Strategist urged Harris to differentiate herself from Biden in weeks before vote: Memos
A prominent campaign strategist in 2024 repeatedly warned former Vice President Harris’s team that the presidential candidate needed to distance herself from then-President Biden because her messaging wasn’t resonating with potential voters, according to memos revealed Tuesday.
“It turns out it is okay to acknowledge mistakes and failures — particularly if it shows voters where the Vice President is different from President Biden,” Maria Comella wrote in an October memo to Harris campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon that was obtained by Politico. “Don’t dodge and be direct on issues where positions have changed.”
“These voters will give you credit for it and it will create trust when it comes to future positioning on issues,” she added.
Comella, who previously advised New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), specifically highlighted the Biden administration’s failures with border security and immigration and encouraged Harris to acknowledge it.
“Yes, the Biden administration was too late when it came to action on the border. Say it out loud,” she wrote in a separate memo obtained by Politico.
She also tried to redirect talking points on electric vehicle (EV) mandates and urged Harris’s team to acknowledge that it was a mistake to lock down schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The vision here is less rooted in policy specifics than it is in both acknowledging why the voter feels the way they do and painting a future that takes that into account. You can’t convince people they don’t feel what they feel,” she wrote. “You can articulate that you see them, you hear them and that it informs how you will lead, govern and work.”
Over multiple following messages, Comella continued to press Harris’s team that acknowledging mistakes would set the Democratic candidate apart from President Trump.
“There is a natural leadership contrast with Trump who can never admit when he is wrong,” she wrote. “Sign of leadership to admit when you haven’t gotten it right.”
Comella argued that Harris could appeal to Republicans by acknowledging where the Democratic Party was wrong. She offered specific messaging and talking points for Harris’s interview with Fox News’s Bret Baier just weeks before Election Day, and she advised the campaign to agree to an interview with popular podcaster Joe Rogan.
“While he won’t be aggressive, he will be looking for authenticity and it’s an opportunity to differentiate in style,” she wrote of Rogan.
Harris ultimately declined Rogan’s interview offer but agreed to appear on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast.
The series of memos was obtained by journalists Josh Dawsey of The Wall Street Journal, Tyler Pager of The New York Times and Isaac Arnsdorf of The Washington Post for their book, “2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,” released Tuesday.