With Donald Trump’s landslide victory in the rear-view mirror, the recriminations among Democrats have begun. That’s the great thing about the transition period. It’s uniquely enjoyable in that the victors aren’t in power yet and thus can’t be blamed for anything, but the losers fight it out over who was at fault. Grab your popcorn because things are going to get spicy.
Before we get to the quotes, though, it’s important to lay out the battle lines. To do that, you only have to understand one thing: The Joe Biden camp has always hated the Kamala Harris camp. From the beginning of the now-outgoing administration, the long knives have been out. For example, I wrote the following piece back in 2021.
Worn out by what they see as entrenched dysfunction and lack of focus, key West Wing aides have largely thrown up their hands at Vice President Kamala Harris and her staff — deciding there simply isn’t time to deal with them right now, especially at a moment when President Joe Biden faces quickly multiplying legislative and political concerns.
The exasperation runs both ways. Interviews with nearly three dozen former and current Harris aides, administration officials, Democratic operatives, donors and outside advisers — who spoke extensively to CNN — reveal a complex reality inside the White House.
There were even claims that Biden’s handlers were treating Harris unfairly due to racism. That animosity never subsided because the vice president never got any better. She spent the entire term resting on her laziness, showing herself unprepared and incapable in the most important moments. Don’t take that as a defense of Biden, who likewise matched those descriptors, though he at least had senility to blame it on.