NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The leaders of presidential campaign insist they simply didn't have enough time to execute a winning strategy against , pointing to 鈥渇erocious" political headwinds that were ultimately too much to overcome in the 107-day period after .
Harris' leadership team, speaking on the 鈥淧od Save America鈥� podcast that aired on Tuesday, defended over the campaign's closing days, some of which have faced scrutiny in the weeks since . Specifically, they defended Harris' outreach to Republican voters, her from Biden, her silence on and her inability to schedule an interview with popular podcaster Joe Rogan.
鈥淚n a 107-day race, it is very difficult to do all the things you would normally do in a year and a half, two years,鈥� said Harris campaign senior adviser Jen O'Malley Dillon.
David Plouffe, another senior adviser, added, 鈥淭here was a price to be paid for the short campaign."
The pointed reflections on Harris' loss came just before she declared she was 鈥減roud of the campaign we ran鈥� during a conference call with supporters as the party begins a painful process of self-examination. Trump won every swing state and traditionally aligned with Democrats 鈥� young voters and voters of color, among them. Backed by the resounding win, the Republican president-elect is claiming a mandate to enact his populist agenda as he prepares to return to the White House on Jan. 20.
Harris acknowledged her defeat during the conference call, but praised the political organization her team built that featured more than 408,000 volunteers who knocked on nearly 20 million doors and made over 219 million phone calls.
鈥淲hat we did in 107 days was unprecedented,鈥� she said, noting that her campaign also raised more than $1.4 billion, which marks a record for U.S. presidential campaigns.
Still, Harris' campaign finished the election . And none of the Harris advisers acknowledged any mistakes during the wide-ranging podcast interview hosted by former Democratic operatives. Instead, they indicated that Harris had few options given the compressed timeframe and the broad anti-incumbent headwinds that have challenged elected officials across the world.
They also gave Trump's team some credit.
They specifically pointed to Trump's closing attack ad, which highlighted Harris' support for taxpayer-funded sex reassignment surgeries for transgender prisoners.
鈥淥bviously, it was a very effective ad at the end,鈥� said Harris deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks. 鈥淚 think that it made her seem out of touch.鈥�
The campaign tested several potential response ads but, in the end, decided it was best to avoid a specific rebuttal.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no easy answers to this,鈥� O'Malley Dillon said.
Plouffe said he thought the Trump attack ad against 鈥淏idenomics鈥� was even more effective, but he acknowledged that the transgender attacks were not helpful.
鈥淪he was on tape," he said. "Surgery for trans 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?鈥�
And while the campaign has faced lingering questions about its media strategy, Harris' team said she actually wanted to participate in a podcast with Rogan, who is among the world's most popular podcasters and ultimately endorsed Trump.
Stephanie Cutter, another Harris senior adviser, said the campaign wasn't able to 鈥渇ind a date鈥� to make it work.
鈥淲e had discussions with Joe Rogan鈥檚 team. They were great. They wanted us to come on. We wanted to come on,鈥� she said. 鈥淲ill she do it sometime in the future? Maybe. Who knows. But it didn鈥檛 ultimately impact the outcome one way or the other.鈥�
Plouffe noted that the campaign offered to do the Rogan podcast on the road in Austin, Texas. with Rogan in the podcaster's studio.
Harris' campaign brass also defended her decision to court moderate Republicans in the campaign's closing days. The decision has drawn ire from some progressives, who believe Harris should have worked harder to turn out more traditional Democratic voters.
鈥淭his political environment sucked, OK? We were dealing with ferocious headwinds,鈥� Plouffe said. 鈥淪o we had a complicated puzzle to put together here in terms of the voters.鈥�
He acknowledged some 鈥渄rift鈥� toward Trump among non-college-educated voters, particularly voters of color, which made Harris' outreach to moderate voters even more important.
鈥淵es, of course, you have to maximize your turnout and your vote share amongst liberal voters if you鈥檙e a Democrat. That was a huge focus,鈥� he said. He added, 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to couple that with dominating in the middle. Not just winning it a little. We have to dominate the moderate vote."
Speaking on Tuesday's conference call, Harris' running mate Tim Walz described the election result as 鈥渋ncredibly disappointing鈥� and 鈥渁 bit scary." But he praised the campaign's effort.
鈥淭here will be a day of reckoning when it will be asked, 鈥榃hat did you do during the 2024 campaign?鈥� Well, I know the people on this call can say, everything they possibly could,鈥� Walz said. 鈥淎nd for that, as an American, I鈥檓 incredibly grateful.鈥�
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Steve Peoples, The Associated Press
