Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris was seen wearing headphones as she exited her motorcade to board Air Force Two on Monday.
Video shows Harris exiting her vehicle wearing wired earbud headphones that were connected to her smartphone. She was seen fiddling with the earbuds as she ascended the stairway to Air Force Two before giving a final wave to onlookers.
Kamala Harris departs Joint Base Andrews, headed to Detroit, Michigan pic.twitter.com/QQY9UiXlQL
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) September 2, 2024
She did not answer any questions or engage with reporters.
The unusual display led many to speculate she was wearing headphones to avoid talking to the press amid reports her poll numbers are slumping following her joint interview with CNN.
“It’s hard to imagine anything more unpresidential than Kamala Harris stepping out of her motorcade, deliberately wearing headphones to avoid answering questions from the press,” one user wrote on X.
“This is not just a minor faux pas—it’s a blatant display of arrogance and an outright disregard for the principles of transparency and accountability that are supposed to define democratic leadership.”
It’s hard to imagine anything more unpresidential than Kamala Harris stepping out of her motorcade, deliberately wearing headphones to avoid answering questions from the press. This is not just a minor faux pas—it’s a blatant display of arrogance and an outright disregard for the… pic.twitter.com/gNABHeVRLr
— Torsten Prochnow (@TorstenProchnow) September 2, 2024
I knew kids in high school who might do this, but never seen it done by a political candidate.
— Alexander Sheppard 🇺🇸 (@NotAlexSheppard) September 2, 2024
4D Chess? pic.twitter.com/W6nZE43RoM
What’s she so afraid of?
— captive dreamer (@captivedreamer7) September 2, 2024
How I walk around my neighborhood to avoid stop and chats https://t.co/uBQDh8hqvz
— Anna Khachiyan (@annakhachiyan) September 2, 2024
You can tell it’s to avoid the press because they are wired, which you rarely see these days. They are wired to let you know that she is wearing headphones and to not shout out questions.
— Marty L✌ (@SMaganaut) September 2, 2024
The media: “look at how cool and hip Kamala is with her earbuds in. Lady boss at work!” 🙄
— VMAC (@projection1984) September 2, 2024
She’s listening to Tupac, leave her alone 😂
— LEAHmemes (@itsreallyleah) September 2, 2024
Can’t even answer a question cause she knows it’ll be incoherent or mention burdens 3 times lol
— Wilford Brimley (@AmericanTrump4) September 2, 2024
Of course, Harris’s reluctance to engage with the press is par for the course with her Basement Campaign 2.0, where she avoided speaking to reporters or holding a press conference for 39 days before talking to CNN in a carefully scripted pre-taped 18-minute joint interview with her running mate Gov. Tim Walz (Minn.).
