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Published
3 days ago
on
September 20, 2024
The Harris-Walz campaign has been taking heat for its decision to not spend time doing formal interviews or press conferences with many mainstream media reporters, but instead, find other ways to reach voters that allow the Democratic presidential nominee help the electorate get to know her on her terms and in more casual settings.
Thursday night, Harris sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a “star-studded and, at times, deeply emotional 1.5-hour-long event, set up to mimic Winfrey’s former television show,” as Politico reported, that “was live streamed on multiple social platforms.”
“The armchair conversation allowed Harris to display a level of empathy for the challenges some Americans are facing while highlighting her personal bio, something she didn’t spend much time on during her debate with former President Donald Trump this month.”
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Democratic strategist Matt McDermott called it “a brilliant campaign strategy for Kamala Harris to do a sit down interview with Oprah Winfrey. Millions of Americans are watching across digital platforms in real time, meeting voters where they are.”
Evan Roth Smith, the lead pollster for Blueprint, commented on the Harris-Oprah event:
“Harris should do more of these! Just-released @Blueprint_2024 testing of her interview clips found:
– Every clip tested was viewed positively by 60%+
– Every clip moves support toward Harris
– Voters feel they know Harris better with every clip
Do more!”
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Oprah Winfrey hosted a campaign event with VP Kamala Harris in suburban Detroit on Thursday, featuring a mix of celebrities, campaign organizers and a crowd of battleground state voters.
“I felt a sense of responsibility, to be honest with you, and with that comes a sense of… pic.twitter.com/RPSaeGvXO8
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) September 20, 2024
Meanwhile, Fox News has been attacking Vice President Harris, at times daily, with reports like this one on Friday: “61 days: Kamala Harris has yet to do formal press conference since emerging as Democratic nominee.”
On Friday, WIRED published its “Autocomplete Interview” with the Democratic presidential nominee, another opportunity for Harris to sit in a less formal setting while letting voters get to know her better.
“Vice President Kamala Harris talked about her childhood, her debate with Donald Trump, her gun ownership, and the policies that define her campaign in this special edition of the WIRED Autocomplete Interview.”
WIRED calls it a “wide-ranging” interview and a “lively tour of Harris’ past and a preview of her plans for the future.”
Essentially, WIRED gave Harris large cards that look like Google search windows, and had her “respond to some of the most-searched terms about” her. “In this case, the prompts hit on her policies around reproductive rights, gun ownership, marriage equality, and more. But Harris also talks about more personal details, like her relationship with her stepchildren and her deep ties to her college sorority.”
“Most of all,” WIRED reports, “Harris took the opportunity to highlight the differences between her perspective and Donald Trump’s. ‘His vision for our country is very grounded in the past,’ she says, ‘and frankly an attempt to take us backward.’”
Watch the interview below or at this link.
We sat down with Vice President @KamalaHarris to answer the internet’s most-searched questions about her life, her candidacy, the presidential debate, and yes, Taylor Swift.
? https://t.co/yAbol5Rk6p pic.twitter.com/wndNLWFOxO
— WIRED (@WIRED) September 20, 2024
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