(Washington) It’s another Kamala Harris that we discovered. During a media raid this week, the vice president appeared as comfortable talking about abortion as she did beer and shared her fondness for sports and grape cereal.
Posted at 7:15 a.m.
Danny KEMP
Agence France-Presse
The Democratic candidate carried out very different interviews, on very different media, after having avoided the media for weeks, a subject on which her rival Donald Trump continued to attack her.
of the ballad Call Her Daddyvery popular with young women, to the essential political show 60 minutes on the CBS channel through that, with a much lighter tone, of the flagship host Stephen Colbert, the vice-president was everywhere.
PHOTO CBS NEWS/60 MINUTES
Bill Whitaker and Kamala Harris on the set of 60 minutes.
The opportunity for her to target a very specific audience, in particular young people and women, while Americans are increasingly abandoning so-called traditional media
“This plan seems completely logical to me,” former White House spokesperson Jean Psaki reacted on MSNBC, rejecting criticism that the Democratic candidate would only be faced with easy questions.
From the Lewis Hamilton
His interview in Call Her Daddywith frank discussions on sexuality and mental health, is “much more valuable than any interview in a more traditional media”, believes the former spokesperson for Joe Biden.
In 2023, this podcast was ranked second in listens of the year on Spotify and first among women.
Kamala Harris appeared serene, far from the tension that we felt in her in previous interviews.
The 59-year-old candidate spoke about protecting abortion and blasted her rival Donald Trump’s sexist remarks, saying it was “really important not to let others define you.”
Podcast host Alexandra Cooper was, however, criticized by listeners for bringing her show into the political arena, a new illustration of an ultrapolarized America.
In his own way, Trump did the same in this campaign by appearing on non-traditional media, notably right-wing podcasts popular among young men, or by interacting with Elon Musk on the billionaire’s social network, X.
But Harris has shown that she also has her own media sphere.
With radio host Howard Stern, who on Tuesday called her “great” and asked her to “end this nightmare” by defeating Trump, Harris talked about her taste for raisin bran cereal, her morning exercise while watching a left-wing political show and being a fan of British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton.
“Therapy”
The next day, Trump attacked the host on his Truth Social network, saying he had “made a fool of himself on his lousy radio show” by asking “so many nice questions” that even Harris “was embarrassed.”
But the Democrat spoke about serious subjects. On the set of Late Show by Stephen Colbert, she was pushed to speak out on Israel’s war in Gaza. And Republicans strongly criticized her for saying on ABC that she would not have changed anything in Joe Biden’s political decisions.
According to Kenneth Miller, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, non-traditional media are increasingly a good way for a candidate to communicate his agenda to voters.
“Frankly, the traditional media asks the wrong questions,” he told AFP.
“Trump is looking for friendly media,” he continues, while “Harris is looking for media that gives her access to the voters she needs, including those under 50 and independents.” And candidates “appreciate” these channels, according to him.
Harris also told Howard Stern on Tuesday that this particular media sequence in the middle of the campaign was “a kind of therapy” for her. A few hours earlier, Trump assured a Los Angeles radio station: “Do you know what it is for me? Therapy. »
