Kamala Harris has launched a week-long media blitz, racing between TV studios, late-night shows, and podcast interviews in an effort to gain an advantage over Donald Trump in the fiercely contested battleground states of the US election. These key states remain neck-and-neck as Election Day approaches.
The vice president’s decision to engage with largely favorable media outlets comes with just 30 days remaining in the campaign. Already, over 1.4 million Americans have cast early ballots across 30 states.
Harris’s media tour has been strategically designed for maximum exposure with minimal risk. She has appeared on CBS News’s 60 Minutes and the popular podcast Call Her Daddy.
On Tuesday, she heads to New York, the heart of the media world, for appearances on The View and The Howard Stern Show, followed by a taping with late-night host Stephen Colbert. A brief preview of her 60 Minutes interview aired on Sunday ahead of the full broadcast on Monday. Harris will appear solo, as Trump declined to participate in the interview, a long-standing feature of US election coverage.
In a clip released by 60 Minutes, Harris was asked if the Biden-Harris administration holds any influence over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. When asked if Netanyahu is a “real close ally,” she responded, “With all due respect, the better question is: do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people? And the answer is yes.”
Since Harris took center stage as the Democratic nominee after Joe Biden stepped aside, her limited media appearances have become a flashpoint on the campaign trail. Republicans and Fox News pundits have accused her of avoiding the press.
This week’s media blitz aims to counter that narrative while targeting key demographic groups central to Harris’s campaign strategy. Call Her Daddy is Spotify’s top podcast among women, while The View draws 2.5 million viewers, heavily skewing toward women.
Meanwhile, Colbert’s CBS show, the highest-rated late-night program, attracts a large audience of younger viewers aged 18 to 49—a key demographic for Harris.
Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, has also been actively engaging with the media. He appeared on Fox News Sunday, where he faced questions about a pro-abortion law he signed and past instances where he misstated his record.
During last week’s vice-presidential debate, Walz admitted his mistakes, calling himself a “knucklehead.” He told Fox News, “To be honest, I don’t think the American people care if I used IUI or IVF; they care that Donald Trump would oppose these rights. I will own up when I make mistakes.”
As the race enters its final stretch, The latest polling shows Harris leading Trump by three percentage points nationwide. However, in the critical battleground states, Harris is ahead in five of seven, though the margins remain razor-thin.
Both campaigns are ramping up their efforts in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Harris and Walz will campaign in Arizona this week, where early voting begins on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the Democratic ticket will receive a boost when former President Barack Obama starts his campaign appearances, beginning in the swing state of Pennsylvania. Obama will kick off in Pittsburgh before traveling across the country to rally support for Harris.
Trump, meanwhile, held a rally in Juneau, Wisconsin, on Sunday, a day after he returned to Butler, Pennsylvania, where an assassination attempt was made on July 13. Trump and his son Eric used the rally to falsely claim that Democrats were behind the attempt on his life.
“They tried to kill him because the Democratic Party can’t do anything right,” Eric Trump said. Billionaire Elon Musk also made an appearance.
On Sunday, House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked by ABC News whether such rhetoric was responsible in light of growing concerns over political violence leading up to the November 5 election. Johnson dodged the question, saying he hadn’t heard the full speeches.
The speaker also refused to answer whether Trump had lost the 2020 election, deflecting by accusing the media of playing “gotcha” games with Republicans.
Melania Trump, promoting her new book Melania, gave an interview to Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo. Asked whether she trusted top officials at the FBI and CIA, given the apparent opposition to her husband, she responded, “It’s hard to say who you can really trust. There’s always a question mark.”
In her book, Melania reveals her pro-abortion stance, which she reiterated in the interview, stating, “My husband has always known my beliefs. I believe in personal freedom and the right to choose. I don’t want the government involved in my private decisions.”
