In an explosive interview, Anita Dunn, a former top adviser to former President Biden, criticized the Democratic Party leadership and the mainstream media, accusing both of launching “nasty” attacks on the sitting President Biden.
Dunn, who recently left the White House to join the Harris campaign, He told Politico The aftermath of this summer’s disastrous presidential debate, in which Biden stumbled over a number of answers and was ultimately replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris.
Dunn said the debate itself wasn’t so bad, but what happens afterwards will be important.
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“So [former President] “Trump didn’t dominate the debate at all. In fact, he picked up a few votes within our group. So, it was a bad debate, but it wasn’t completely disastrous from the voter’s perspective,” she said.
“And I think other people who have done independent research have seen much the same thing. If you look back at the polls, you’ll see very little change from the debates, because the structure of this campaign has been pretty static for a long time. And the debates weren’t going to change that.”
President Biden’s Senior Advisor Anita Dunn (center) and White House Deputy Director for Legislative Affairs Reema Dodin (right) arrive to attend a lunch with Senate Democrats at the U.S. Capitol on July 22, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“What changed the situation was 24 days of relentless, negative and horrific attacks on Joe Biden,” she said.
Asked to clarify who these attacks were coming from, Dan didn’t hesitate to reply: “From my own party and the media.”
She also said the mood in the press corps after the debate was “just unrelentingly negative” and was made worse by party leaders speaking out.
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“Obviously there were some leaders in the party who decided to go public and that gave permission for others to go public,” she said.
Dunn was asked if former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)’s two television appearances in the days following the debate were an example.
“Of course,” she said.
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Dunn later avoided answering a question about whether Biden was still angry at Pelosi, former President Barack Obama or Senate Republican Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), but renewed his criticism of some leaders.
“The challenge we face is winning this election, keeping Donald Trump from being president again and winning the House of Representatives. If some of our leaders had done a little better job in 2022, we might be in a better position today, but we haven’t,” she said.
Tensions are rising within the Biden camp. NBC News Tensions have risen following the controversy, with the Biden family reportedly debating whether to fire Dunn and angered by his suggestions that eldest son Hunter Biden should keep a low profile.
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Asked about a letter Biden sent to lawmakers saying he had no plans to drop out of the race, Dunn acknowledged it backfired with some lawmakers, and when asked if Hunter was involved he said “that’s not true.”
