Confused, contentious and conflicted about her ever-changing policy positions, six members of Democrat Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign staff vented their frustrations in interviews this week.
Tension, not its public persona of joy, defines Harris’ campaign organization, six people involved in the campaign told the leftist news outlet Axios, on the condition of anonymity.
As Candidate Harris continues to disown (at least publicly) her long-held progressive policy positions and adopt those of her opponent Donald Trump on issues – such as fracking, electric vs. gas vehicles, building a border wall and tip-taxing – Harris’ staff have been at a loss, and at odds with each other.
Harris’ policy flip flops have caused division and created multiple competing power centers, the staffers say. Compounding the problem, no one knows “who is first among equals” with Harris, leaving staffers uncertain of who has the final word on her policies.
Worse, the confusion is greatest among those “two or three rungs down” in the organization (the people on the ground who have to defend and promote Harris’ policy flip flops), the staffers tell Axios.
Many are frustrated by having to explain and defend Harris’ abandonment of progressive goals, they say. What’s more, those objecting to Harris’ flip flops think Joe Biden’s support for liberal agenda items like Medicare for All and a ban on fracking helped him win the presidency in 2020.
Policy chaos might not be the only cause of discontent among Harris campaign staffers, however.
During her time as vice president, Harris has been plagued by exceptionally high staff turnover (92%). Even leftwing media outlets such as Politico and The Washington Post have published accounts of the toxic, abusive, dysfunctional environment of Harris’ office.
Reports of Harris’ abuse of her underlings are nothing new, however.
In 2019, The Union published a piece by Democrat Terry McAteer recalling how Harris mistreated his son, Greggory, when she was San Francisco’s attorney general and Greggory was an unpaid summer intern in her office.
“A person’s character is probably one of the most important attributes for someone wanting to obtain the office of President,” McAteer wrote at the time, explaining that “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,” McAteer added.
Harris wouldn’t even allow his son to make eye contact with her, McAteer said:
“Gregory was also given instructions to never address Harris nor look her in the eye as that privilege was only allowed to senior staff members.”
Harris also “instructed her entire staff to stand every morning as she entered the office and say, ‘Good Morning General,’” a dictate McAteer said was unbecoming for “a woman of color.”
“This is my third presidential campaign and I have never seen an organization treat its staff so poorly,” state operations director Kelly Mehlenbacher declared when she resigned from Harris’ failed campaign to become Democrats’ 2019 presidential candidate.
“The treatment of our staff over the last two weeks was the final straw in this very difficult decision,” Mehlenbacher wrote in her resignation letter obtained by The New York Times.