Ex-Obama aide says Trump is scared to face genuine journalists, mocks him over 'right wing' interviews

WASHINGTON, DC: An ex-aide to former president Barack Obama has criticized Donald Trump for avoiding tough questions and interviews with mainstream journalists.

This comes as Trump's Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, embarks on a media blitz ahead of the upcoming election.

Jon Favreau calls out Donald Trump's interview choices

Jon Favreau, Barack Obama's former director of speechwriting, recently discussed Donald Trump's media strategy on the 'Pod Save America' podcast, alongside President Joe Biden’s former press secretary, Jen Psaki.

Favreau criticized Trump's choice of interviewers, claiming the former president only engages with supportive and conservative media.

"He's only doing interviews with supporters and right-wing networks," Favreau said.

He went on to list several examples, noting that Trump has appeared with "Ben Shapiro, who's hosted a fundraiser for Trump, Hugh Hewitt, who ended his interview by telling him to come back after he's president again, and Laura Ingraham, who shills for him every night."

Favreau said Trump is avoiding interviews with "genuine" outlets and tougher questions, comparing his actions to Harris' recent media presence.

Kamala Harris ramps up media appearances as Donald Trump limits

As Donald Trump limits his media exposure, Kamala Harris who has faced criticism for her lack of appearances, is now actively engaging with various platforms.

Over the past week, she has appeared on 'Call Her Daddy', 'The View', 'The Howard Stern Show', and 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'.

On Monday, October 7, Harris made her case for the presidency on '60 Minutes' and she is also set to participate in a Univision town hall this on Thursday, October 10, Newsweek noted. 

Favreau contrasted Harris' engagement with the media to Trump's apparent retreat, adding that the former president had backed out of his scheduled '60 Minutes' interview at the last minute.

He said Trump was "too scared" to do 60 minutes which he "backed out of last minute."

Donald Trump's media strategy criticized for ducking '60 minutes'  

Jen Psaki criticized Donald Trump's avoidance of certain media, highlighting that his approach avoids accountability. The '60 minutes' interview Trump allegedly skipped due to fact checks. 

The episode was supposed to feature both candidates and began with an appearance from CBS correspondent Scott Pelley.

Last week, Trump canceled," Pelly said, according to CNB News. "The campaign offered shifting explanations, first it complained that we would fact check the interview. We fact check every story," he added.

Later, Trump said he needed an apology for his interview in 2020 where he claims orrespondent Lesley Stahl said, in that interview, that Hunter Biden's controversial laptop came from Russia.

"Donald Trump just ducked '60 Minutes', backed out last minute, won’t do the next debate and has been retreating to his safe space of right-wing interviewers," Favreau said.

Psaki agreed, adding, "He’s using [the media] as a tool." However, she also noted that she wasn’t sure whether "the number of media interviews any candidate is doing ever really matters to voters."