Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) is encouraging Vice President Kamala Harris to participate in more interviews with the media in hopes it would boost former President Donald Trump‘s 2024 campaign.
During a campaign event Wednesday in Raleigh, North Carolina, Vance taunted Harris for only holding two interviews with national political journalists, the first with CNN and the other with the National Association of Black Journalists, since she became the Democratic presidential nominee. Harris has participated in a few interviews with local journalists.
But the vice president’s few press events pale in comparison to former President Donald Trump and Vance.
Vance, who took press questions during the Raleigh rally, said he did so “because I happen to believe that if you want to be the American people’s president, you ought not be afraid of friendly American media. And that’s exactly what they are.”
Vance also questioned whether Harris could handle meeting with foreign leaders if she could not face the media in her own nation.
“Think about this. How is she going to sit in a room with [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and [Chinese President] Xi Jinping?” Vance questioned. “How is she going to sit in a room with the adversaries of America if she won’t even sit down for a friendly media interview? She can’t do it, and we can’t trust anybody who’s so afraid of her own people that she won’t give an interview to actually represent those people on the world stage.”
Vance then acknowledged having a “selfish” reason for goading Harris to do more interviews.
“There’s something selfish about this because part of the reason I want Kamala Harris to do more interviews is because there’s so much comic relief in it,” he said, prompting laughter from the crowd.
“I really do believe that every time she answers a question, we gain about 100,000 votes,” he added. “So I do selfishly wish that Kamala Harris would give more interviews to the North Carolina media because then I think this state wouldn’t even be close come November.”
Although the Tarheel State has not voted for a Democrat at the presidential level since 2008, Harris’s campaign is hoping it can flip the state blue given the level of enthusiasm Democrats have since President Joe Biden suspended his campaign.
But Vance appeared not to believe Harris would be able to win the state and mocked her reliance on her talking points while running for president.
When Harris was asked to provide specific details on how she would lower grocery, food, and housing prices, Vance claimed she responded by saying, “Well, did you know I grew up in a middle-class family?” and did not answer the question.
“We do not care, Kamala Harris, about how much you want to talk about yourself,” Vance warned. “We want to understand how you’re going to fix the problems for the American people, the problems caused by your policies and under your watch.”
The Ohio senator again attacked Harris for changing her position on a number of matters, including fracking and police reform, now that she’s running for president.
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“Yes, I have changed my mind on things over the years. You know the difference between me and Kamala Harris is because I actually stand in front of the American people and explain why,” Vance said to applause from the crowd.
“There’s nothing wrong with changing your mind in this country. But when you change your mind, you ought to explain to the American people why it’s that simple, and that is the big difference,” he added.