Biden, Harris to Give First Interview After Refusing to Take Questions at Appearances

Biden, Harris to Give First Interview After Refusing to Take Questions at Appearances
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) speak in a press conference in Wilmington, Del., on Aug. 13, 2020. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Zachary Stieber
Updated:

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), will answer a range of questions on Aug. 23, potentially for the first time.

Biden, 77, and Harris, 55, plan to sit down with David Muir, the anchor of ABC News’ “World News Tonight,” and Robin Roberts, a “Good Morning America” co-anchor.

The interviews will air on Sunday night from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Some clips will be aired on Friday night.

Biden announced Harris as his running mate on Aug. 11.

In their first two appearances, Biden and Harris answered no questions.

They answered two shouted questions on Friday before aides shooed reporters out.

Biden had already been criticized for holding rare press conferences since March, when he began isolating at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The stonewalling attracted attention from a range of reporters, especially when contrasted with Republican President Donald Trump’s near-daily interactions with the press. In addition, no one from Biden’s campaign appeared on morning shows on Sunday.

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, right, and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) sign papers at the Hotel DuPont in Wilmington, Del., on Aug. 14, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, right, and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) sign papers at the Hotel DuPont in Wilmington, Del., on Aug. 14, 2020. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

“I don’t understand what’s going on here. This is the damnedest thing I’ve ever seen,” Chris Wallace of Fox News said in an appearance on Fox News Radio last week.

“The Biden campaign isn’t putting anybody out. And this just is of a piece with the vice president not doing really any serious interviews, not answering any questions since the rollout. He continues to lead with what I'll call the basement strategy.”

Washington Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy wrote on Twitter: “Biden & Harris need to face questions—tough questions—from the media. This is not a coronation, even if some of the fawning coverage might lead you to believe otherwise.”

CNN anchor Brianna Keilar said her network keeps pressing the campaign, adding on-air: “There needs to be more questions from reporters.”

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) took aim at the situation during a recent appearance on “Fox & Friends.”

“Joe Biden doesn’t want to take the questions,” he said.

The Biden campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Zachary Stieber
Zachary Stieber
Senior Reporter
Zachary Stieber is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times based in Maryland. He covers U.S. and world news. Contact Zachary at [email protected]
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