This week, Vice President Harris suffered a landslide defeat to President-elect Donald Trump, winning battleground states and traditionally Republican states alike, and jumping over the required 270 electoral votes to win the election. was defeated.
Harris' abbreviated campaign cycle, which began in late July after President Biden withdrew from the race and handed the torch to the vice president, has been marked by several gaffes and missteps, making it difficult to court voters. Her efforts to do so were haunting and became political fodder. For Trump and his campaign.
Fox News Digital investigated Harris' nearly 100 days of campaigning and compiled a list of the vice president's biggest campaign mistakes that are likely to cost her support at the polls.
Harris declares she won't do anything different from President Biden
Perhaps the biggest failure of Harris' campaign was when the vice president appeared on “The View” in early October to discuss disagreements with President Biden on policy decisions and political positions across the administration. He said he couldn't think of an example of that.
“What, if anything, have you done differently over the last four years than President Biden?”
“Nothing comes to mind,” Harris replied.
Harris' comments stand in stark contrast to the sentiment of voters who are dissatisfied with the current administration's leadership.
Preliminary data from FOX News Voter AnalysisA survey of more than 110,000 voters across the country found that the majority of voters headed to the polls believing the country was heading in the wrong direction.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at Michigan State University on November 3, 2024 in East Lansing, Michigan. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin)
Voters heading to the polls reported that the country was on the wrong path (70%, up from 60% four years ago) and wanted something different. The majority wanted a change in the way the country was run, with about a quarter calling for complete and utter chaos.
“Kamala Harris is much the same,” Vice President-elect J.D. Vance wrote to X last month about Harris' comments on “The View.” “She herself admits it.”
“This is going to be the nail in Kamala Harris’ coffin,” Federalist co-founder Sean Davis predicted last month.
“When John Kerry was fighting charges that he was a spineless flip-flopper, I was reminded of his comment about Iraq war funding: 'I voted for $87 billion before I voted against it,'” he added. Ta. “His campaign ended with that one word.”
Harris was criticized for using a “new accent” during her campaign. “Word salad” gaffe
Harris has been criticized several times for sporting a “new accent” while addressing various voters around the country, including portraying her as a cartoon character at one point and as a preacher at another campaign event. Some critics compared it.
Last month, Harris visited the Christian Compassion Church in Philadelphia and spoke with the predominantly black congregation. In just nine days, voters will “We have the power to determine the fate of our country for generations to come.”
Harris accused of 'word salad' after heckler interrupted her campaign speech: 'The nonsense never ends'
Harris quoted a Psalm in her remarks, saying, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. The road may seem rough, the work may seem heavy, but joy… He comes to church in the morning.” Morning is approaching. ”
Social media critics pounce on the clip Harris said she debuted her new “pastor” accent for the first time, quoting a Psalm and comparing her intonation to that of the late Martin Luther King Jr.
Harris mocks 'new accent' at Philadelphia event: 'Everything about this woman is fake'
She was criticized for using an accent that was compared to “Foghorn Leghorn” when she addressed union members at a Detroit Labor Day rally.
“When did the vice president start sounding like a Southern accent?” asked Fox News' Peter Doocy. white house press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was compared to a cartoon character after a speech in Detroit in September.
“I don't know what you're talking about,'' Jean-Pierre replied.
“Well, she was talking about unions in the same tone in Detroit, and she was talking in the same tone in Pittsburgh, and it sounded like there was at least some kind of southern air of swagger.” Doocy closed in.
“I mean, do you hear this question? I mean, do you think Americans seriously think this is an important question?” Jean-Pierre pushed back. “You know what they care about? They care about the economy, they care about cost-cutting, they care about health care. That’s what they want to hear…democracy and Freedom…I'm not even going to accept a question about that…It's just…It sounds so stupid when you hear it, and I'm talking about that question, and it's totally insane. ”
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a Chicago native, has also been repeatedly criticized for using a variety of accents in public over the decades, most notably using Southern speech. It is.
Harris also came under fire for her rambling “word salad” at numerous public events, which was frequently mocked by Trump's campaign and critics.
“We have to keep that spirit. We have to keep that spirit. Let that always inspire us. Let that always be the source of our optimism. That's the uniquely American spirit. “And let it inspire us by helping us solve problems that many people face, including small business owners,'' Harris said. , for example, when speaking at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh in September.
“I grew up knowing that the kids in the community were like that. children of the community, And we all should have a vested interest in making sure our children thrive and receive the resources they need to reach their God-given potential,” she said in September in Washington. He spoke at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Association's 47th Annual Leadership Conference in DC. .
In another “word salad” gaffe just days before the election, Harris said: “We're here because we're fighting for democracy. We're fighting for democracy. And understand the difference here, understand the difference here, and move forward, move forward.” , please understand the difference here. ”
Harris avoided the media for several weeks and did not hold a press conference.
Harris campaigned for 107 days without holding a single press conference, avoided sit-down media interviews for the first 38 days of the campaign, and finally gave an interview to CNN.
Trump has held at least six press conferences since early August and fielded questions from the media. Harris carried nothing, but held several private press conferences during the campaign.
Day 107: Kamala Harris has yet to hold a formal press conference since emerging as the Democratic nominee.
The Harris-Waltz campaign noted that in the final weeks of the campaign, Harris participated in a town hall on CNN and gave interviews with NBC News, Telemundo and CBS, in addition to several podcasts and local news stations. Increased media presence. She also spoke with Fox News' Bret Baier last month, which Baier described as a “controversial” interview.
Promote celebrity endorsements at campaign events
Harris repeatedly relied on celebrities during her campaign, including touting her star status at flash rallies.
Ms. Harris held a rally at Red Texas last month that was attended by celebrities including Beyoncé, Jessica Alba and Willie Nelson. An estimated 30,000 people attended Harris' rally, with rumors spreading that Beyoncé was scheduled to perform at the rally. The pop star publicly supported Harris during her appearance, but did not perform the song.
Texas Politicos press Harris in full court to 'apologize' ahead of campaign rally in border state
Prior to the rally, media outlets such as MSNBC reported that Beyoncé would likely not only appear at the rally, but also perform. Beyoncé did not perform, and the Trump campaign claimed that Harris “lied” about Beyoncé's appearance at the rally in order to “gather a crowd.”
Houston native Beyoncé Knowles speaks at a rally for Vice President Harris at Shell Energy Stadium on October 25, 2024 in Houston. (Yi-Ching Li/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
In Pennsylvania, a state seen as likely to determine the overall outcome of the election, Harris held a number of events on the final day of campaigning. Celebrities such as Cedric the Entertainer, Katy Perry, Andra Day, DJ Cassidy, Fat Joe, Ricky Martin and Lady Gaga also attended rallies in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
Liberal political analyst Van Jones mentioned Harris on CNN before the election, saying, “Another thing that makes me nervous is that in 2016, there was a big star-studded event right before the election, and we lost the state.'' That's what happened.'' Pennsylvania holds a rally.
Harris' steady support from celebrities comes as voters report the economy and jobs are the most important issues heading into the election as inflation strains Americans' pocketbooks in 2021 and beyond. It has been obtained.
Lackluster Vice President Selection
After Biden's withdrawal from the race, amid growing concerns about his mental acuity and age, Harris combed through a list of prominent Democrats and lesser-known allies before choosing Minnesota governor. He began campaigning and searching for a vice presidential candidate at the same time. Tim Waltz.
Although Democrats ultimately rallied behind Walz, the other choice, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, was seen by many to be a better candidate to help Democrats finish in victory. was.
'It should have been Josh Shapiro': Harris' vice president bid was passed over after big loss in Walz-Dodge campaign
“As a founding member of the group that should have chosen Shapiro, I think it's relatively clear now that she made a mistake,” statistician Nate Silver told the New York Times ahead of Election Day. .
Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks at a campaign event in Ann Arbor, Michigan, October 28, 2024. (AP/Paul Sancia)
“Pennsylvania seems to be a little behind the other blue-walled states. Meanwhile, Walz was unremarkable in debates and unremarkable and nervous in public appearances.”
Lindy Lee, Harris Walz's attorney, told Fox News senior White House correspondent Jackie Heinrich, a Howard University graduate who attended a party for Harris on election night, that Shapiro is probably a major figure in the Harris campaign. He said he would have supported efforts to achieve victory.
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Vice President Harris and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro speak to reporters at Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia on July 13, 2024. (Ryan Corrado/AFP)
“One of my top priorities is to select Tim Walz as my running mate,” Lee said. “There's a lot of people out there saying it should have been Josh Shapiro tonight. Frankly, people have been saying that for months.”
Given Pennsylvania's battleground state status, the popular first-term governor is seen as a potential key to the Harris campaign winning the coveted 270 electoral votes to secure the election. It had been. Shapiro, who is Jewish, also served as a bridge for the Harris campaign to court Jewish voters amid backlash over her previous comments defending anti-Israel demonstrators who rocked college campuses last year during Israel's war. He was hailed as a person who can get things done.
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Pennsylvania ultimately voted for Trump and carried him across the finish line.
Fox News Digital's Brian Flood and David Rutz contributed to this report.
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