Kamala Harris Had Minority Journalists at 'Hello'

Tim Graham on Sep 20, 2024

The easiest thing in the world to predict is that Vice President Kamala Harris is going to be coddled by minority journalists. If you speak the mantra "diversity, equity, inclusion" -- and let's add "history" -- you're rooting for a Harris victory.

So when Harris finally consented to a sit-down with three liberals at a Philadelphia NPR station for the National Association of Black Journalists, the title of the event could have been "You Had Me at 'Hello.'" Not every question was a softball -- they pushed back from the Left on handgun control and denying aid to Israel. But nobody wanted her chances of victory to be damaged in any way.

Politico reporter Eugene Daniels -- whose official beat has been championing the vice president for the last four years -- opened the lovefest by asking the simple question about whether the American people are better off now than they were four years ago. She responded by uncorking outrageous claims -- that we had record-high unemployment when she and President Joe Biden assumed office (wrong), and that Jan. 6 was the most terrible attack on our democracy since the Civil War. It's like 9/11 never happened.

There was no pushback. This was a shocking contrast with former President Donald Trump's NABJ interview at their convention in July, where ABC reporter Rachel Scott began with a vicious stemwinder about how many black journalists thought Trump shouldn't be allowed at their convention, how he disparaged black Democrats like Rep. Ilhan Omar and insulted black journalists for "stupid" questions, and that he had dinner with a white supremacist (Nick Fuentes). Kanye West brought Fuentes, who was not invited, but Trump said he didn't know who he was at the time.

Scott also demanded that Trump should get his fellow Republicans to stop attacking her favorite candidate, Harris, as a "DEI hire." They see this as a slur on Harris' talents. They can't admit that many Democrats demanded Biden install a black woman on the ticket -- which sounds exactly like a DEI imperative.

Harris will never face hostile questions like this. There is no way she would ever be asked questions as rude as Trump received from Scott. She's never going to accept an interview request from Fox News or Newsmax or, God forbid, conservative radio stars. The double standard is blatant and unforgettable. She's not even interested in interviews from her most obvious allies, like the corrupt debate moderators at ABC.

Fox News host Harris Faulkner was one of the three questioners at the Trump NABJ event. Why couldn't they balance it out and have Faulkner also ask questions of Harris? Let's guess that Team Harris would have immediately vetoed that idea. Harris can't handle a less predictable question, one with a more accusatory spin on it. She can bungle a softball, like she did with her first question in the NABJ friendzone.

Gerren Keith Gaynor of TheGrio asked the most ridiculous question, claiming Republicans have "weaponized" her laughter, implying she's not a serious candidate, so "why is joy important to you, to insert into this election?" Gaynor later told Joy Reid "it was important for me to lift that up. And who doesn't love joy, Joy?"

These journalists are like Drew Barrymore, who was terrified of harming Kamala's career in an interview. ABC debate tilter Linsey Davis told the Los Angeles Times she had to turn off her social media accounts to shut out people who accused her of pulling for Harris. "There is a stereotype that I am acutely aware of that I can't be unbiased covering this moment," she said. Then she went on the debate stage and proved it.

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Tim Graham is director of media analysis at the Media Research Center and executive editor of the blog NewsBusters.org. To find out more about Tim Graham and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.