North Dakota’s Republican Governor, Doug Burgum, recently criticized Vice President Kamala Harris, implying her continual indecisiveness throughout the election cycle. According to Burgum, Harris’s inconsistencies extend even to preferences regarding the upcoming debate hosted by ABC News. They seem unable to settle on a microphone policy, switching preferences on whether microphones should be kept on for both candidates during the debate or not.
Recently surfaced reports expose a new dubious strategy by the Harris team. They are now advocating for a policy where both candidates’ microphones are perpetually live during the debate to potentially capitalize on any missteps from former President Donald Trump. This comes as a stark contrast to the demands of the Biden team earlier this year, who urged CNN to mute the microphones when it wasn’t a candidate’s turn to speak.
Burgum raised concerns about this changing strategy on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom. Commenting on the Harris campaign’s repeated policy switch, he stated they ‘flip-flopped on everything else,’ concealing their true intentions behind obscure statements from unnamed anonymous staff members. Their desperate attempts to evade a direct encounter with Trump are evident.
The Governor alleges that the Harris campaign’s unreasonable demands reveal their underlying strategy. It’s a preference to stay out of the spotlight, comfortably locked away in their metaphorical basement. This is another evasive trick to avoid openly engaging with the public and directly debating Trump, according to Burgum.
Trump, the former President, openly expressed doubts about his participation in the ABC debate with Harris. His skepticism stems from Harris’s refusal of various other offers to debate him on different platforms. This is just one of the many statements casting a shadow over Trump’s enthusiasm to engage in a debate with Harris.
The former President even proposed a debate on Fox News, only to have Harris disregard the offer earlier this month. Such a lack of transparency within the Harris team brings the true intention of their campaign into question, portraying a clear image of a campaign built on avoidance and academic bluster.
Senior Advisor to Trump, Jason Miller, conveyed his observations to the Washington Examiner. He postulates that the Harris campaign’s fear of public scrutiny and inevitable criticism might be at the root of this observable flip-flopping. Their endless hunt for alternative routes to avoid the debate appears as the only reasonable explanation for such erratic behavior.
The scheduled ABC News debate between Trump and Harris on Sept. 10 adds more pressure. A vice-presidential debate between Senator J.D. Vance and Governor Tim Walz is also set for Oct. 1, hosted by CBS News. However, the Harris campaign’s reluctance to clearly define their strategy breeds skepticism and anticipation.
Burgum emphasizes the importance of voters demanding straightforward answers from Harris. Ever since she joined the 2024 presidential race, she has evaded a one-on-one interview with the press. This evasion is unique to her; no other candidate has avoided answering questions so close to an election.
Burgum argues that the electorate may be misled into seeing Harris as nothing more than a projection of Biden’s policies. Until Harris clarifies her position, voters can only assume her policies will mirror those of President Biden.
Burgum also shared an intriguing piece of information last month. Former President Trump referred to him as ‘Mr. Secretary.’ This, along with rumors of Burgum being on Trump’s shortlist for vice-presidential candidates, has fueled speculation about Burgum’s potential role in a future Trump administration.
The veiled strategies and conspicuous evasiveness displayed by the Harris campaign only heighten the concerns raised by vocal critics like Governor Burgum. Until the Harris team decides to take a definitive stand, skepticism about their campaign will rightfully persist.