'Aids' to Harris in her media sprint: from a teleprompter to post-editing her interviews

Having embarked in the shortest presidential campaign in the history of the country, the campaign team of Kamala Harris publicly announced, since the power grab from Joe Biden, that its mission was, simply, that the voters get to know the real Kamala. That would be enough, they claimed, to transform the image of one of the worst-rated vice presidents in history, to win the presidential election in 2024. Her latest interviews, however, reveal a slightly different purpose: "Meet Kamala, but not too much."

The most recent episode was Thursday, when the Democratic candidate spoke at a town hall organized by Univision to seduce the Latino vote. The controversy erupted after the first question, when construction worker, Ramiro Gonzalez (56), asked her about the response of a future Harris Administration to natural disasters such as the hurricanes Milton or Helene. It could then be seen that, while speaking, the candidate had a teleprompter in front of her:

The images went viral on social networks, and were reminiscent of a speech by the vice president last week at a rally in Michigan, when, with her teleprompter frozen, the only solution she could muster was to keep repeating that there were just 32 days to the election:

No script?

The town hall controversy doubly worries the Democratic camp because it had promised a string of 'unscripted' appearances, after weeks of avoiding the press. However, the very announcement of last week's schedule was enough to furrow eyebrows: The View, the Call Her Daddy podcast, CBS News' 60 Minutes, Howard Stern on Sirius XM and Stephen Colbert's late night. All pro-Democrat programs.

But not only were the hosts sympathetic to Harris - some openly, like Stern acknowledging he will vote Democrat - but some showed visibly rehearsed moments. Like when Colbert invited her to drink a beer and, acknowledging that he had consulted earlier, mocked Harris' choice of a Miller High Life: "So that covers Wisconsin." The beer is brewed in Wisconsin, a swing state.

'60 Minutes' scandal

But the most controversial interview, so far, was in front of the 60 Minutes cameras. Or rather, behind: Donald Trump demanded CBS to air the full recording of the conversation, accusing the network of releasing an edited version that was missing answers that hurt the presidential candidate.

The cuts referred to by Karoline Leavitt, national secretary of the Trump campaign, who led the complaint, were used by the media to promote the interview. However, they were missing in the final version.

The request was joined by numerous Republican elected officials, including Senator Ted Cruz, "They tried to help her out, and they actually got caught, which I got to say, I think has done real damage to their credibility going forward." As for the candidate, he wondered, "If she can't even talk to a friendly reporter without needing a re-do, how can she represent America on the world stage?"

"The transcript will speak for itself and there is no reason not to clear the air," Senator Lindsey Graham wrote on social media. "The idea that Kamala Harris’ comments may have been edited in a favorable way needs to be dealt with quickly."

Senator John Thune echoed the criticism, noting that he was "not sure why" why the Democratic team refused to release the full interview if, as he claimed after the release, he supported all of her answers. "In fact, their refusal to join these calls only raises more questions," he noted. One of them, the one most repeated by critics: what else are they hiding?

Trump and former CBS employees Vs. 60 Minutes

Adding to all these claims were those of former CBS News employees. "I think there should be an outside investigation," one argued in conversation with The New York Post. "Obviously, there’s a problem here. If they care about journalistic integrity, they would conduct an investigation or release the full transcript."

Another source from the so-called Tiffany Network, speaking to the Post, argued that the edit raised suspicions of bias and called for a "full-throated review" of what happened. One more recalled that there was a history of the network releasing full transcripts, one of them to Donald Trump in 2020.

The Republican candidate also demanded action. "CBS should lose its license, and it should be bid out to the Highest Bidder, as should all other Broadcast Licenses, because they are just as corrupt as CBS—and maybe even WORSE!" he posted on X this Friday. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel dismissed the complaint and accused the former chairman of infringing on free speech.

82 days without a press conference in sight

Harris' appearance in friendly media may not be enough to convince undecided voters. Analysts who postulate that idea point out that the only solution is to submit the candidate to a face-to-face meeting with independent or conservative reporters, or even to organize a press conference where she would have to face, live, several questions from different media.

Since taking over from Biden, she has gone 82 days without holding a press conference.