CNN’s Bakari Sellers engaged in a near-shouting match with members of a CNN panel on Thursday as they debated whether Vice President Kamala Harris appearing for sit-down interviews matters to voters.
Sellers went head-to-head with political commentator S.E. Cupp and Tricia McLaughlin, a former communications director for Vivek Ramaswamy, over whether voters are concerned about Harris’ lack of sit-down interviews since launching her presidential campaign. Harris has not sat down for a single interview since becoming the presumptive nominee on July 21, when President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, and instead has spoken at rallies in front of friendly audiences.
Cupp said Republican nominee Donald Trump was able to “trap” Harris by taking questions from the media during his Thursday press conference at Mar-a-Lago. Sellers said Harris does not need to be interviewed by the media in order to appeal to voters.
“Don’t nobody care about us, about somebody taking questions,” Sellers said.
“No, I speak to swing state voters all the time. They have questions, they want answers … because when fans ask them Bakari, when friends ask them, when surrogates ask them, they’re not getting the real answer,” Cupp argued.
CNN panel last night erupted as they debated whether voters care about Kamala Harris’ lack of media appearances pic.twitter.com/jRG3H8Uydb
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 9, 2024
The panel argued on whether Harris would benefit from answering questions directly, with Sellers arguing that Harris’ campaign rallies are proof that she is gaining voters’ momentum without just being “online.” Cupp argued that Sellers would be demanding any other candidate to sit down for interviews. (RELATED: ‘She Will Be Exposed’: Trump Accuses Kamala Harris Of Trying To Escape Debates)
“You will lose, and you’re not the only person to make this argument that she doesn’t need to do this. It’s very inside the Beltway, this is for us. You lose credibility when you do that. Because if it were someone else, you would be demanding that they sit down for questions. And you know what? It will make her a better candidate if she does it.”
McLaughlin then sparred with Sellers as he pushed her to answer whether Trump’s claim that his rally had more people than Martin Luther King Jr.’s “March on Washington” is worse than Harris not taking questions.
“It’s a misnomer,” McLaughlin replied.
“So can you admit that Donald Trump lied about saying that?” Sellers asked.
McLaughlin argued Trump’s remark is about “optics,” further noting the election is the “least substantive” in modern history.
The Trump campaign has planned to get Harris off-script as the vice president continues to enjoy her “honeymoon phase.” Trump and Harris have agreed to participate in a Sept. 10 debate moderated by ABC News, although the former president proposed to debate her on Sept. 4 with Fox News moderators.
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