Time Magazine Owner Blasts Harris For Rejecting Interview Requests
The owner of Time magazine blasted Vice President Kamala Harris for rejecting multiple interview requests from the prominent left-leaning publication ahead of November’s election.
Marc Benioff, the billionaire co-founder of Salesforce, bought Time magazine in 2018. He noted that since he’s been in charge of the publication, every presidential candidate has agreed to sit down for interviews during their campaigns, including former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
Harris, however, has rebuffed every one of the magazine’s interview requests.
“Despite multiple requests, TIME has not been granted an interview with Kamala Harris — unlike every other Presidential candidate,” Benioff wrote on X.
“We believe in transparency and publish each interview in full,” he continued. “Why isn’t the Vice President engaging with the public on the same level? #TrustMatters #TransparencyMatters #Leadership.”
Despite multiple requests, TIME has not been granted an interview with Kamala Harris—unlike every other Presidential candidate. We believe in transparency and publish each interview in full. Why isn’t the Vice President engaging with the public on the same level? #TrustMatters…
— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) October 13, 2024
Despite Harris’s rejections, Time magazine published another predictably glowing profile of Harris on Friday.
The magazine published a similar puff-piece about Harris in August, after the vice president took over the top of the Democratic ticket. Harris also refused to speak to Time then.
“Harris declined repeated requests for an interview for this story. In contrast, Trump talked about his policy vision with a TIME reporter for 90 minutes across two interviews. Biden spoke to TIME at similar length before dropping out of the race.” https://t.co/5wUbsSsLoR
— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) October 13, 2024
For most of her campaign, Harris has avoided the media. In the past couple of weeks, however, Harris has opted to appear on friendlier shows, including The View, The Howard Stern Show and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
The result has been a cataclysmic drop in the polls for Harris, who is now in a dead-heat with Trump, according to the latest NBC polls.
The poll marks a five-point drop for Harris from NBC’s last poll in September, which found her leading Trump 49% to 44%.
“As summer has turned to fall, any signs of momentum for Kamala Harris have stopped,” said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt, who conducted this survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff.
Horwitt noted that Harris’s initial refusal to sit down for interviews likely hurt her, since voters still have significant questions about her campaign and its proposals.
“The challenge for Kamala Harris: Can she meet the moment and fill in the blanks that voters have about her?” he said.
She is scheduled to be interviewed by Fox News host Bret Baier later this week, in what could prove to be her biggest challenge yet.
Although the appearance that Harris is losing momentum may be a negative, it could also be the latest leg in her astroturfed three-month-old campaign with early voting now open in many swing states. The perception that she is tied or trailing may help drive more Democrats to the polls in advance of Election Day.