By The White House News Photographers Association (WHNPA) has begun to raise concerns over Kamala Harris hiding from the media. According to an August letter, obtained by Axios, the organization claims that the vice president has a significantly reduced media access since she became the Democratic nominee for president.
Jessica Koscielniak, president of the WHNPA, addressed the letter to top aides of Harris, highlighting the recent cutback in the number of independent news photographers allowed on Air Force Two.
The letter, dated August 28, expressed alarm that the four designated photographer seats on the vice-presidential plane had been reduced to just one. Koscielniak suggested possible solutions, including the addition of a “chaser plane” for more media or a reorganization of seat allocations by the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA). However, as of now, these recommendations have not been implemented, leaving photographers at a disadvantage.
Doug Mills, a veteran White House photographer, emphasized the importance of diverse visual coverage. “Every photographer sees each event differently,” he told Axios, stressing the need for a full photographer pool.
Despite Koscielniak’s efforts, she reported receiving no response from Harris’ office until Wednesday, after Axios reached out for comment. The vice president’s office stated they had been in regular communication with the WHCA to explore ways to increase press access but found that Koscielniak’s proposals were not feasible due to limitations in personnel and aircraft availability.
New: In an Aug. 28 letter obtained by Axios, the WH News Photographers Association said Harris’ team was engaging in an “unprecedented reduction in access.”
The VP’s team didn’t respond until last night after we asked about the letter
W/ @sarafischer https://t.co/OOch8LDqWX pic.twitter.com/qkl5MaStBr
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) September 12, 2024
“It’s very disappointing,” Koscielniak told Axios, lamenting that this represents the smallest media contingent for a presidential race in her memory. She also noted that the full 13-member travel pool should have been included on Harris’ plane once she became the Democratic presidential nominee.
Harris has been criticized for limiting unscripted interactions and press engagements following her coronation as the Democratic nominee for president.
The Daily Caller noted that “since launching her presidential campaign, Harris has faced scrutiny for her lack of unscripted moments and failure to frequently engage with the press. Even though former President Donald Trump doesn’t have a traveling press pool on the campaign trail with him, Axios notes that Harris’ competitor has engaged with the press more than her. Her first sit-down interview came more than a month into her presidential campaign and rather than being solo, the vice president brought her running mate along too.
In that interview, Harris failed to respond to why she had flip-flopped on several policy issues since hitting the campaign trail.
‘Generally speaking, how should voters look at some of the changes that you’ve made that you explained some of here in your policy?’ CNN’s Dana Bash asked.
‘I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is that my values have not changed,’ Harris responded.”
The media so far refusing to push the vice president to do more interviews has allowed Harris to avoid explaining why she’s changed her mind on some of the most important issues facing the country. Social media users have begun compiling videos of her previous radical statements and contrasting them with what she says during her scripted moments today.
Kamala is on tape saying the exact opposite of virtually every position she claims to believe now. We’ve truly never seen anything like this: pic.twitter.com/8sbwcfq2UT
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) September 12, 2024
Trump recently announced that he will not be doing another debate, a move that will likely deprive the Harris campaign from continuing to hide while hoping to win on “vibes.”
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