AP downplays need for Kamala Harris to speak to press: Interviewing candidates 'ain't what it used to be'

The Associated Press is raising eyebrows by downplaying the need for Vice President Kamala Harris to speak to the press.

"Meet the press? Hold that thought. The candidate sit-down interview ain’t what it used to be," a headline from the AP read Friday.

Harris, who has yet to do an interview nor hold a press conference since she swiftly became the Democratic nominee, suggested Thursday her campaign will schedule a sit-down interview before the end of the month after her GOP rival, former President Trump, held an hour-long press conference, during which he spent a lot of time slamming her for avoiding the media.

"That’s about to change, now that it has become a campaign issue," the AP wrote. "But for journalists, the larger lesson is that their role as presidential gatekeepers is probably diminishing forever."

HARRIS MOCKED FOR TAKING LESS THAN 2 MINUTES OF QUESTIONS AFTER 18 DAYS: 'THIS IS THE BEST KAMALA COULD DO?'

The report quoted GOP strategist Kevin Madden, who said "the goal" for candidates "is to control the message as much as possible."

"Interviews and news conferences take that control away," the AP continued. "Candidates are at the mercy of questions that journalists raise — even if they try to change the subject. News outlets decide which answers are newsworthy and will be sliced and diced into soundbites that rocket around social networks, frequently devoid of the context in which they were uttered. In such an environment, the value and perception of the sit-down interview has changed — for journalists and candidates alike."

The AP went on to say that the Harris campaign "may be taking lessons from her boss," noting that President Biden's interviews with ABC and NBC following his disastrous debate performance "did