NewsNation host Leland Vittert on Tuesday pressed Rachel Palermo, a former deputy adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris, about why Harris has made limited press appearances since launching her 2024 campaign.
Harris is single Harris has not given interviews to the press since President Joe Biden ended his campaign and endorsed her as his successor on July 21. On “On Balance with Leland Vittert,” Vittert asked Palermo when Harris would end her press silence, and continued to press her after she didn't directly answer the question. (Related article: “Kamala was in on it too”: Pro-Trump PAC pulls anti-Kamala Harris ad within two hours of Biden's departure)
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'Give us answers': NewsNation host fires back at ex-Harris aide who went on the run over VP's media silence during election pic.twitter.com/RbZiFtiRYp
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 31, 2024
“She's been out for nine days. She hasn't given a single interview. The National Association of Black Journalists is [NABJ] “We've sent out invitations to Donald Trump and Kamala Harris… Donald Trump is in attendance. Kamala Harris is not. How long will this fully secured campaign with teleprompters continue?” Vittert asked.
“I'll answer that question later, but first I want to share my impressions of the vice president's incredible speech tonight,” Palermo said. “She had thousands in her audience. This speech kicked off a week in which she raised $200 million from donors. The amount of support she received was historic.”
As Palermo continued to talk about Harris' speech, including her “vision for the future” and abortion, Vittert pressed him to “answer the question.”
“We heard it all… This candidate who talked about the importance of democracy, who said the importance of democracy is the importance of the press, the importance of a free press and having a dialogue, and she didn't do that for nine days. She turned down every interview request,” the NewsNation host said. “She even turned down the National Association of Black Journalists' request. If this had been Donald Trump — and I remember when Donald Trump didn't talk to the press for three days — the republic was over, it was an attack on the media. She got away with it for nine days.”
Palermo later claimed that Harris had actively “engaged with the media” during her time as vice president.
“Come on,” Vittert said. “You're entitled to your opinion, but you're not entitled to your facts…answer me!”
“To answer your question about ABJ, first of all, I no longer work for the vice president, but I have learned from published reports that this was clearly a scheduling conflict,” Palermo said. “Also, in the three years that I worked for her, she was constantly negotiating with NABJ. She always gave Black journalists a floor at the table.”
The NABJ24 convention will feature a question-and-answer session moderated by Trump, and Harris will address the association virtually after the conference. according to Visit the group's website.
“But this woman is awful when she goes off script. She was awful in her interview with Lester Holt. You can argue, but there's a reason she doesn't go out and do interviews,” Vittato said. “I covered the Trump-Pence White House. Trump and Pence talk to the media all the time.”
Palermo said Harris had conducted “hundreds of interviews,” and Vittert asked how many “network interviews” she had done.
“I'm happy to add numbers, dozens, dozens. The vice president has always put the media first, he has always put freedom of the press first,” Palermo said.
Vittert noted that Harris has only answered one “group question” since she began her campaign.
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