Prominent Election Analyst Slams Harris Campaign’s Lack of Traditional Media Interviews
Prominent election analyst Nate Silver has expressed skepticism over the Harris campaign’s lack of traditional media interviews during the 2024 election trail. On Wednesday, Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon appeared on the “Pod Save America” podcast, attempting to explain away the candidate’s sparse media engagement. O’Malley Dillon claimed that President-elect Trump received little to no media attention, citing a “double standard.”
However, Silver was quick to dismiss this narrative. “Harris didn’t do a solo network interview until late September. Who cares? Fine, the networks don’t matter that much. Then she did a bunch towards the end of the race, but she was legit not doing a lot of traditional media. That was the campaign’s choice, not some conspiracy.”
Silver also takes aim at the Harris campaign’s lack of agency, stating, “They don’t even see themselves as victims so much as non-playable characters with no will of their own.” The term “non-playable character” is often used in video game terminology to describe characters that are not controlled by the player, but are instead directed by software programming.
The criticism comes as Harris campaign aides face backlash from both sides of the political aisle, with some suggesting they took no accountability during the podcast interview. New York Times reporter Astead Herndon and “Pod Save America” podcast co-host Jon Favreau got into a heated exchange over the recent podcast interview featuring Harris campaign staff. Online progressives have also sharply criticized the podcast’s questioning and the defensive posture of the guests.
Additionally, CNN’s Bakari Sellers, a Harris supporter, condemned the podcast interview as “disappointing at best,” citing the guests’ lack of self-awareness and self-reflection. Republican strategist Tricia McLaughlin wrote that the interview was reminiscent of a typical Kamala Harris interview, where “nothing is actually said. No one answers the question. No interview pushback.”