Democrats are searching for answers after Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign collapsed on Election Night. President Joe Biden, Gov. Tim Walz and even actor George Clooney are all being blamed by some within the Democratic Party.
Some party members trace the loss back to when Biden dropped out of the race in July 2024. Several Harris campaign advisers told The Associated Press that Biden should have stepped aside earlier in the election cycle.
Andrew Yang, a Democratic presidential candidate in 2020, agreed.
“The biggest onus of this loss is on President Biden,” Yang said. “If he had stepped down in January instead of July, we may be in a very different place.”
David Plouffe, a top adviser to Harris’ campaign, called the loss “devastating.” He noted the campaign had to “dig itself out of a deep hole.” Plouffe deleted his social media accounts after his comment.
Many former Harris campaign staffers spoke anonymously to media outlets, some blaming Biden for the loss. They expressed frustration at the late timing of Biden’s exit.
“We ran the best campaign we could, considering Joe Biden was president. Joe Biden is the singular reason Kamala Harris and Democrats lost,” one Harris aide told Politico.
The national campaign? Nothing. Zero. They had no respect, no coordination. I didn’t even have one conversation with the lady.
Bob Brady, Philadelphia Democrat Party Chairman
While those close to Harris blame Biden, other Democrats are pointing fingers at Harris herself. In Philadelphia, where the city’s Democratic National Committee Chair Bob Brady was outspoken. He criticized Harris’ campaign as “incompetent” and said it failed to support local Democratic leadership.
“The national campaign? Nothing. Zero. They had no respect, no coordination. I didn’t even have one conversation with the lady,” Brady said. “They didn’t even do the right thing by giving us the resources we need. And they want to blame us? And now I understand someone in her camp is blaming Joe Biden? Can you imagine blaming Joe Biden for her loss? She lost, he didn’t lose.”
The Harris campaign quickly responded, defending its efforts.
“We knocked more than two million doors in the weekend leading up to Election Day, which is two million more doors than Bob Brady’s organization can claim to have knocked during his entire tenure as party chairman,” a senior adviser to the Harris campaign said.
Lindy Li, a Harris surrogate, also reflected on Harris’ choice of running mate. She questioned whether replacing Gov. Tim Walz with a more moderate option, such as Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, would have changed the race.
“The blame game has started,” Li said. “One of the things that are top of mind is the choice of Tim Walz as vice presidential candidate. A lot of people are saying tonight that it should have been Josh Shapiro. Frankly, people have been saying that for months. I know a lot of people are probably wondering tonight what would have happened had Shapiro been on the ticket.”
As some Democrats argue that Biden waited too long to pass the torch, others are questioning whether he should have stepped aside at all.
Prominent figures, including George Clooney, are now being mocked online for their calls for Biden to exit the race. Clooney had written an op-ed in The New York Times, urging Biden to end his campaign and allow the party to nominate a new candidate.
Journalist Joshua Hartley shared a screenshot of Clooney’s piece on X, mocking the suggestion with the caption, “Thank you, George Clooney.”
Meanwhile, progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who was re-elected in Vermont on Tuesday, Nov. 5, took to X to offer his own critique. In a post that responded to the infighting within the party, Sanders said the issue lay with the Democratic Party itself.
“It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working-class people would find that the working class has abandoned them,” Sanders wrote. “While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right.”