearly 45 days since President Joe Biden announced he would not seek reelection, and now she’s being criticized for what some are labeling a press “avoidance tactic.”
Harris was seen exiting a government vehicle wearing an earpiece that was attached to her cellphone — indicating that she may have been listening to something — as she made her way to Air Force Two en route to a campaign event in Detroit, Mich., this week. She briefly waved at reporters before boarding her plane.
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The optics left some to speculate that Harris was simply using another “tactic” to avoid having to answer questions from the media.
“Wow. She’s pretending to be on the phone … It’s an avoidance tactic,” one X user wrote.
“‘Remember to pretend to be on the phone as to avoid talking to anyone, and keep it moving,’” another X user quipped.
Harris finally sat down for an interview with CNN anchor Dana Bash, which aired on Thursday. But it wasn’t live, appeared to be heavily edited, and she showed up with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who has been credibly accused of lying about much of his political and military careers.
After the interview aired, Harris went from being a betting favorite to win the election to the underdog behind former President Donald Trump.
Newsweek reported, “The vice president went from being the favorite to win with odds of 10/11 (52.4 percent) on Thursday to tied with Donald Trump on 19/20 (51.3 percent) each on Friday morning, according to the Star Sports betting company.”
“Over the same period, Trump’s odds of victory in November improved from 21/20 (48.8 percent) before the interview to 20/21 (51.2 percent), according to U.K. based bookmaker Betfair,” the outlet continued.
Star Sports betting analyst William Kedjanyi also spoke to Newsweek, saying: “Vice President Harris is now tied at 19/20 with Republican candidate Donald Trump, drifting slightly from 10/11 yesterday. The Californian had been 5/6 in recent weeks but she has failed to surge ahead of Trump in the market.”
Kedjanyi added: “GOP supporters will hope Trump can now go on to tip the balance in his favor, before November’s presidential election.”
A separate survey found that, while Harris is slightly ahead of Trump nationally, she failed to secure a polling bump from the Democratic National Convention.
The poll, released on Sunday, was conducted by ABC News/Ipsos and found Harris leading Trump 50 percent to 46 percent among registered voters nationwide. The Harris edge widened among likely voters 52 percent to 46 percent.
However, the pollsters discovered that while Harris holds a national lead, she did not see any boost from her party’s four-day convention in Chicago. Additionally, the poll indicated that former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s endorsement of Trump had little impact, though internal polling by the Trump campaign says that RFK Jr.’s support has moved the needle for the former president, especially in key states.
The poll noted further:
New ABC News/Ipsos polling conducted after the Democratic National Convention finds Vice President Kamala Harris has a slight lead over former President Donald Trump among Americans who plan to vote in November’s election, statistically unchanged from earlier in August. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s departure from the race and endorsement of Trump makes no difference to most Americans. On the topic of campaigns, a majority feel Harris is running her campaign well, while fewer feel the same about Trump. However, Americans continue to trust Trump more than Harris on the economy, inflation, and immigration.
Nationally, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polling, Harris leads Trump by 1.8 points. She is up by a much smaller margin—0.3 percent—in the average of battleground state polling, according to RCP.
That said, Trump currently garners 291 electoral votes to Harris’ 208, with 111 so far undecided, according to the analytical site. The Senate currently favors Republicans over Democrats 50-46, with four seats listed as toss-ups, RCP noted.
