Harris campaign officials say there is a “price to pay” for the truncated campaign against Trump

NEW YORK – Leaders of Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign insist they simply haven’t had enough time to implement a successful strategy against Donald Trump, citing “fierce” political headwinds that ultimately proved too great in the 107 days after President Joe Biden, to overcome him stepped aside.

Harris’ leadership team, speaking on the “Pod Save America” ​​podcast that aired Tuesday, defended strategic decisions in the final days of the campaign, some of which have come under scrutiny in the weeks since 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 arrange an interview with popular podcaster Joe Rogan.

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

David Plouffe, another senior adviser, added: “There was a price to be paid for the short campaign.”

The pointed reflections on Harris’ loss came just before she was scheduled to hold a conference call with supporters as the party begins a painful process of introspection. Trump won every swing state and made gains among key voter 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 the Harris advisers admitted any mistakes during the extensive podcast interview, which was hosted by former Democratic officials. Instead, they pointed out that Harris has few options given the tight time frame and the broad anti-incumbency headwinds that have challenged elected officials around the world.

They also gave Trump’s team some credit.

They pointed in particular to Trump’s latest attack ad highlighting Harris’ support for taxpayer-funded gender reassignment surgeries for transgender prisoners.

“Obviously it ended up being a very effective ad,” said Quentin Fulks, Harris’ deputy campaign manager. “I think that caused her to lose touch.”

The campaign tested several potential response ads but ultimately concluded that 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 acknowledged that the transgender attacks were unhelpful.

“She was on tape,” he said. “Operations for transgender people who want to transition in prison was part of the Biden-Harris platform in 2020. It was part of what the administration did, right?”

And while the campaign faced ongoing questions about its media strategy, Harris’ team said she actually wanted to participate in a podcast with Rogan, who is one of the most popular podcasters in the world and ultimately supported Trump.

Stephanie Cutter, another senior adviser to Harris, said the campaign hasn’t been able to “find a deadline” to make it work.

“We had discussions with Joe Rogan’s team. They were great. They wanted us to come with them. We wanted to come,” she said. “Will she do it sometime in the future?” Perhaps. Who knows. But it ultimately had no impact on 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 conducted his interview with Rogan in the podcaster’s studio.

Harris’ campaign officials also defended her decision to put moderate Republicans on trial in the final days of the campaign. The decision has drawn the ire of some progressives who believe Harris should have worked harder to win over more traditional Democratic voters.

“This political environment sucks, okay? We had to contend with strong headwinds,” said Plouffe. “So we had to solve a complicated puzzle here in terms of voters.”

He acknowledged some “deviation” from Trump among voters without college degrees, particularly among voters of color, making Harris’ outreach to moderate voters even more important.

“Yes, of course as a Democrat you have to maximize your turnout and vote share among liberal voters. That was a big focus,” he said. He added: “You have to combine that with dominance in the middle. Don’t just win a little. We must dominate the moderate vote.”