Earlier this year, Joe Biden declined, for the second year in a row, to do a puff interview for the Super Bowl. At the time, and in hindsight, it was a signal Biden couldn't do the job anymore. When the White House refused to send Biden out for the easiest form of interviews for a large audience, it was a red flag. What do we make of Kamala Harris doing the same thing?

Time Magazine published a cover story on Harris heaping so much sugary praise on her that the American Dental Association could put a "may cause cavities" warning on it. In the middle of the piece, Time buries this line: "Harris has yet to do a single substantive interview or to explain her policy shifts. (Her campaign denied a request for an interview for this story.)."

When Time says, "Explain her policy shifts," they really mean, " Lay out what she believes." No one has any idea what the current Vice President believes on any issue. Normally, a press pool follows the President, Vice President, and presidential candidates around the country. Harris is ditching the press pool, too.

Biden avoided the spotlight because his time was past, and he couldn't do the job. What's the Harris campaign excuse?

Realistically, the Harris campaign doesn't believe she has to do it. Politico reported, "The Harris camp is hoping to ride the wave as long as it can. So there is little worry about the candidate avoiding something else that has long been required of presidential nominees: taking questions from the press."

The last time Harris sat down for an interview was June 24, 2024, when she went to MSNBC's Morning Joe to talk about abortion. At no point has Harris been asked or answered any questions about how she stepped into this position, what role, if any, she had in getting Biden to step down, or anything about her plans as President.

Here's an example: recently, the Harris campaign said she supported eliminating taxes on tips. It's a policy first pushed by Donald Trump on the campaign trail, which he's made a central promise in places like Nevada. Trump has, naturally, claimed that Harris stole his proposal.

Undeterred by all this, LATimes columnist Michael Hiltzik wants you to know that Harris's proposal for this is better than Trump's. His proof? Well, he doesn't have any. The central problem with his claim is that Harris hasn't laid out any policy specifics for this proposal - anywhere.

It's a line from a speech. Harris repeats it off a teleprompter, but no one knows anything beyond that line. Never worry; columnists are here to tell you that Harris's proposal is (D)ifferent and better than Trump's.

Of course, Harris could lay out her differences with Trump in a speech, chat with reporters, or post something on her website. That hasn't happened. We don't know how her proposal is different or even how she'll accomplish it.

Contrary to the press, the Harris proposal likely rings hollow for many tipped employees. Last year, the Biden-Harris administration rolled out a $1.6 billion initiative through the IRS to crack down on unreported tips. This was part of the much larger Inflation Reduction Act, where the White House claimed they'd only use the IRS to target the rich - a promise that never came to pass.

This stance is similar to how Kamala Harris now pretends to be cool with things like marijuana and other drugs. Meanwhile, as California's Attorney General, she convicted nearly 2,000 people for those exact violations. In the 2020 primary, she took considerable flack for trying to laugh that point away.

In the end, the problem with Harris right now is that she's showing outright contempt for the American people. Do you want to know what she believes? How dare you ask. You don't deserve to know. Harris wants to point at Trump, claim he's evil, and offer nothing of substance in return.

Americans are supposed to vote for her for the first time in their lives without knowing what she believes about anything. In truth, it's unclear whether Harris even knows what she believes. It's a campaign run by Democratic leadership aimed at forcing the Democratic Party to coalesce behind Harris, and any questions get yelled down.

Biden didn't talk to the American public because he couldn't anymore. Kamala Harris doesn't do it because she doesn't care what Americans think. It's a cold-blooded contempt for voters and the country.

Donald Trump spent two hours meandering through a long conversation with Elon Musk. Harris refuses to give Americans two questions about anything. The press paints Trump as a threat to democracy. Meanwhile, Harris has managed to skip out on every democratic process in the American system while taking no questions.

The American press's support for this campaign strategy is yet another stain on the fourth branch. But Kamala's contempt for everyone and everything that does not automatically support her is the overriding theme of this new campaign.