A bombshell report from Politico’s Christopher Cadelago has unearthed a power struggle behind the scenes in Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, with aides familiar with the campaign dynamics describing a competition for influence and control.
On Monday, Politico reported that the campaign has been overrun by “friction,” “internal tensions,” “anxiety,” “raw emotions,” “bad-mouthing” and “grumbling” — effectively mirroring the issues in Harris’ Senate and vice-presidential offices.
Kamala Harris's VP office had about an 80% staff turnover because she was such a bad boss.
Her 2020 campaign imploded because she was a terrible boss – and more than 50 staffers complained about her to the NYT.
Why would this fake campaign she inherited be any different? https://t.co/wNslqpCt2C
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) August 12, 2024
Harris is well-known for not being able to retain staff, with many former staffers reporting that she is ruthless and cruel to her employees. “Senator Harris vocally throws around ‘F-bombs’ and other profanity constantly in her berating of staff and others. The staff is in complete fear of her and she uses her profanity throughout the day,” according to an op-ed from professor Terry McAteer published in California newspaper The Union, where he described the time that his son, Gregory, spent as an intern for Harris.
It appears that Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign is no different, as Politico’s report explained that competing factions within the Harris campaign — which reportedly consist of former Biden campaign staffers and new Harris aides — do not agree on how to revamp the campaign’s power structure to counter Harris’ opponent, former President Donald Trump.
Alongside staffers from President Joe Biden’s canceled campaign, the Harris campaign has also hired multiple former Obama staffers — such as Obama’s former campaign manager David Plouffe. Apparently, this has only made things worse, as the Obama staffers are not getting along with Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon, according to Politico.
“There is no doubt when you have 2,000 people and you are changing who is at the top of the ticket that it’s going to take a minute to make sure that everyone is seated well, and we still have some work to do on that,” O’Malley Dillon, who is also a former Biden White House official, admitted to Cadelago.
Politico went on to report: “Anxiety inside the campaign could still dissipate over the three-month sprint to November, but aides also fear they could grow in scope and significance and lead to trouble down the chain of command. Harris built a chaotic operation in her 2020 presidential primary campaign that she allowed to fester, causing bottlenecks and radiating dysfunction across her organization. In the first two years of her vice presidency, she also saw several staff departures and internal fissures that reinforced the idea she couldn’t properly assemble and lead a harmonious team. But Harris and her staff have worked hard to overcome all the old dramas and the curtailed 2024 campaign is the latest test of whether she could keep it up.”
Several people within Harris’ circle told the outlet that they are concerned about the behind-the-scenes tension causing problems for the vice president. Politico also explained that “some Harris loyalists have picked up on former Biden aides grumbling under their breath about now having to work for her. And there’s considerable ire directed at top digital strategist Rob Flaherty, whose title includes deputy campaign manager.”
One such incident of infighting of course involved “diversity,” as the report revealed that there was so much fighting about the amount of diversity in a campaign video that they were forced to outsource the video to the Democratic National Committee, though the Harris campaign has denied that this was the reason.
Regardless of the veracity of the claims from Politico’s sources, it has been widely reported that working for Harris is a nightmare, so much so that it is impossible for the campaign to truthfully deny it.
🚨WOW!
A former Kamala Harris staffer reveals the toxic environment her team had to endure. The conditions were so severe that Harris's office experienced a 92% staff turnover rate.
As California attorney general, Harris consistently berated staff members, instructed them to… pic.twitter.com/mCJ2m720PV
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) July 31, 2024
