In Failing To Question Vice President Harris, the Press Abdicates Its Responsibility

The past month has likely been the most eventful in American political history. Yet the two top officials of the most powerful nation in the world won’t answer any genuine questions.Three weeks have passed since Joe Biden was pushed out of the 2024 presidential race over deteriorating physical and mental abilities, and he has yet to publicly clarify with any specificity why he took this unprecedented step — or why, if he’s incapable of campaigning for the presidency, he’s fit to serve out his term in the White House.Then again, not one journalist in the corporate or legacy press has explained how Mr. Biden’s obvious senility could turn from a democracy-corroding MAGA misinformation operation into an accepted reality in a single day.If they were fooled for three years, how can we trust them? If they weren’t fooled, and they didn’t tell us, how can we trust them?Well, we can’t. Because they’re back at it.The Democrats’ new presidential candidate, who has never won a single primary vote, might have been crowned but hasn’t given a real interview or even an extemporaneous political statement since Democrat bigwigs pushed Mr. Biden aside. In a functioning liberal “democracy,” this would be pretty big news.The last time the vice president of the United States had a press conference was December 2023. The last time she sat down with any press was June 24, when she was interviewed by the sycophants on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” Before that was the “Momala” Harris interview with Drew Barrymore, which might be the most cringeworthy display of fawning in recorded history.“What is the incentive for her” to take more questions, a person close to Ms. Harris’s campaign asked Politico recently. “She’s getting out exactly the message she wants to get out.”Indeed, it’s quite the paradox. The press continues to baby Ms. Harris and get her message out to the public, so Ms. Harris doesn’t feel the least bit of urgency in clarifying her record.If they were so inclined, the navel-gazing press could probably get Ms. Harris out of her shell by doing some honest deep dives into her history and positions. If her lack of transparency were a daily top-of-the-fold story, she would be compelled to speak.Say what you will about President Trump, but he’s done scores of interviews and pressers over the past few months, many of them with antagonistic venues — including taking questions at the National Association of Black Journalists convention just weeks after surviving an assassination attempt.Ms. Harris hasn’t spoken to a hostile outlet in years. She won’t even take questions from her fans.Mr. Trump’s running mate, Senator Vance, is compelled to answer questions about a throwaway comment he made on a podcast before he was even in the Senate. Ms. Harris just sends her minions to walk back major policy positions that would fundamentally affect every American. She staked out these radical positions only a few years earlier while running for the same office. Ms. Harris isn’t triangulating her views for a general election; she is effectively negating an entire political history through press releases.Ms. Harris, for instance, says she no longer supports banning all air travel, meat, and combustible engines. That’s nice. Ms. Harris says she no longer believes in decriminalizing illegal border crossings. Good. The press treat her new claims as indisputable. No questions asked. No explanations given.Is Ms. Harris still going to try to ban semiautomatic rifles through an executive order? Does she believe all Americans should “end up in the same place” no matter how hard they work? Does she support defunding the police? We have no clue.Most of the press hackery is driven by partisanship. Some of it is also driven by access. There are practical concerns for journalists. Any reporters who truly challenge Ms. Harris are sure to find themselves on the outs. This is why we need a press, not just an outlet, to take their professional responsibility seriously. Because right now, they don’t.Instead, the same people who gaslit the nation, concealing the brittle state of the president for years — not just an abdication of their profession but of their responsibility as citizens — are now ensuring that voters won’t be subjected to Ms. Harris’ swirling, mind-bending tautologies and nonsensical stories.And I’d thank them for it … if she weren’t running for president.Creators.com

In Failing To Question Vice President Harris, the Press Abdicates Its Responsibility

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