Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign has been gaining momentum, with large crowds and a “joyful warrior” message, but her policy stance remains unclear. Despite her claims of knowing what she stands for, her campaign website lacks a policy tab, leaving voters to wonder about her plans for the future.
In contrast, President Joe Biden’s campaign website still features a detailed policy section, while former President Donald Trump’s website includes a comprehensive platform with 20 bullet points. Harris has made her stance clear on a few key issues, such as restoring abortion access protections and not raising taxes on those earning under $400,000, but her campaign has distanced her from several policy stances she took during her 2019 presidential run.
Harris’s campaign has announced changes to her policy positions, including no longer supporting a federal jobs guarantee, banning fracking, or abolishing private health insurance, and no longer backs a mandatory assault weapons buyback program, but these changes have been made by staffers rather than Harris herself. The campaign has not responded to questions about when it will release more detailed policy platform information.
Harris’s limited engagement with the press has also raised concerns. She has avoided speaking to the press since Biden left the race, doing no wide-ranging interviews or press conferences, and taking only brief questions from reporters. Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, have seized on this issue, holding solo press conferences and criticizing Harris’s media silence.
Conservative groups have also attacked Harris’s lack of transparency, with Win It Back PAC President David McIntosh accusing her staff of trying to avoid the press and make her candidate more palatable to voters. McIntosh criticized Harris’s support for policies such as ending Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, crippling American energy production, and making communities less safe.
Despite these concerns, Harris has overtaken Trump’s lead in national polling averages and has erased his edge in several battleground states. Some voters may feel they already know enough about Harris to cast their votes, while others may simply want to keep Trump out of the White House. The question remains whether voters will care enough about policy platforms or press appearances to abandon Harris.
Harris staffers have suggested that she may not need to do big interviews before Labor Day, but she has told reporters she would like to schedule one before the end of August.
