Vice President Kamala Harris' aides during the presidential campaign revealed in a new podcast appearance that she never beat President-elect Donald Trump in an internal poll.
“We didn't get the break we needed on Election Day,” said David Plouffe, a senior adviser to Harris. pod save americaa program hosted by former President Barack Obama's staff.
“I think people were surprised because polls came out in late September and early October that showed a lead that we had never seen before.”
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David Plouffe, a senior adviser to the Harris campaign, said Vice President Kamala Harris' loss to President-elect Trump was due to weak elections in battleground states. (Getty Images)
Plouffe joined other Harris aides Jen O'Malley Dillon, Stephanie Cutter and Quentin Fawkes on the podcast to share why she believed she lost the election.
Plouffe acknowledged that Harris has been a rival to Trump, even beating him in numerous nationally respected polls.
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In this June 29, 2011 file photo, from left, White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer. Jen Psaki, Deputy Director of Communications; Senior Advisor David Plouffe; Press Secretary Jay Carney stands in the East Room as President Barack Obama holds a press conference at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dalapak, File)
“When Kamala Harris became a candidate, she was behind. We kind of climbed up, but when the debates were over, we were still down. As you know, it was a competitive state, but it was very close. So I think it was a jump ball race at the end.”
The campaign's top advisers were clearly aware of Harris' lack of polling, but this information appears to have been hidden from other parties, including those involved in soliciting money from donors.
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Jen O'Malley Dillon, campaign manager for Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, is shown before Harris gives her concession speech at Howard University in Washington, DC, on November 6, 2024. ((Photo credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images))
“That's not what we were told,” Lindy Lee, a member of the DNC national finance committee and a fundraiser for the Harris campaign, told FOX News Digital.
“We were told very clearly that she had a chance to win – it wasn't a shot in the arm. We were also told that Pennsylvania looked good and would win the battleground state at 3-4.”
“And on election night, we were told we were going to win Iowa.”
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DNC member Lindy Lee spoke to Fox & Friends Weekend about why the Harris campaign ended up being such a “disaster.” (Fox News)
Lee said it's “absolutely” not normal for campaigns to hide this kind of information.
“I've been doing this job for over 10 years since I graduated from university. [ago]. Absolutely not. ”
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She also shared that the campaign needed to regain donor trust because there was a gap between what it was telegraphing about the situation and the reality. “But like some casual donors, they're going to be like, 'No way,'” Lee said.
“The shocking thing is not that he beat her. It's that he beat her. It wasn't even close. It was a decisive loss.”
