Vice President Harris is making a number of high-profile media appearances this week on some of the most popular news and entertainment programs in the country.
On Tuesday, she’s slated to appear on The View on ABC, The Howard Stern Show and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on CBS. On Thursday, she will take part in a Univision Town Hall in Nevada.
Harris also spoke with CBS News’s Bill Whitaker for an interview that aired Monday on 60 Minutes and sat down with podcast host Alex Cooper for her show Call Her Daddy, which aired on Sunday.
It’s a string of media appearances that the vice president’s campaign says is purposefully geared at reaching a wide variety of audiences on different platforms, especially as voting begins in many states around the country and Election Day inches closer.
“Vice President Harris is seizing this opportunity to reach voters where they are,” a Harris campaign official said in a statement ahead of the vice president’s interview with Cooper, adding that the appearance “underscores the importance of connecting with younger audiences, especially those who will play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the election.”
A big focus of her media blitz is on young voters
Major party candidates have sat down with 60 Minutes dating back to 1968. The show has a traditionally older audience and a massive reach, remaining the highest-ranked news program for decades.
But with her interview with Cooper, who is a millennial, Harris became the first presidential candidate to ever appear on Call Her Daddy, one of the most popular podcasts in the country, especially among women, where nearly 8 in 10 of the show’s listeners are under 35, according to metrics from Edison Research.
It’s a podcast known for celebrity interviews and frank discussions, tailored to women, about topics like sex and relationships — not politics. But that didn’t stop Harris, who is banking on support from young voters this fall.
“I think you and your listeners have really got this thing right, which is, one of the best ways to communicate with people is to be real,” Harris told Cooper after being asked why she wanted to come on the show.
“I think, especially now, this is a moment in the country and in life where people really want to know they’re seen and heard,” she added. “And that they’re part of a community. That they’re not out there alone.”
Harris spoke with Cooper for about 40 minutes, spending the most time on the topic of protecting abortion access. The interview was an opportunity for Harris to try to reach a key voting bloc — Gen Z and millennial voters, who have turned out at lower numbers than older generations.
Cooper has also built a massive fan base online, with more than 11 million followers across her show and personal accounts on Instagram and TikTok. Plus, Call Her Daddy has a politically and geographically diverse following, according to Edison.
Nearly half of the audience identifies as Democrats, compared to a quarter who are Republicans and 20% who are Independents. Plus, the largest portion of Cooper’s listeners — a third — live in the South, an area with key swing states like Georgia and North Carolina.
It isn’t the first time Harris has veered outside of mainstream news media to appeal to voting blocs key to her potential victory. Last month, she went on the sports podcast All the Smoke, a show geared towards Black men, hosted by former NBA players Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes.
Trump has also turned to influencers and podcasters
These moves are not unique to the Harris campaign. Former President Trump has also put an emphasis on reaching voters outside of traditional news outlets and on social media — a strategy that has been central to the campaign’s youth outreach.
While Trump has largely done interviews with news outlets that are friendly to conservatives, over the past few months, he and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, have also appeared with a number of popular influencers and sat down for podcast interviews that have largely younger, male-dominated audiences.
That’s included conversations with influencers who also have some of the top-ranked podcasts in the country, like Logan Paul — who has a combined following of 46 million across TikTok and Instagram — and Theo Von, who has collectively 14 million followers on the same platforms.
Transcript:
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Here we are, less than a month away from Election Day. And Vice President Harris is sitting down for a number of high-profile interviews this week – “60 Minutes” tonight; tomorrow, “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” “The View” and “The Howard Stern Show.” This is after she spoke yesterday with podcaster Alex Cooper on her popular show, “Call Her Daddy.” NPR’s Elena Moore is here to talk about this strategy. Hey there.
ELENA MOORE, BYLINE: Hey.
SHAPIRO: Why is Harris suddenly doing this slew of interviews right now?
MOORE: Yeah. Yeah, I mean, well, the clock is ticking. I mean, we are political nerds, but…
SHAPIRO: Speak for yourself.
MOORE: (Laughter) OK, I am a political nerd, but a lot of folks around the country are, you know, starting to really tune in on the upcoming election. Early voting has started in a lot of places, so Harris is trying to reach as many potential voters as possible, and these are some of the most popular entertainment and news programs in the country. And, you know, the Harris campaign says that they are trying to purposefully go on platforms that cater to a wide variety of audiences.
I mean, take CBS’ “60 Minutes” tonight. You know, it’s been around a while. It’s traditionally got an older audience. But, you know, then Harris also appeared on Alex Cooper’s podcast that aired yesterday, and it’s super-popular among Americans under 35 and especially younger women.
SHAPIRO: Yeah, “60 Minutes” often focuses on politics, but “Call Her Daddy” more often talks about things like sex positivity and relationships.
MOORE: Yeah.
SHAPIRO: Why did Harris go there?
MOORE: Well, Harris wants to nail down support among young Americans, and that’s Alex Cooper’s audience. It’s also, you know, a pretty politically divided audience. You know, nearly half of them identify as Democratic, a quarter as Republican and 20% as independent, according to data NPR obtained from Edison Research. And that broadly tracks with young people as a whole when polled on party affiliation.
And also, the largest portion of Cooper’s listeners live in the South, which I found interesting. So this was an opportunity for Harris – you know, the Harris campaign to potentially speak to younger folks she hasn’t reached elsewhere, which could be crucial given how important young people may be to her chances this fall.
SHAPIRO: And southern states like Georgia and…
MOORE: Right.
SHAPIRO: …North Carolina. So a lot of these appearances Harris has lined up are on more entertainment-based programs, which sounds like a familiar strategy. Where have we seen this before?
MOORE: In many ways, it’s not unique. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush went on talk shows. Plus, former President Barack Obama also appeared on the popular online program “Between Two Ferns” hosted by comedian Zach Galifianakis. But what’s more striking to me this election season is both campaigns are putting an emphasis on reaching audiences outside of traditional mainstream media and on social media. And as we have previously reported on NPR, former President Donald Trump has appeared with a number of influencers platforms over the past few months and sat down for podcast interviews that have pretty large male audiences.
SHAPIRO: Vice President Harris has been criticized for not doing a lot of extensive sit-down interviews with mainstream media. How does that strategy compare to Trump?
MOORE: Well, the Harris campaign pushes off that critique, especially given the week that they have. Plus, you know, they argue that Trump’s slew of media appearances are largely with outlets that are more friendly to him. That said, you know, some of Harris’ interviews have been friendly, too. There was, you know, little to no pushback from Cooper on her podcast. And though we could see more of that tonight on “60 Minutes,” some of the hosts of “The View” and, of course, Stephen Colbert are known for their support of Democrats.
SHAPIRO: I suppose we should mention that NPR has interview requests out to both Harris and Trump, and we would welcome either of them here. That’s NPR’s Elena Moore. Thank you.
MOORE: Thanks, Ari.