NEW YORK– The leaders of Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign insisting that they simply did not have enough time to execute a winning strategy Donald Trumppointing to ‘fierce’ political headwinds that were ultimately too much to overcome in the 107-day period that followed President Joe Biden stepped aside.
Harris’ leadership team defended, speaking on the “Pod Save America” podcast that aired Tuesday strategic decisions during the closing days of the campaign, some of which have come under scrutiny in the weeks since Trump’s decisive victory. In particular, they defended Harris’ support of Republican voters, her unwillingness to distance yourself from Biden, maintaining her silence Trump’s attacks on her transgender policy and her inability to schedule an interview with popular podcaster Joe Rogan.
“In a 107-day race, it’s very difficult to do all the things you would normally do in a year and a half to two years,” said Jen O’Malley Dillon, Harris’ senior campaign adviser.
David Plouffe, another senior adviser, added: “There was a price to pay for the short campaign.”
Harris’s stark reflections on her loss came just before she declared she was “proud of the campaign we ran” during a conference call with supporters as the party began a painful process of self-examination. Trump won every swing state and made gains among key voting groups traditionally aligned with Democrats – including young voters and voters of color. Buoyed by the 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 acknowledged her defeat during the conference call but praised the political organization her team built, with more than 408,000 volunteers knocking on nearly 20 million doors and making 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, a record for U.S. presidential campaigns.
Still, Harris’ campaign finished the election in debt. And none of the Harris advisers acknowledged mistakes during the wide-ranging podcast interview hosted by former Democratic operatives. Instead, they signaled that Harris had few options given the tight time frame and broad anti-incumbent headwinds that have challenged elected officials around the world.
They also gave Trump’s team some credit.
They specifically pointed to Trump’s closing ad, which highlighted Harris’ support for taxpayer-funded gender reassignment surgery for transgender prisoners.
“Obviously, in the end, it was a very effective ad,” said Quentin Fulks, Harris’ deputy campaign manager. “I think that seemed to keep her out of touch.”
The campaign tested several potential response ads, but ultimately decided it was best to avoid a specific rebuttal.
“There are no easy answers to this,” O’Malley Dillon said.
Plouffe said he thought the Trump attack ad against “Bidenomics” was even more effective, but he acknowledged the transgender attacks were not helpful.
“She was on tape,” he said. “Surgery for trans people who want to transition to prison was part of the Biden-Harris platform in 2020. It was part of what the administration did, right?”
And while the campaign faced persistent questions about media strategy, Harris’ team said she actually wanted to participate in a podcast with Rogan, who is among the most popular podcasters in the world and ultimately endorsed Trump.
Stephanie Cutter, another senior adviser to Harris, said the campaign failed to “find a date” to make it work.
“We had discussions with Joe Rogan’s team. They were great. They wanted us to come over. We wanted to come,” she said. “Will she ever do it in the future? Maybe. Who knows. But in the end it didn’t affect the outcome one way or another.”
Plouffe noted that the campaign offered to do the Rogan podcast on the road in Austin, Texas. Trump eventually did his interview with Rogan in the podcaster’s studio.
Harris’ campaign brass also defended her decision to court moderate Republicans in the closing days of the campaign. The decision has angered some progressives, who say Harris should have worked harder to appeal to more traditional Democratic voters.
“This political climate sucked, okay? We had to deal with strong headwinds,” said Plouffe. “So we had to put together a complicated puzzle here in terms of the voters.”
He acknowledged that there was a “drift” toward Trump among non-college-educated voters, especially voters of color, making Harris’ outreach to moderate voters even more important.
“Yes, of course you should maximize your turnout and your vote share among liberal voters if you are a Democrat. That was a huge focus,” he said. He added: “You have to combine that with dominance in the middle. Not just winning a little. We must dominate the moderate voices.”
During Tuesday’s conference call, Harris’ running mate Tim Walz described the election results as “incredibly disappointing” and “a little scary.” But he praised the campaign’s efforts.
“There will come a day of reckoning when the question will be asked, ‘What did you do during 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.”
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