According to an op-ed by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editor Brandon McGinley, the Harris-Waltz campaign has continued to deny Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporters and photographers access to campaign events, reportedly due to an internal labor dispute.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz, Bus Tours The party began outreach to voters in the battleground state of Georgia following the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Called The Democratic campaign claimed Saturday that it had barred Post-Gazette reporters from “the vice presidential announcement, portions of the Democratic National Convention and (as of this writing) all upcoming events to which reporters have controlled access.” (Related: Kamala Harris concludes DNC without releasing policy platform)
“This is the kind of political pandering that sacrifices core democratic principles, and it's exactly what the campaign says it's fighting within the Republican Party,” McGinley said.
Exclusion from the campaign: Labor Actions It began in October 2022, when the Teamsters, one of the largest labor unions in the United States, went on strike over the termination of the old health insurance program, sparking a journalists' walkout. McGinley said he suspected the union had sabotaged the paper's reporting as negotiations continued, persuading Democratic officials and candidates to decline interviews with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“But denying access to unfavorable news outlets to accommodate political allies only further institutionalizes a new normal where the application of all principles is based on friend or foe. Today, the Harris-Waltz camp views the Post-Gazette as the enemy, denying us the rights they grant to others. Who will be the enemy tomorrow?” McGinley asked.
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Democratic Presidential candidate and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz congratulate Harris after she accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Notably, Sean O'Brien, president of the largest union, International Brotherhood of Truck Drivers, has not voiced his support. rejection Appearing on CBS' “Face the Nation” on Sunday, O'Brien pledged to support either Harris or former President Donald Trump. The group hasn't endorsed a Republican president since 1988, but O'Brien said his support for Harris won't come until the meeting makes their choice.
“You can't hire somebody unless you interview them,” O'Brien said, “and this is an opportunity to ask her questions about Teamster-specific issues and labor issues. So, obviously, we'll wait to make that decision until that meeting has taken place.”
But the Harris and Waltz campaigns' blocking of a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter isn't the first time a campaign has pressured a news organization. On July 29, Associated Press chief political reporter Steve Peoples wrote: Posts On X (formerly Twitter), the campaign posted that “a reporter was blocking reporters from speaking to voters outside the press box at a Whitmer/Shapiro event in Montgomery County, PA.”
Peoples said campaign staff at the Pennsylvania event ultimately allowed him to leave the press box and speak to voters after “someone from Delaware headquarters intervened.” The incident involving Peoples comes about a month after reporters alleged that President Joe Biden's campaign staff tried to stop interviews with voters because of his poor performance at the debate.
In late June, Biden, then the Democratic presidential nominee, was widely hailed as a “semi-state spy” by even liberal analysts. dubbing Biden gave a “disastrous” performance in the debate with Trump, stumbling over answers and freezing mid-sentence, and after the debate, reporters said Biden's campaign staff tried to shut him down from speaking to voters as emotions became negative.
“While I was speaking to voters at VP Harris' Las Vegas rally, a Biden campaign staffer from Nevada followed me and New York Times reporter Simon Levin called for the interview to end if voters made any comments critical of President Biden. Written.
Until this week, Harris had faced criticism for avoiding in-depth interviews for more than a month after becoming the party's presumptive nominee. She and Walz finally sat down with CNN's Dana Bash on Thursday, but in the roughly 30-minute interview, Harris did not explain her backsliding on some of the far-left policies she championed during her 2020 campaign.
Harris has also been criticized for not releasing her policy platform. Campaign website As of Sunday.
The Harris-Waltz campaign did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation's request for comment.
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