The way they played it too safe was by not going even harder at Trump and calling him out for the unbelievable lies he told. Just yesterday he said that there's a chance his policies may cause a recession. Had Trump truthfully foreshadowed to voters just a fraction of what the first 6-8 weeks of his administration would really look like, Harris and Walz would have cruised to victory, and you'd be writing about how the Republican party is in complete disarray and how will they dump Trump and ever get out of the hole they created for themselves by following this guy. Trump isn't going to do the most basic things he campaigned on will continue to do everything that he would have never said out loud back then. They lied over and over and over again, and people bought into it. Reasonable voters wouldn't have voted for this if they knew what was coming.
Americans will be broke by then. but you make a good point. You don’t care what damage Trump is doing to Americans provided you own the libs. That’s what this is all about. That won’t end well lol
No, going after Trump was not the answer. The answer was to put forward her own ideas and plans. She had none, or at least, none that she wanted to share.
He was a blatant liar, misogynist, fraud, convicted felon, and sexual pervert. What else was he?
He is and was a force of nature. His method of speaking and words drilled right through truth, fax, and knowledge. He had an emotional connection right to a considerable winning portion of the American people.
Kamala and Tim were trying to appeal to intelligence and reason while the Trump team was going right for the emotional funny bone. Guess which won? Emotion always wins over common sense.
The bullshit about Kamala running too safe a campaign is just that. There are million things she could've done better, but I don't think that any of them mattered. When you are up against the greatest liar in political history and people still vote for him, what were they to do? They called him out every way imaginable. They had an unprecedented voter ground game in the swing states. Many of the down ballot candidates suffered the same fate.
I'll tell you one other thing about Kamala and Tim. They probably would be dull and downright boring if they won. MAGA voters would hate every breath they took. And America and the world would be so much better.
I agree with your last paragraph. With Kamala as POTUS, we'd be that much closer to peace in Ukraine. We'd have no plane crashes. Nobody would have the measles, let alone babies dying from it. No Elon firing everyone, no Project 2025. And Trump would be going to jail.
No chance in hell it gets done today. Your guy wants Ukraine to give up their land, for Zelenskyy to resign, for him to apologize on his knees and lick Trump's shoes, and who know what else. Not gonna happen.
Nobody is reporting this, unless Faux News is. What IS being reported is the DOW down another 350 points already. Mr. Deal Maker is causing a recession! Thank him for us.
After Biden helped steer the US into inflation trying to fight the 2008 financial crisis in 2021, the only hope would have been Harris breaking hard with Biden's economic policy, but that was too big an ask. The Democrats were in a change election as the incumbents.
One microcosm of the campaign I could never figure out. The McDonald’s stunt Trump pulled based on KH stating she once worked at McDonald’s. Was that just a blatant lie?!? Why did she put that on her resume if it wasn’t true?? How did Trump verify she didn’t work there? She never addressed it. Allowed Trump to call her out as a liar and then made sport of it by working the drive through and “looking” like an everyday guy. Just one example but why didn’t the campaign come out with proof, if it existed, that KH was not lying and make Trump look foolish? I never understood their laying down and taking it on this one little subject. One can only assume she was pretending, for some reason, to have worked at McDonald’s?!?
It wasn't the on her resume. She mentioned it in passing a time or two . It was just a part of her background she mentioned to show where she came from.
I'm sure it was true that she worked at McDonald's. It just wasn't on her resume. You wouldn't put something like that on your professional resume. It was Trump who made a spectacle of it, because that's what he does. Hard to defend yourself against idiotic attacks like that.
I thought that the HARRIS CAMPAIGN was too much into " GLAMOR" events. Harris should have been encouraged to go into RED STATES..and educate MAGAS what they could expect if Trump got in...NOW WE KNOW.
Chris- one of the few times I agree with every word you have written in this post. Particularly that even if she picked Shapiro she would not have won. The problem was the top of the ticket - Harris herself, she comes across as unsure of herself, not at all agile even in interviews with friendly interviewers, unable to assemble and keep a competent staff, as someone who either has no firm beliefs or is attempting to hide the fact that she is a radical leftist and generally both unconvincing and unlikeable. The tipoff should have been that she had to drop out of the 2020 primaries before Iowa despite huge favorable media attention. The more she campaigned , the less she was liked . Other than that she was the perfect candidate. A prime example of why the Dems are in the wilderness.
The Dems found themselves stuck with a DEI candidate 100 days out from the election. It’s really poetic justice to see their own philosophy be the cause of their political demise.
And you see the same decision making process in the events the Harris Campaign took part in, and those they did not. Appearing with Beyonce - safe. Appearing with Joe Rogan - not safe. So go with Beyonce and not with Rogan. Over and over, Harris played it safe.
And, for his part, Biden also mostly played it safe throughout his presidency - waiting for bipartisan agreement, and rarely going for anything alone - even waiting for Congress to approve Ukraine aid, and always slow to allow Ukraine to have access to weapons which might have been considered offensive (not defensive) and might have provoked Russia.
What you saw with Biden was a negotiator and legislator. This is how it used to be done m
Kennedy and hatch used to do a lot of deals together. Reagan and O’Neill were famous for getting together sharing a couple drinks and add to the Blarney Stone
VP choice did not matter to results. The Dems lost ground when they did not go out to the town halls, caucuses, and primaries to hear from a diversity (am I allowed to use that word?) of people. Biden (and Harris) were mostly sequestered in the White House when they should have been taking on tough and frank discussions with voters to help shape the 2024 Dem platform. Walz got it right, but it should have been months earlier.
I really don't believe that was the case. They held numerous rallies in various states that were well attended and highly publicized. They were freaking Trump out because they were outdrawing him. There was great enthusiasm for her campaign.
Yes, I agree during campaign she had some rallies and met with voters. My point was earlier than that before and during primary season they failed to connect to voters. Biden did not primary and was rarely out in public. Harris was not a candidate so was not a factor then. Damage was done Nov ‘23 to June ‘24 with a lack of engagement with Americans by Democratic leaders and their presidential candidate(s).
Good article, thank you. I think there are like 10 reasons Trump won this election. Some day when I feel up to it, I will list them all.
But one reason is because Harris got into the race way too late. Biden should have dropped out of the race in late 2023 and announced Harris as the new choice. Then Harris could have had all the primaries, the public would have gotten to know her better, she could have had the 1st debate with Trump (which she would have easily won), etc.
For those who would give good reasons for Shapiro to have been the VP running mate, I could have given the same number why he shouldn't have. But I do agree that if Shapiro had been the VP pick, Harris would have still lost.
I think the idea that Shapiro would have created waves is spot on. Think about it. The media would have focused on the fact that he is Jewish and then kept targeting Shapiro as the bad guy in treatment of Palestinians in Gaza.
Walz was totally misused. He could have done a lot more out in rural America and winning those people over. His debate disaster was due to his nice guy approach. He's not a killer. With a pitbull like JD Vance, Walz needed to take the gloves off and tear into him for being the ginormously cruel prick he likes to portray himself as.
It seems to me that Tim Walz was a dynamite choice and, possibly, Harris's only way out of the bind she was in with working Americans. I didn't see much of Walz during the campaign; I live in NC and we saw a lot of Harris. IMHO, the Dems did not need another elite-educated and -employed name on the ticket or voice to Americans. I am a fan of Tim Walz.
Can I ask a question... is there any chance she offered the VP to Shapiro and he turned her down and Waltz was the backup? Shapiro is super smart and I suspect he knew Harris wouldn't win and he didn't want to have the stink of loss on his brand instead waiting for 2028 to be at the top of the ticket? Chris thoughts on this?
I think that’s a very legitimate thought! Knowing the state of the country and KH’s political abilities it’s likely Shapiro didn’t want to get on board a sinking ship
I got an angry text from Kamala's campaign telling me they'd reached out multiple times and I hadn't done my part contributing. They raised a billion dollars and flushed it. Imagine what the Dems could do with it now.
Many times we read into (aka project) how was are feeling onto written communication because the visual cues and spoken inflections that come with in-person communication are absent. Consider providing the actual text of the message so we can best understand the source of your concerns related to that communication.
In the old days, candidates would go to all the states to campaign. In '24, most of the focus was on swing states; much of the country was ignored.
Agree with Chris, Walz was the wrong pick.
Their campaign definitely needed proportionally less vitriole and alarmism regarding Trump, more affirmative messaging, and greater specificity (a platform).
Walz became the vice presidential nominee because of those TV hits where he kept calling Republicans weird.
Then he stopped doing interviews and stopped calling Republicans weird.
I will never understand this strategy.
The way they played it too safe was by not going even harder at Trump and calling him out for the unbelievable lies he told. Just yesterday he said that there's a chance his policies may cause a recession. Had Trump truthfully foreshadowed to voters just a fraction of what the first 6-8 weeks of his administration would really look like, Harris and Walz would have cruised to victory, and you'd be writing about how the Republican party is in complete disarray and how will they dump Trump and ever get out of the hole they created for themselves by following this guy. Trump isn't going to do the most basic things he campaigned on will continue to do everything that he would have never said out loud back then. They lied over and over and over again, and people bought into it. Reasonable voters wouldn't have voted for this if they knew what was coming.
No, they needed their own real, affirmative vision to sell. TrumpMan Orange Bad! hasn't worked the two times it has been tried.
Agreed, neither did the Hitler stuff….
Trump is far worse than anyone ever could have imagined. There are many Republicans publicly regretting voting for him. He betrayed them.
He’s there till 2029 no amount of complaining will change that.
Americans will be broke by then. but you make a good point. You don’t care what damage Trump is doing to Americans provided you own the libs. That’s what this is all about. That won’t end well lol
A Democratic majority in the House and Senate in 2026 could very much change that. Elections matter. We're all learning that lesson every day.
No, going after Trump was not the answer. The answer was to put forward her own ideas and plans. She had none, or at least, none that she wanted to share.
OMG. they are canceling the view. My life will never be the same. Say a prayer for me Dutch
Chris here’s your chance. We could have a male version of the show. You Steve Schmidt and Scott Jennings. We wouldn’t need a fourth
We could even do a two fer. Boxing gloves are mandatory
Think that’s Stephen A Smith’s show.
How about Stephen A interviewing the clown car The odds ought to be about right
Correct!
Said that when asked, of all places, the soon to be canceled The View
I think they did try to do that by spotlighting Project 2025. They should have called out Trump's lying that he knew nothing about it.
I agree that they tried. They should have tried harder.
Chris, you can't have it both ways.
He was a blatant liar, misogynist, fraud, convicted felon, and sexual pervert. What else was he?
He is and was a force of nature. His method of speaking and words drilled right through truth, fax, and knowledge. He had an emotional connection right to a considerable winning portion of the American people.
Kamala and Tim were trying to appeal to intelligence and reason while the Trump team was going right for the emotional funny bone. Guess which won? Emotion always wins over common sense.
The bullshit about Kamala running too safe a campaign is just that. There are million things she could've done better, but I don't think that any of them mattered. When you are up against the greatest liar in political history and people still vote for him, what were they to do? They called him out every way imaginable. They had an unprecedented voter ground game in the swing states. Many of the down ballot candidates suffered the same fate.
I'll tell you one other thing about Kamala and Tim. They probably would be dull and downright boring if they won. MAGA voters would hate every breath they took. And America and the world would be so much better.
I agree with your last paragraph. With Kamala as POTUS, we'd be that much closer to peace in Ukraine. We'd have no plane crashes. Nobody would have the measles, let alone babies dying from it. No Elon firing everyone, no Project 2025. And Trump would be going to jail.
Dullsville!
Minerals deal being signed today! Peace in Ukraine very soon! Art of the Deal being played out in real time.
No chance in hell it gets done today. Your guy wants Ukraine to give up their land, for Zelenskyy to resign, for him to apologize on his knees and lick Trump's shoes, and who know what else. Not gonna happen.
Unlikely. Trump is likely providing intelligence to Putin. Do you support this Dutch?
You don’t believe the minerals deal will be signed today as is being reported?
I’m an American. I’m appalled at the ignorance of many Americans and their belief in US media who have been bribed by Trump to sane wash him.
Well, watch and learn. lol But I’d recommend doing your own research and reading European and Canadian news sources instead.
Nobody is reporting this, unless Faux News is. What IS being reported is the DOW down another 350 points already. Mr. Deal Maker is causing a recession! Thank him for us.
Lol!!!
Art of the steal. How can he squeeeze any last remains of the Ukraine... before giving it away to Putin to split the spoils. Vomiting now.
After Biden helped steer the US into inflation trying to fight the 2008 financial crisis in 2021, the only hope would have been Harris breaking hard with Biden's economic policy, but that was too big an ask. The Democrats were in a change election as the incumbents.
Biden’s economy was fabulous. Trump’s is disastrous. And we are only 40(?) days in lol
One microcosm of the campaign I could never figure out. The McDonald’s stunt Trump pulled based on KH stating she once worked at McDonald’s. Was that just a blatant lie?!? Why did she put that on her resume if it wasn’t true?? How did Trump verify she didn’t work there? She never addressed it. Allowed Trump to call her out as a liar and then made sport of it by working the drive through and “looking” like an everyday guy. Just one example but why didn’t the campaign come out with proof, if it existed, that KH was not lying and make Trump look foolish? I never understood their laying down and taking it on this one little subject. One can only assume she was pretending, for some reason, to have worked at McDonald’s?!?
Dutch did you work a job 30 or 40 years ago you couldn’t prove
I certainly couldn’t prove I worked at McDonald’s in HS
Plus he looked like an idiot like he did in the garbage truck. At least put on the togs that go with the job
At least Dukakis put on a helmet
It wasn't the on her resume. She mentioned it in passing a time or two . It was just a part of her background she mentioned to show where she came from.
So it apparently wasn’t true. Not the first politician to tell an untruth… just kinda funny the spectacle that was made of it.
I'm sure it was true that she worked at McDonald's. It just wasn't on her resume. You wouldn't put something like that on your professional resume. It was Trump who made a spectacle of it, because that's what he does. Hard to defend yourself against idiotic attacks like that.
“Intelligence and Reason “ such arrogance heavily contributed to Trump’s victory
I thought that the HARRIS CAMPAIGN was too much into " GLAMOR" events. Harris should have been encouraged to go into RED STATES..and educate MAGAS what they could expect if Trump got in...NOW WE KNOW.
Truth. Also the Joe Rogan interview she did not do. But yes WE know better now.
Chris- one of the few times I agree with every word you have written in this post. Particularly that even if she picked Shapiro she would not have won. The problem was the top of the ticket - Harris herself, she comes across as unsure of herself, not at all agile even in interviews with friendly interviewers, unable to assemble and keep a competent staff, as someone who either has no firm beliefs or is attempting to hide the fact that she is a radical leftist and generally both unconvincing and unlikeable. The tipoff should have been that she had to drop out of the 2020 primaries before Iowa despite huge favorable media attention. The more she campaigned , the less she was liked . Other than that she was the perfect candidate. A prime example of why the Dems are in the wilderness.
Very well put!
The Dems found themselves stuck with a DEI candidate 100 days out from the election. It’s really poetic justice to see their own philosophy be the cause of their political demise.
Do you even know what dei is? I’m assuming you’re “white” and therefore think anyone less smart than you gets the job
White, male and fully able/without any conditions needing accommodation.
Most Republicans have no idea about DEI. It has become a dog whistle
I don’t know how Harris could be DEI. She won city prosecutor and AG In elections
Other than that I’m going to have to go to say some Hail Marys. I’m agreeing with Dutch too much
Did you take some moderate pills. Say it ain’t so
Most company shareholders have voted to maintain their DEI policies. The ones that haven’t have lost billion of dollars. Target is a great example.
Harris lost because she was a black woman. This isn’t rocket science.
Meanwhile Trunp is still completely insane and destroying America. Curious that you guys are obsessed with Democrats lol.
You hit the nail on the head.
Her lack of authenticity and leadership is demonstrated by the fact that she has rarely been seen since the election.
(My reply was to K Tucker Anderson)
And you see the same decision making process in the events the Harris Campaign took part in, and those they did not. Appearing with Beyonce - safe. Appearing with Joe Rogan - not safe. So go with Beyonce and not with Rogan. Over and over, Harris played it safe.
And, for his part, Biden also mostly played it safe throughout his presidency - waiting for bipartisan agreement, and rarely going for anything alone - even waiting for Congress to approve Ukraine aid, and always slow to allow Ukraine to have access to weapons which might have been considered offensive (not defensive) and might have provoked Russia.
What you saw with Biden was a negotiator and legislator. This is how it used to be done m
Kennedy and hatch used to do a lot of deals together. Reagan and O’Neill were famous for getting together sharing a couple drinks and add to the Blarney Stone
Repukes won because they are ignorant shit heads. Look what they have done to the country.
VP choice did not matter to results. The Dems lost ground when they did not go out to the town halls, caucuses, and primaries to hear from a diversity (am I allowed to use that word?) of people. Biden (and Harris) were mostly sequestered in the White House when they should have been taking on tough and frank discussions with voters to help shape the 2024 Dem platform. Walz got it right, but it should have been months earlier.
I really don't believe that was the case. They held numerous rallies in various states that were well attended and highly publicized. They were freaking Trump out because they were outdrawing him. There was great enthusiasm for her campaign.
Yes, I agree during campaign she had some rallies and met with voters. My point was earlier than that before and during primary season they failed to connect to voters. Biden did not primary and was rarely out in public. Harris was not a candidate so was not a factor then. Damage was done Nov ‘23 to June ‘24 with a lack of engagement with Americans by Democratic leaders and their presidential candidate(s).
I see your point, that's true. But once Harris was nominated, she did get out and campaign hard.
Good article, thank you. I think there are like 10 reasons Trump won this election. Some day when I feel up to it, I will list them all.
But one reason is because Harris got into the race way too late. Biden should have dropped out of the race in late 2023 and announced Harris as the new choice. Then Harris could have had all the primaries, the public would have gotten to know her better, she could have had the 1st debate with Trump (which she would have easily won), etc.
For those who would give good reasons for Shapiro to have been the VP running mate, I could have given the same number why he shouldn't have. But I do agree that if Shapiro had been the VP pick, Harris would have still lost.
I think the idea that Shapiro would have created waves is spot on. Think about it. The media would have focused on the fact that he is Jewish and then kept targeting Shapiro as the bad guy in treatment of Palestinians in Gaza.
Walz was totally misused. He could have done a lot more out in rural America and winning those people over. His debate disaster was due to his nice guy approach. He's not a killer. With a pitbull like JD Vance, Walz needed to take the gloves off and tear into him for being the ginormously cruel prick he likes to portray himself as.
It seems to me that Tim Walz was a dynamite choice and, possibly, Harris's only way out of the bind she was in with working Americans. I didn't see much of Walz during the campaign; I live in NC and we saw a lot of Harris. IMHO, the Dems did not need another elite-educated and -employed name on the ticket or voice to Americans. I am a fan of Tim Walz.
Good points about what happened but let’s not dwell too long on the loss and figure out how dems can move forward.
Can I ask a question... is there any chance she offered the VP to Shapiro and he turned her down and Waltz was the backup? Shapiro is super smart and I suspect he knew Harris wouldn't win and he didn't want to have the stink of loss on his brand instead waiting for 2028 to be at the top of the ticket? Chris thoughts on this?
I think that’s a very legitimate thought! Knowing the state of the country and KH’s political abilities it’s likely Shapiro didn’t want to get on board a sinking ship
That's been my thought all along.
Interesting theory gentlemen. The answer will lie in 2028, if Shapiro runs for the big enchilada.
I think he will. He’s a very skilled politician and will be a very good candidate for the Democratic Party.
I got an angry text from Kamala's campaign telling me they'd reached out multiple times and I hadn't done my part contributing. They raised a billion dollars and flushed it. Imagine what the Dems could do with it now.
Many times we read into (aka project) how was are feeling onto written communication because the visual cues and spoken inflections that come with in-person communication are absent. Consider providing the actual text of the message so we can best understand the source of your concerns related to that communication.
No, Harris was acting presidential while Trump as usual was acting like a jack-ass.
In the old days, candidates would go to all the states to campaign. In '24, most of the focus was on swing states; much of the country was ignored.
Agree with Chris, Walz was the wrong pick.
Their campaign definitely needed proportionally less vitriole and alarmism regarding Trump, more affirmative messaging, and greater specificity (a platform).