Vice President Kamala Harris failed to connect with voters while her campaign aides focused on trivial issues, leading to her lopsided election loss to former President Donald Trump, Democratic insiders tell The Post.
Harris, 60, replaced President Biden, 81, atop the Democratic ticket in late July and quickly surged in polling while raking in about $1 billion over a six-week period — massively out-raising Trump, 78, and providing the resources to drive home her early advantage over the Republican nominee.
Her failure to seal the deal outraged Democrats, including those who worked both in the Biden-Harris administration and on her campaign.
“I’ve worked on five presidential campaigns. I knew this would be hard. Others acted like they knew they were going to win,” said one person who chipped in during the final stretch of the race.
“They were arrogant.”
Among those getting the blame Wednesday were Harris herself and campaign chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon — with one musing: “Where did $1 billion go?”
Insiders also heaped blame on Obama campaign alums David Plouffe and Stephanie Cutter, saying they misjudged what issues really mattered to voters.
The duo “tried an Obama play with a non-Obama candidate,” said one source close to the Harris campaign. “They are the worst.”
Ultimately, Harris flopped because “people didn’t connect with her,” this person said.
“[O’Malley Dillion] managed political and ground operations — Cutter and Plouffe were doing messaging and ads and they misjudged what people cared about because cable news and Twitter are not real life. Biden should have never run [in 2024] AND the party is too far left.”
Harris’ message focused heavily on restoring abortion rights and respecting democratic norms — while Trump hammered home the impact of government spending-driven inflation that caused prices to spike nearly 22% since Biden and Harris took office, as well as security and economic concerns around record-breaking illegal immigration.