‘Give Me An Answer’: NewsNation Host Confronts Ex-Harris Official Dodging On VP’s Media Silence On Campaign Trail

NewsNation host Leland Vittert confronted Vice President Kamala Harris’ former associate counsel Rachel Palermo on Tuesday over why Harris has made limited press appearances since launching her 2024 campaign. Harris has…

Jason CohenJul 31, 20244 min read

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NewsNation host Leland Vittert confronted Vice President Kamala Harris’ former associate counsel Rachel Palermo on Tuesday over why Harris has made limited press appearances since launching her 2024 campaign.

Harris has not given a single interview to the media since President Joe Biden ended his campaign and endorsed her to take his place on July 21. Vittert, on “On Balance With Leland Vittert,” asked Palermo when Harris would end her media silence and continued to press her when she did not directly answer the question.

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“Nine days, she has been out. She has not done a single interview. Tomorrow, the National Association of Black Journalists issued an invitation to Donald Trump and to Kamala Harris … Donald Trump is the one who is showing up. Kamala Harris is not. How long is the on-the-teleprompter, totally protected campaign going to last?” Vittert asked.

“I will get to that question, but I do first want to state my impression of the Vice President’s incredible speech tonight,” Palermo said. “She had thousands and thousands of people in the crowd. It leads off of a week that she had where she raised $200 million from donors. It was a historic amount of support that she’s received.”

Vittert then pressed her to “answer the question” as Palermo continued to discuss the contents of Harris’ speech, including her “vision for the future” and abortion.

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“We heard the whole thing … When is this candidate who talked about the importance of democracy — importance of democracy is the importance of a press and speaking to the free press — she hasn’t done that in nine days. She’s turned down every interview request,” the NewsNation host said. “She’s even turned down the Association of Black Journalists. If this was Donald Trump — and I remember when Donald Trump didn’t speak to the press for three days — the republic was over and it was an assault on the media. Nine days, she’s gotten away with it.”

Palermo then asserted Harris has actively “engaged media” during her tenure as vice president.

“Oh, come on. You’re entitled to your own opinion, you’re not entitled to your own facts … Give me an answer!” Vittert said.

“I will get to your question on ABJ. First, I don’t work for the Vice President anymore, but I did see in public reporting that this was a clear scheduling conflict,” Palermo said. “And I also would like to say that throughout the three years I worked for her, she engaged NABJ consistently. She always gave a place at the table to black journalists.”

The NABJ24 convention will host Trump for a moderated Q&A session while Harris may speak to the association virtually after the conference, according to the group’s website.

“This is a woman, though, who when off script, is a disaster. She was a disaster in the Lester Holt interview. You can disagree, but there’s a reason that she doesn’t go out there and do interviews,” Vittert said. “I covered the Trump-Pence White House. Trump and Pence talked all the time to media.”

Palermo said she staffed Harris “for hundreds of interviews,” with Vittert asking “how many network interviews” she has done.

“Many, dozens and I’m happy to follow up with numbers. The vice president has always prioritized media, she’s prioritized a free press,” Palermo asserted.

Vittert noted that Harris has only taken “one gaggle question” since launching her campaign.

Featured Image Credit: Screenshot/Grabien/NewsNation

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