26 Comments
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Wizarat Rizvi's avatar

Your article reflects your interest and currently Harris's focus is to win in November.

If you do get a chance to ask a question of her would you ask her if she would follow all US laws judicially? Such as the 1997 Leahy law forbidding US to ship/sell/provide arms to nations or units involved in Gross Human Rights violations?

Does dropping a 2000# bomb classify as Gross Human Rights Violation under Leahy Laws definition?

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Mark J's avatar

No. She doesn't "owe it to American's to speak to the press" if that includes the billionaire-owned "corporate/mainstream" media. She owes it to Americans to speak to Americans. She should do that as directly as possible without the distortions, burying of the lede, and mis-casting that are pretty much guaranteed to infect any so-called "reporting" by entities such as the New York Times, CNN, and the Washington Post, not to mention non-news entertainment liars like Fox News. Instead, she should go direct whenever possible and where actual honest journalists can be found, spend some time talking to them as well. I subscribe to NYT and WaPo, but it's not because I trust the fairness and accuracy of their reporting. It's because, "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

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Robert Jaffee's avatar

I’ll agree with you when the MSM starts acting like journalists, and not a bunch of second rate hacks that only want to create controversy, and give legitimacy to a failed and despicable narcissistic sociopath, with their bothsidesism, which doesn’t exist.

Until then, I suggest she continue to speak directly to the American people, and ignore the middle man….:)

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LifeUnderway's avatar

Disagree. She owes it to us to win, not to waste time on make-believe "journalists" who love the chaos and clickbait of trump. If she does an interview it should be only with someone like Margaret Hoover or Ali Velshi, not the talking heads of the three letter networks. They are, like trump and his cult, irrelevant relics of the past. We have work to do; we don't have any more time or energy to waste on political dinosaurs.

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Charlene fitzpatrick's avatar

You know there is this thing called time? She hasn't got it. And why should she waste it on the traditional press when they have not handled the threat of Trump's pending autocracy in any meaningful way? It will not backfire on her to not do an interview and it will backfire on her to grant one, because the press cannot do an interview that benefits anybody but Trump.

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Esmeralda's avatar

I don't think Harris "owes" the press anything, and such arguments are just regurgitating mainstream media organizations. I expect more from Zeteo.

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Alexandra Barcus's avatar

Trump may give press conferences, but since he never gives actual meaningful answers to questions I would not call that access. Anyone who is truthful in those circumstances is immediately at a disadvantage because members of the press have definitive information from the answers provided to ask a battery of questions. How can you follow up with Trump? He goes largely uncontested save for the NABJ interviewers who tried like fury to pin him down.

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NLTownie's avatar

Harris is being smart to not volunteer for one on one or press conference exposure. Why would she? She has everything to lose and nothing to gain. Every reporter is salivating at the thought of getting some sort of exclusive, inside comment, especially one that would blow up the internet. Some little verbal slip, or tripping on a step - anything. The media are like yapping hounds desperately wanting something to trigger a pack frenzy. Good news quickly goes stale and eventually, Harris will have to start providing " availability". But smart people in the public eye long ago stopped trusting reporters to be reasonable or fair or ethical, to restrain from using some small mistake or stumble. Every one of them would gladly go for the jugular to get ahead of the pack.

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Alexandra Barcus's avatar

We saw that with Biden, didn’t we? CNN set up an unfair playing field—not controlling Trump or fact-checking. Biden had a bad performance, but CNN started his feeding frenzy. I used to watch a variety of networks. Now I watch CNN only occasionally or MSNBC—at least I know the latter have a clear bias.

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NLTownie's avatar

MSNBC also, occasionally, has Charlie.

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Alexandra Barcus's avatar

Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller and Charlie from the Bulwark crowd are all over the airways these days.

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Jackie's avatar

Kamala is smart to make case directly to the people. As your article states the traditional press will never give her a fair shake and their normalizing Trump and pretending he is a fit and viable candidate renders them useless as legitimate news.

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Carina Cooper's avatar

She probably will after she has accepted the nomination. I hope she’ll choose well. Right now, she is super busy, between running for president and still be vp under Biden.

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Linda S.'s avatar

First, let's level-set, Trump does not hold serious press interviews or briefings. He does not answer questions, but rants and raves on whatever flotsam is drifting through his brain at the moment. Second, while Trump and Biden had a year (or more) to prep for all the usual election year tasks - setting up field offices, campaign branding, vetting & selecting a VP, convention planning, Harris has had 4 weeks. The media can wait it's turn until AFTER the DNC convention to start complaining about a lack of access. Harris' team is right to keep the mainstream press from their usual inept, disruptive and often inaccurate "reporting."

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David Roberts's avatar

She owes the media nothing. When they start acting ethically across the board, maybe. Stop both-sidesing everything. Stop trying to place everything in a predetermined template. I could go on but let's just say the MSM in the USA has been terrible and things need to change.

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DK Brooklyn's avatar

Here’s my advice, when things are going your way keep doing what you’re doing!

Why change the script.

And always remember that the press is not your friend. They are in the business of getting eyeballs, clicks, and attention.

Give them stories and news that you control.

The aim is very simple. Stop the fascist GOP. That means winning the election by a huge landslide that is too big to say it was rigged.

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James R Hadley III's avatar

Why is it that the MEDIA should have the right to dictate what a candidate must do. You have every right to ask but that’s about it… you must realize that the Media is rated just above congress and the supreme courts in most opinion polls. Shame on you Mehdi for joining in the sheep in the media. The MSNBC shackles must still be haunting you!

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Laurie A Fettinger's avatar

She does not owe you and the MSM that actively produced bs since 2015- still doing it-

We the People Been hearing from her- directly

Until any of you ‘journalists’ actually Ask, Demand answers from the convicted felon- facts check his lies and violence - your whining g is best left at a fascist rally- the audacity of what you think you are entitled to

FYI - a Hitler speech of lies from the fascist is NOT a press meeting etc - its PROPAGANDA - and you guys peddle it-

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Clare Sassoon's avatar

She doesn’t need to answer inane questions about trump, though, and that’s what they’re asking.

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Chris's avatar

Reading these comments makes me wonder if people like John Harwood ever read any of the comments made by the people who read what he writes. I'm guessing he does not. If he does, why isn't he getting the message?

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