Harris campaign leaders cite shortened campaign as defeat to Trump

NEW YORK (AP) — Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign leaders insist they simply haven’t had enough time to implement a winning strategy against Donald Trump, pointing to “fierce” political headwinds » which ultimately proved too difficult to overcome during the 107-107 campaign. day after President Joe Biden resigned.

Harris’ leadership team, speaking on the “Pod Save America” ​​podcast airing Tuesday, defended strategic decisions in the final days of the campaign, some of which have come under scrutiny in the weeks that followed Trump’s decisive victory. Specifically, they defended Harris’s outreach to Republican voters, her unwillingness to distance herself from Biden, her silence on Trump’s attacks on her transgender policies, and her failure to schedule an interview with popular podcaster Joe Rogan.

“In a 107-day race, it’s very difficult to do everything you would normally do in a year and a half or two years,” said Jen O’Malley Dillon, a senior adviser to the Harris campaign.

David Plouffe, another senior adviser, added: “There was a price to pay for the short campaign. »

The pointed reflections on Harris’ loss came just before she said she was “proud of the campaign we ran” during a conference call with supporters as the party begins a painful process of self-examination. Trump won every swing state and made gains among key voting groups traditionally aligned with Democrats — among them young voters and voters of color. Building on this resounding victory, the Republican president-elect is claiming a mandate to implement his populist agenda as he prepares to return to the White House on January 20.

Harris conceded defeat during the conference call, but praised the political organizing built by his team, which included more than 408,000 volunteers who knocked on nearly 20 million doors and made more than 219 million phone calls .

“What we did in 107 days was unprecedented,” she said, noting that her campaign also raised more than $1.4 billion, which is a record for a US presidential campaign.

Yet Harris’ campaign ended the election in debt. And none of Harris’ advisers admitted any mistakes during the wide-ranging podcast interview hosted by former Democratic operatives. Instead, they indicated that Harris had few options given the tight schedule and numerous anti-incumbency headwinds that have tested elected officials around the world.

They also gave credit to Trump’s team.

They specifically highlighted Trump’s final attack ad, which highlighted Harris’ support for taxpayer-funded sex reassignment surgeries for transgender prisoners.

“Obviously it was a very effective ad in the end,” said Quentin Fulks, Harris’ deputy campaign manager. “I think it made her seem disconnected.”

The campaign tested several potential response announcements but, ultimately, it was decided it was best to avoid a specific rebuttal.

“There’s no easy answer to that question,” O’Malley Dillon said.

Plouffe said he thought Trump’s attack ad against “bidenomics” was even more effective, but he acknowledged that the transgender attacks were not helpful.

“It was recorded,” he said. “Surgery for trans people who want to transition in prison was part of the Biden-Harris platform in 2020. That was part of what the administration did, right?

And while the campaign has faced lingering questions about its media strategy, Harris’ team said it actually wanted to go on a podcast with Rogan, who is among the most popular podcasters in the world and ultimately supported Trump.

Stephanie Cutter, another senior adviser to Harris, said the campaign was unable to “find a date” for it to work.

“We have had discussions with Joe Rogan’s team. They were great. They wanted us to come. We wanted to come,” she said. “Will she do it in the future? Maybe. Who knows. But ultimately it didn’t impact the outcome one way or the other. other.

Plouffe noted that the campaign proposed taking the Rogan podcast on the road in Austin, Texas. Trump ultimately conducted his interview with Rogan in the podcaster’s studio.

Harris campaign officials also defended her decision to court moderate Republicans in the final days of the campaign. The decision angered some progressives, who say Harris should have worked harder to turn out more traditional Democratic voters.

“That political environment sucked, okay? We were facing fierce headwinds,” Plouffe said. “So we had a complicated puzzle to piece together here in terms of voters.”

He acknowledged some “drift” toward Trump among non-college voters, particularly voters of color, which made Harris’ outreach to moderate voters even more important.

“Yes, of course, you need to maximize your turnout and vote share among liberal voters if you’re a Democrat. It was a major priority,” he said. He added: “You have to associate that with dominance in the middle. Not just earn it a little. We must dominate the moderate vote.

Speaking on Tuesday’s conference call, Harris’ running mate Tim Walz called the election result “incredibly disappointing” and “a little scary.” But he praised the campaign’s efforts.

“There will be a day of reckoning where people will ask, ‘What did you do in the 2024 campaign?’ Well, I know the people on this call can say whatever they can,” Walz said. “And for that, as an American, I am incredibly grateful.”