"Kamala Harris has yet to do formal press conference since emerging as Democratic nominee," reads a tweet by Fox News.

63 days: Kamala Harris has yet to do formal press conference since emerging as Democratic nominee https://t.co/86lF9dGAhM

— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 22, 2024

That headline says a lot. It says a lot about the state of a free press in the United States. It says a lot about the state of presidential politicking. And it says a lot about the state of the Democratic Party.

Vice President Kamala Harris is, to the best of our knowledge, the Democratic Party nominee for president of the United States in 2024. That is "to the best of our knowledge" because the candidate who received overwhelming Democrat primary support, incumbent President Joe Biden, is not the candidate that party is nominating for president.

This switcheroo at such a time, roughly four months ahead of Election Day, is not a minor footnote about a back page news story. The incumbent president of the United States is withdrawn from the election following a vote that he won handily, and there is little explanation as to why.

For any Republican or Democratic nominee for president to not hold a press conference during an election cycle is nonsensical. The press has every right to demand that such candidates answer questions. That is fundamental to how our nation checks itself. But such is where presidential politics seems to be in 2024, without answers. Tough questions and scrutiny of policy proposals can work as a refining fire in an election. There are no steel-forged answers when there are no tough questions. The press is to demand that candidates answer questions, and candidates are to avail themselves to the press from time to time.

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One of the riches of the United States is a free press. It does not come without its headaches. Just as constructive speech swallows destructive speech, an accurate press renders impotent agents of inaccuracy and falsehood. A free press is an advantage not shared by information-controlling regimes. It is an advantage because in allowing the whole truth, as unpleasant as it sometimes may be, little darkness remains for inaccuracy and falsehood.