If elections measured a candidate’s honesty and competence, then former President Donald Trump would win the presidency in a landslide.
After all, encounters with journalists do not intimidate candidates who tell the truth and know how to explain their actions. And Trump — unlike Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris — has never shied away from reporters or interviewers.
Small wonder, therefore, that the tireless and transparent Trump chose as his running mate Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, whose own media strategy of “anytime, anywhere” will once again take him into hostile territory.
According to Axios, Vance has agreed to appear on The New York Times’ “The Interview” podcast.
“The Interview” debuted in April.
Since then, hosts David Marchese and Lulu Garcia-Navarro have spoken to nearly two-dozen prominent public figures.
Unsurprisingly in light of the Times’ extreme pro-establishment bias, the lineup thus far has not exactly appealed to conservative populists. On the political side, interviewees have included Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
Nonetheless, according to one Vance adviser, the vice-presidential candidate uses establishment outlets in hopes of reaching moderate voters.
Was J.D. Vance a good VP pick?
“He can often be combative, but he’s not trying to own the libs when he engages with the MSM — he’s trying to persuade the middle,” the adviser told Axios.
Vance, of course, has already sat for a number of interviews with hostile establishment journalists.
Meanwhile, Harris and her running mate, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, have almost entirely avoided speaking to the media.
One exception occurred on Thursday, when Harris and Walz appeared together for an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash. It did not go well, as Harris struggled to answer direct questions and often seemed unsure of herself.
For Walz, the problem of engaging with the press stems from his stolen valor scandal. On Monday, for instance, Megyn Kelly interviewed four more former Walz colleagues in the Minnesota National Guard who denounced the governor as a liar and a coward.
Harris’ deliberate avoidance of journalists, however, has reached comic proportions.
Last month, for instance, even CNN’s Jim Acosta — hardly an unfriendly face in an establishment media that fawns over Democrats — pressed a Harris campaign spokesman about the vice president’s reluctance to do interviews.
Likewise, on Monday, Harris wore earpieces rather than speak to reporters before boarding a plane. Given her recent history of refusing to engage with the press, Harris certainly attracted attention from critics who suspected that she might have worn the earpieces so as to appear preoccupied.
In any event, if the United States had a free press, then Harris would not get away with remaining aloof. Nor would a free press effectively run her campaign for her, as the establishment media has.
As it stands, Trump and Vance must talk to nearly anyone they can in hopes of reaching as many voters as possible.
They can do it, however, because they tell the truth and will happily defend their records.
