Democrat Pollster Wants Harris Quiet

Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher suggested on NBC News Sunday that Vice President Kamala Harris should continue steering clear of sit-down interviews with the media and concentrate more on “talking to the voters.”

Since Harris assumed the role of the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee following President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek reelection, she has avoided in-depth media interviews.

As she prepares for an upcoming debate against former President Donald Trump, which will be one of her first significant unscripted events, Belcher disagreed with PBS’s Amna Nawaz, who advocated for Harris to engage with the press and answer their questions.

MSNBC’s contributor Cornell Belcher says it’s 'important' for Kamala to be 'talking less to us'

What?! https://t.co/bT04h4r8SL

— Ben Owen (@hrkbenowen) August 23, 2024

“Look, Harris has proven herself to be a skillful debater in the past. In the Democratic Primary process, remember, she had that one line that ended up on t-shirts when she was talking about busing to desegregate and Biden’s opposition to that and saying, ‘I was that little girl,’” Nawaz said. “Candidates don’t need us as journalists to get their message out … but interviews are where candidates face rigor and skepticism and questions about issues that they’re not raising on the campaign trail and in monologue. It opens it up to a conversation in a way that’s good for voters and good for democracy. I will just say having been with Vice President Harris in unscripted scenarios there’s policy command there that can come out in these kind of interviews.”

‘I Don’t Want Her Talking To You’: Dem Pollster Wants Harris To Continue Ducking Press: 'as a campaign hack, no' https://t.co/6yeoXue5eR pic.twitter.com/zH8maY0KSS

— Janie Johnson – America is Exceptional (@jjauthor) August 25, 2024

Belcher interrupted to counter Nawaz’s statement, arguing that Harris should prioritize campaign groundwork nationwide rather than focusing on media interviews.

“Can I say that I love you, and I love you, but as a campaign hack, no. She should be talking to the voters and barnstorming the way they do,” Belcher said. “Again, I say, I love you all, but I don’t want her talking to you all right now, she should be talking to [registered] voters and going across the country.”

Harris’ campaign spokespeople have been the only ones to participate in media interviews so far, which has sparked questions about Harris’s reluctance to speak unscripted and the campaign’s lack of an official policy platform on its website.

The first debate between Harris and Trump is scheduled for September 10 and will be broadcast on ABC News. Originally planned with Biden as the nominee, the debate lineup has changed, prompting Trump to challenge Harris to two additional debates.

Besides the September 10 event, Trump proposed debates on September 4 on Fox News and September 25 on NBC News. As of now, Harris has not confirmed any dates beyond the September 10 debate.