NEW YORK (AP) — Leaders of Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign insist they simply didn’t have enough time to execute a winning strategy against Donald Trump, pointing to “fierce” political headwinds that ultimately were too much to handle to overcome in the 107-day period after President Joe Biden stepped aside.
Harris’ leadership team, on the “Pod Save America” podcast airing Tuesday, defended strategic decisions made in the closing days of the campaign, some of which have come under scrutiny in the weeks after Trump’s decisive victory. In particular, they defended Harris’ outreach to Republican voters, her unwillingness to distance herself from Biden, her silence on Trump’s attacks on her transgender policies 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.
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David Plouffe, another senior adviser, added: “There was a price to pay for the short campaign.”
The stark reflections on Harris’ loss came just before she was set to host 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 — including young voters and voters of color.
Harris’ team did not question the legitimacy of Trump’s victory. “We lost,” O’Malley Dillon said.
But none of 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. “Operations for trans people who want to transition to prison were 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 move forward,” 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 ultimately 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.”
