Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance scolded reporters on Tuesday to do a better job of pressing Kamala Harris to answer questions about her record, saying she was taking a “basement strategy.”
Speaking to a press gaggle on his plane ahead of a rally in Philadelphia, the Ohio Senator took a question about former President Trump not appearing on the campaign trail until Friday, saying he and Trump take a “divide and conquer” approach.
But he turned around the question on Harris, who hasn’t sat for a formal interview or a press conference in the 16 days since she ascended as the Democratic nominee.
“One final observation,” he said. “I know most of you, I like all of you as people, or at least I like the ones I know. I think you guys have got to do a better job at actually forcing Kamala Harris to answer questions. This is a person who has been a presumptive Democrat nominee for 16 days. She hasn’t taken a single real question from a reporter. The American people deserve to get to know the people who want to lead them, and I think it’s shameful for Kamala Harris, but increasingly for the media, that she is taking a basement strategy of running from reporters instead of getting in front of them and answering tough questions about her record and letting the American people know who she is.”
Vance said he and Trump take both “hostile questions” and non-hostile ones because they respect the American people.
Save for brief informal remarks to reporters at various points since she took over the 2024 ticket, Harris has avoided the press en route to clinching the nomination, and enjoyed highly favorable coverage all the while.
Vance also told reporters that he had called Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who accepted Harris’ offer to be his running mate on Tuesday. Vance left a message to congratulate him on being selected as Harris’ running mate and said he looked forward to a “robust conversation.”
Walz is credited with coining the “weird” attack on Vance that has resonated with other Democrats and liberal media allies.
Vance’s past remarks about childless women has been a sore sport for the campaign in recent days, although he continues to contend he was taken out of context. Since President Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, the 2024 contest that appeared to be favoring Trump has reset and become a polling dead heat.
