A deputy communications director for the Biden campaign tried to stop a journalist from interviewing voters when attendees at a political rally with Kamala Harris tested negative.
Clio Calvo-Platero, deputy communications director for Biden’s Nevada campaign, demanded that a New York Times reporter end his conversations with voters at the rally.
‘Calvo-Platero followed his pooler as he interviewed voters and recorded the interviews.
“He twice tried to end interviews when voters began criticizing Biden,” wrote New York Times reporter Simon J. Levien.
Levien was a member of the vice president’s media group traveling with Harris on Friday.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a post-debate campaign rally in Las Vegas
He said he spoke to a woman who said Biden’s debate performance was “terrible” and speculated whether a better Democratic candidate could be recruited to take his place.
“We’re at a Joe Biden event, so I’m going to interrupt you, sorry,” Calvo-Platero said, according to Levien.
When another voter began criticizing Biden’s “mental acuity” and suggested the vice president take his place, Calvo-Platero interrupted again.
‘I’m going to stop it here, sorry. If I can, it’s a Biden event. Is that OK?’ she said.
Harris appeared unaware of the incident, even as she stumbled upon details about a fellow senator.
A Biden campaign staffer clashed with a reporter after Democratic rally attendees began complaining about the president.
Introducing Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) at her rally, Harris commented that Kelly was “always fighting for the people of Nevada” even though he represented Arizona.
Levien further detailed his thoughts on the incident with the staff member on social media.
“After the interviews I asked him why. He told me he was just doing his job,” he said.
Calvo-Platero’s behavior was unusual among press “leaders” despite her job of deciding reporters’ movements at campaign events.
Press groups are often free to interview voters on the campaign trail, especially when traveling with the vice president, a trip that typically involves fewer logistics.
The Biden team’s relationship with the New York Times has been strained throughout the campaign.
New York Times columnists almost unanimously called for Biden to drop out of the race Thursday night, telling the president he had done a good job in his first term but it was time to step aside to make way for another Democrat.
The incident is the latest in a series of incidents between the Biden team and the New York Times as they grow increasingly hostile toward each other.
United States Vice President Kamala Harris greets her audience during the election campaign
In January, the Biden campaign met with New York Times journalists off the record to criticize their coverage of the president. The team shared with journalists specific spreadsheets about where they said coverage of him fell short of expectations, according to reportswhose arrogance infuriated political journalists.
Politico reported in April that the New York Times had become Biden’s White House newspaper. least favorite mediadetailing key employees complaining about the nature of their coverage.
An incident in which a Times reporter revealed a source of background information led the White House to remove all journalists from its top-level press lists, sparking a fight that rankled reporters trying to coordinate coverage of the president.
Biden staffer TJ Ducklo took to social media to complain about what he called a key failure by the New York Times in April.
“With limited exceptions, the New York Times continues to fail the American people in its coverage of the most important election for American democracy in more than 150 years,” he wrote, sharing images of the paper’s stories about concerns about Biden’s age and stamina.