Harris, Biden camps blame each other for loss

Alex Thompson

Finger-pointing advisers to Vice President Harris and President Biden agree on one thing: President-elect Trump's victory is the other one's fault.

Why it matters: Biden premised his presidency on preventing Trump from returning to the Oval Office: He failed. So, someone needs to bear the blame.

In response to Trump's decisive victory, aides in both camps are blaming the other for being more responsible, according to interviews with more than a dozen people in the White House and Harris' campaign.

What they're saying: One Democrat familiar with the White House's dynamics pointed a finger at Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti, Biden's top political aides: "Mike and Steve will have a lot to answer for — having him run" for re-election at 80 years old.

One person involved with Harris' team told Axios: "The 107-day Harris campaign was nearly flawless. The Biden campaign that preceded it was the opposite."

Another person involved in the vice president's campaign said: "We did what we could. I think the odds against us were insurmountable," referring to Biden's low approval ratings and his late exit after the disastrous June debate that raised questions about his mental fitness.

In an implicit criticism of Biden's team, top Harris aide David Plouffe posted on X that the campaign had "dug out of a deep hole." He later deleted his account.

Responding to the criticism of Donilon and Ricchetti, a Biden aide told Axios: "There are a wide range of advisers [Biden] consulted about the campaign, who agreed on the merits of running — like the party did after the best midterm wins for a new president in over 60 years ... No one 'has' the president do anything."

A former Biden staffer dismissed the Harris team's criticisms as making excuses for the vice president's failures: "How did you spend $1 billion and not win? What the f***?"

Another person involved in Harris' campaign felt deceived by the happy-talk from leadership about how it was a margin-of-error race when Trump won decisively. "People are depressed and frustrated about the overconfident leadership of the campaign," they said.

Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates told Axios: "Anyone criticizing the vice president's campaign is at odds with President Biden."

Another person familiar with the dynamics said that some on Biden's team resent Harris for not using the president more during the campaign, even though he is unpopular and prone to gaffes.

"The Harris team benched [Biden] and then they lost, so now the people who represent Biden are saying, 'Maybe you shouldn't have benched him,' " they said.

Others reflected on what they saw as the Biden administration's policy failures on the economy, inflation and the border.

One former Biden-Harris official said it was more a governing problem than a communications problem: "It's very clear we got it wrong on economic policy. People feel squeezed and when they do, they pick change. Our policy position and execution wasn't palpable to voters."

Another former Biden administration official cited a range of frustrations: "The party was lied to about our candidate, and the leadership who lied were the same ones who never bothered to actually listen to voters and understand what was appealing to them about Trump — or why the Biden economy wasn't working for them even if it looked good on paper."

Harris' campaign decline to comment.

The intrigue: Harris' campaign was undermined by internal confusion and a lack of clear decision-making hierarchy.

Getting something through its approval process was like a Rubik's cube, one person involved in the campaign said.

Because of its short timetable, Harris' campaign was an unwieldy mix of the original Biden campaign officials, former aides to Barack Obama, and people Harris trusted.

Some Harris officials felt that many of the former Biden aides resented Harris and her ascension to the top of the ticket, even as Biden personally and enthusiastically backed her.

Reality check: The election was shadowed by global political dynamics beyond the campaign's control.

Incumbents around the world are facing defeat or fraught environments because of inflation and a post-COVID malaise.

"We faced the same trend that incumbent parties have all over the world," Bates said.

There also has been extraordinary global migration that overran Biden's border policy at times. Many Biden officials acknowledge their response was lacking — and gave Trump the upper hand on immigration and border security, pet issues of his.

Zoom in: The Harris campaign's leadership is trying to contain the frustration and anger some staffers are feeling.

In an all-staff call Thursday night, campaign leaders pleaded with staffers to not talk to reporters, according to four people on the call who spoke with Axios.

Near the end of the call, campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon teared up, according to a recording obtained by Axios.

"I don't like emotion, I don't do that," she said before choking up. "You are great people who have done a great thing, and you came really close."

During the call, Harris told staffers: "Yeah, this sucks....We all just speak truth, why don't we, right? There's also so much good that has come of this" campaign.

The message didn't resonate with some Harris staffers: "It was detached from the reality of what happened," one said. "We are told the fate of democracy is at stake, and then the message was, 'We'll get them next time.' "

There's also some internal frustration that Harris' campaign wound up in debt, three people familiar with the matter told Axios (Politico first reported the campaign was in debt but Axios did not confirm the amount).

The campaign raised record sums of money — well over $1 billion in a little more than three months.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5630108&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=5310915",#48310066)

Another person involved in the vice president's campaign said: "We did what we could. I think the odds against us were insurmountable," referring to Biden's low approval ratings and his late exit after the disastrous June debate that raised questions about his mental fitness.

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A former Biden staffer dismissed the Harris team's criticisms as making excuses for the vice president's failures: "How did you spend $1 billion and not win? What the f***?"

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5630108&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=5310915",#48310071)

“The 107-day Harris campaign was nearly flawless.“

“The 107-day Harris campaign was nearly flawless.“

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5630108&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=5310915",#48310086)