Tools
Change country:

Why Biden's Team Thinks Harris Lost

Earlier this fall, one of Joe Biden’s closest aides felt compelled to tell the president a hard truth about Kamala Harris’s run for the presidency: “You have more to lose than she does.” And now he’s lost it. Joe Biden cannot escape the fact that his four years in office paved the way for the return of Donald Trump. This is his legacy. Everything else is an asterisk.

In the hours after Harris’s defeat, I called and texted members of Biden’s inner circle to hear their postmortems of the campaign. They sounded as deflated as the rest of the Democratic elite. They also had a worry of their own: Members of Biden’s clan continue to stoke the delusion that its paterfamilias would have won the election, and some of his advisers feared that he might publicly voice that deeply misguided view.

Although the Biden advisers I spoke with were reluctant to say anything negative about Harris as a candidate, they did level critiques of her campaign, based on the months they’d spent strategizing in anticipation of the election. Embedded in their autopsies was their own unstated faith that they could have done better.

One critique holds that Harris lost because she abandoned her most potent attack. Harris began the campaign portraying Trump as a stooge of corporate interests—and touted herself as a relentless scourge of Big Business. During the Democratic National Convention, speaker after speaker inveighed against Trump’s oligarchical allegiances. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York bellowed, “We have to help her win, because we know that Donald Trump would sell this country for a dollar if it meant lining his own pockets and greasing the palms of his Wall Street friends.”

[David A. Graham: What Trump understood, and Harris did not]

While Harris was stuck defending the Biden economy, and hobbled by lingering anger over inflation, attacking Big Business allowed her to go on the offense. Then, quite suddenly, this strain of populism disappeared. One Biden aide told me that Harris steered away from such hard-edged messaging at the urging of her brother-in-law, Tony West, Uber’s chief legal officer. (West did not immediately respond to a request for comment.) To win the support of CEOs, Harris jettisoned a strong argument that deflected attention from one of her weakest issues. Instead, the campaign elevated Mark Cuban as one of its chief surrogates, the very sort of rich guy she had recently attacked.

[Annie Lowrey: Voters wanted lower prices at any cost]

Another Bidenland critique takes Harris to task for failing to navigate the backlash against identity politics. Not that Harris ran a “woke” campaign. To the contrary, she bathed herself in patriotism. She presented herself as a prosecutor, a friend of law enforcement, and a proud gun owner. But she failed to respond to the ubiquitous ads the Trump campaign ran claiming that Harris supports sex-change operations for prisoners. She allowed Trump to create the impression that she favored the most radical version of transgender rights.

Biden, allies say, never would have let such attacks stand. He would have clearly rejected the idea of trans women competing in women’s sports. Of course, he never staked out that position in his presidency. But it’s true that Harris avoided the issue, rather than rebutting it, despite the millions of dollars poured into those attack ads. And in the end, those ads very likely implanted the notion that Harris wasn’t the cultural centrist she appeared to be.

A sour irony haunts Biden aides. In the coming months, Trump will use executive power and unified control of Washington to wreck many of the administration’s proudest accomplishments. But the ones he doesn’t wreck, he will claim as his own. Biden helped build the foundations for economic growth, with the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS Act, and the infrastructure bill. Because the investments enabled by all three of those bills will take years to bear fruit, Biden never had the chance to reap the harvest. Despite Trump’s opposition to those pieces of legislation, the benefits of those bills could bolster his presidency. Biden will have passed along his most substantive legacy as a gift to his successor.


Read full article on: theatlantic.com
What do tickets cost for the Chiefs vs. Broncos game at Arrowhead Stadium?
The Chiefs haven't lost a regular season game since Christmas 2023. Yes, really.
4 m
nypost.com
Can Trump again in 2028? Get the details on term limits for presidents
Here's everything to know about presidential term limits after President-elect Donald Trump won the 2024 election.
8 m
cbsnews.com
Should you sell your gold investment as the economy improves? Experts weigh in
Investors may want to consider selling gold to pursue faster growth opportunities or keeping it as a safety net.
cbsnews.com
Sydney Warner’s biggest fear turned into the best thing for her and 49ers’ Fred Warner
"Bachelor" alum Sydney Warner got candid about her life at home with 49ers star Fred Warner.
nypost.com
Panthers, Chuba Hubbard agree to 4-year contract extension
The Carolina Panthers announced on Thursday that they have agreed to a four-year contract extension with their top running back Chuba Hubbard.
foxnews.com
Mountain Fire in Southern California 0% contained after growing incredibly fast
The Mountain Fire is 0% contained and has scorched about 14,000 acres in Southern California since erupting Wednesday with hundreds of firefighters battling the blaze in areas near Los Angeles. CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti has more.
cbsnews.com
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough drags Dems for being ‘afraid’ to ‘offend some small subset of their base’
The former GOP congressman-turned-liberal news anchor placed blame on Democrats the morning after news outlets declared former president Donald Trump victorious over Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the White House.
nypost.com
Emissions from private jets are skyrocketing. Monitoring them is about to get much harder
A new study found private jet emissions jumped 46% in the last five years, with the U.S. as the main culprit.
latimes.com
When it comes to obesity, ultra-processed foods aren’t the only culprit
Processing is a tool to produce the kinds of foods we can’t resist, and that’s the root of the obesity crisis.
washingtonpost.com
Mark Wahlberg's Las Vegas restaurant catches fire
Mark Wahlberg's Las Vegas restaurant Flecha Cantina caught fire on Wednesday night, officials shared with Fox News Digital.
foxnews.com
Taylor Swift’s family tree: meet her beloved parents and younger brother
From growing up with them on a Christmas tree farm to bringing them around the world on her Eras Tour, Taylor Swift seems to have a tight-knit family. The pop star’s relatives have made headlines lately, between her brother Austin giving a disabled fan the VIP treatment at his sister’s show and her mom Andrea...
nypost.com
Coast Guardsman rappels from chopper to rescue passenger in dire need of hospital from Hawaii cruise ship: video
In two dramatic rescues on two sides of the Pacific Ocean the US Coast Guard on Tuesday pulled patients from a cruise ship and an oil tanker.
nypost.com
Why the U.S. Can’t Bridge the Divide at the Kitchen Table
Kara Alaimo examines why anger over the Dobbs decision wasn’t enough to stop Trump’s re-election.
time.com
Real-life Rosie the Riveter celebrates 100 years of resilience
Jennifer McMullen is a real-life Rosie the Riveter celebrating her 100th birthday. She went from factory work during WWII to a career at California State San Bernardino.
cbsnews.com
Monica Garcia ‘in shock’ after losing court battle against Heather Gay
Looks like Heather Gay came prepared to court with “receipts, proof, timeline, screenshots!” Monica Garcia is “in shock” after a Utah judge ruled in favor of Heather’s Beauty Lab after the med spa sued her in 2023 for “failing to pay” her lip injection bill. Watch the full video to learn more about the former...
nypost.com
Bills' Jordan Phillips drops incredible remark about return to team
Jordan Phillips had a great reaction to his return to the Buffalo Bills after being injured while playing with the Dallas Cowboys. He spoke to reporters on Wednesday.
foxnews.com
Joe Scarborough visibly shocked after finding out what the price of butter is: ‘Is it wrapped in gold?’
"A few weeks ago... somebody who was going to be voting for Kamala Harris came up to me and said 'oh my God, Trump's going to win... I go to the grocery store butter is over $3'" the former Florida congressman said.
nypost.com
LAFC faces a tough out in Vancouver Whitecaps, a reflection of coach Vanni Sartini
Vanni Sartini, the manager of the Vancouver Whitecaps, is a socialist and an atheist, attributes that are oddly relevant in his team's MLS playoff game with LAFC on Friday.
latimes.com
Joe Buck has no idea what Chris Russo is talking about with Cowboys swipe
Perhaps the Mad Dog has truly gone mad.
nypost.com
MSNBC’s Claire McCaskill cries over Kamala Harris’ concession speech
McCaskill could be heard crying in the background while MSNBC aired Harris’s speech.
nypost.com
Inside the Trump transition team's work to staff the new administration
President-elect Donald Trump's transition team is up and running as they work to coordinate policy plans and staff hires before Trump returns to the Oval Office. CBS News campaign reporter Olivia Rinaldi has more.
cbsnews.com
Non-profit builds playground for young cancer survivor
After 8-year-old Christian Herrera's cancer diagnosis limited his time outside, volunteers from Roc-Solid built a backyard playground just for him. Now, Christian and his family volunteer to help other kids battling cancer.
cbsnews.com
Shaboozey on his signature look and rise in country music
In an exclusive interview with Gayle King, country music's breakout star Shaboozey opens up about his signature look and the success of "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" which now tops the Billboard Hot 100. He reflects on a year that includes TIME 100 recognition and CMA nominations.
cbsnews.com
Democrats Actually Had Quite a Good Night in North Carolina
Kamala Harris lost the state, but many down-ballot races went their way.
theatlantic.com
Why Democrats couldn’t sell a strong economy, in 3 charts
People shop in a supermarket on October 30, 2024, in Brooklyn, New York City. | Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images The red shift in 2024 was so broad that no one localized issue appeared to tip the election in President-elect Donald Trump’s favor. However, one key factor may have been voters’ widespread dissatisfaction with the economy. Enduring pessimism about the US economy has puzzled political analysts, given that most major indicators suggest it is strong and that the US has recovered better than other countries from a pandemic-induced slump. Inflation has come down significantly from its peak in June 2022, slowing price hikes for basic goods. The Federal Reserve started cutting interest rates, making borrowing money cheaper. The economy has continued to grow at a solid rate. Unemployment dipped to its lowest level in 54 years in 2023 and stayed within a desirable range. On paper, everything looked great. But in poll after poll ahead of the election, voters signaled concern for the economy and ranked inflation as their top issue. The rough, preliminary voting data available in exit polling showed the same trend. At the heart of that disconnect might be elements that broad economic indicators often struggle to capture: Despite a “strong economy,” many Americans continued to feel the burden of higher prices, struggled to find work, and took on more debt. And the Election Day results suggest they blamed Democrats — specifically President Joe Biden and Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris — for those problems. Here’s what the rosy portraits of the economy embraced by Democrats may have missed. There was a real inflation backlash Though inflation is now down to 2.4 percent from its post-pandemic high of 9.1 percent, it’s been clear for months that Americans are still hurting financially and psychologically.  Wage growth has caught up with inflation on average. But wage gains haven’t been uniform: The lowest-paid workers saw some of the biggest gains, particularly in the leisure and hospitality sectors, but other industries, from advertising to chemical manufacturing, saw their wages decline relative to inflation.  But even if workers received raises that outpaced inflation, that doesn’t help with sticker shock. Research has shown that consumers have an internalized “reference price” — a conception of what constitutes a fair price for a good they routinely purchase. If that imagined price doesn’t match up with reality, consumers feel short-changed.  Though a person’s reference price can change, it usually does so slowly, following the normal pace of inflation (roughly 2 percent per year). Consumers haven’t had much time to adjust amid rapid inflation in recent years. That causes them to overestimate inflation: An August YouGov poll found that most consumers think inflation is significantly higher than it actually is.  Consumers also often misunderstand how inflation works. The important thing to know is that it only goes one way: When inflation decreases, that just means that prices are increasing less quickly, not that they are going down. (That can happen, though rarely.)  Prices going down, a phenomenon known as deflation, would be a potentially worrying signal about the health of the economy. If consumers pay less for a good, that can translate to less money to pay the workers who produce and distribute it, leading to less consumer spending overall and slower economic growth.  The job market is tougher The days of the pandemic-era “Great Resignation”— when employers struggled to hire and workers had their pick of jobs and the ability to demand higher wages — are well and truly over. The unemployment rate has ticked up in recent months to 4.1 percent, and job growth has slowed to levels not seen since 2020.  This is still within the realm of what economists would consider low unemployment. But the top-line rate doesn’t tell the full story. For one, people are staying unemployed for longer: 1.6 million Americans were unemployed for a period of at least 27 weeks in October, compared to just 1.3 million the same month last year. Many workers may also find themselves underemployed, stuck in part-time work or a job that doesn’t require their training or qualifications. This is especially true for recent college graduates, over half of whom were underemployed a year after graduation, according to a February report by the Burning Glass Institute and the Strada Institute for the Future of Work. Some industries are also cutting jobs. That includes jobs in manufacturing and temporary help services, which have decreased by 577,000 since March 2022. The overall unemployment rate doesn’t really reflect these nuances, which suggest Americans’ work lives may not be as rosy as the top-line number makes them appear. Americans have less money and are taking on more debt After a brief spike in savings rates during the pandemic due to a series of stimulus checks, Americans are now saving less than they were pre-pandemic. This creates a cycle where Americans have less money, so they borrow more. Because interest rates have been high, borrowing has become more expensive, leaving them with even less money. Americans are pulling from their now-depleted savings and amassing debt on credit cards and other revolving credit plans in which consumers can repeatedly borrow money up to a set limit and repay in installments. The total amount of credit card debt in the US reached an all-time high of $1.14 trillion as of October, with individuals owing an average of $8,000. Credit card delinquency rates have gone up. Young adults in particular, many of whom are also struggling with high student loan debt, are increasingly falling behind on their credit card payments. At some point, something has to give. This might be part of the reason many Americans still yearn for the economy under Trump in 2019, when they had more cash on hand and weren’t staring down so much debt.
vox.com
Photos: Mountain fire fueled by Santa Ana winds destroys dozens of homes in Ventura County
The fire prompted evacuation orders for more than 10,000 people as it threatened structures in suburban communities and agricultural areas around Camarillo.
latimes.com
Jennifer Lopez dishes on her holiday plans amid ‘intense year,’ Ben Affleck divorce
It’s been a hard year for Jennifer Lopez, so she wants to end it in the jolly spirit! The singer shared in an interview with People that she’s excited for the holiday season, following her divorce from Ben Affleck.  Watch the full video to learn more about JLo looking forward to this special time of...
nypost.com
‘Bachelor’ alum Kelsey Anderson clarifies her and Joey Graziadei’s relationship status amid ‘personal’ issues
Graziadei proposed to Anderson on the Season 28 finale of "The Bachelor," which aired in March 2024.
nypost.com
Halle Bailey calls out ex DDG for livestreaming with their infant son without her consent: ‘Extremely upset’
"hi everyone. just so you know i am out of town and i don't approve of my baby being on a stream tonight," the singer wrote on X Wednesday night.
nypost.com
Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly announces cancer diagnosis 2 days after winning re-election
U.S. Rep. Gerald "Gerry" Connolly has announced that he has cancer of the esophagus two days after winning re-election for his ninth term in Congress.
foxnews.com
White House preparing for peaceful transition of power to Trump administration
President Biden will address the nation Thursday morning for the first time since Donald Trump won the presidential election as the Biden administration prepares to leave the White House. CBS News political reporter Zak Hudak has more.
cbsnews.com
Harris campaign senior adviser deletes X account after dinging Biden for ‘deep hole’ he left Dems in
Kamala Harris's campaign senior adviser David Plouffe deleted his X account on Thursday after dinging President Biden for the "deep hole" he left the Democrats in.
nypost.com
Vet performs ‘first of its kind’ surgery to remove goldfish’s deadly tumor
Vet Emer O’Reilly performed a ‘first of its kind’ operation to remove the growth from the face of beloved fish Merlin.
nypost.com
Driver struck and killed walking across highway where people were grabbing loose cash
“I don’t blame anybody for picking it up," one woman said.
nypost.com
What will Trump's presidency mean for Russia's war on Ukraine?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Trump and praised his “peace through strength” approach, but concerns in Ukraine loom over Washington's continued commitment to Kyiv.
npr.org
The Good, The Bad, & The Maybe: Sustainable Aviation Fuel
TIME's Justin Worland examines sustainable aviation fuel's potential for reducing the aviation industry's emissions.
time.com
Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Pedro Páramo’ on Netflix, A Meditation On Death And Sin Featuring Manuel Garcia-Rulfo
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo of The Lincoln Lawyer stars as another title character in the moody Mexican drama Pedro Páramo.
nypost.com
Paul: 'Hopeful' RFK Jr. Will Have a 'Big Influence' in the Incoming Trump Administration
Wednesday, during an appearance on FNC's "Jesse Watters Primetime," Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said that he was "hopeful" former presidential hopeful Robert Kennedy, Jr. would have a "big influence" in the incoming Trump administration. The post Paul: ‘Hopeful’ RFK Jr. Will Have a ‘Big Influence’ in the Incoming Trump Administration appeared first on Breitbart.
breitbart.com
Jimmy Kimmel Gets Choked Up Over “Terrible” Night Trump Won: “It Was A Bad Night For Everyone Who Voted For Him Too, They Just Don’t Know It Yet”
"It was a terrible night for poor people, for the middle class," he told viewers through tears.
nypost.com
Australia plans "world-leading" social media ban for children under 16
"Social media is doing harm to our kids and I'm calling time on it," says Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanse.
cbsnews.com
Zach Bryan fans slam ‘weird’ Brianna Chickenfry for dragging singer’s exes into breakup drama
"I'd put money on Brianna trying to get them to come on her podcast," a Reddit user predicted of the Barstool Sports personality.
nypost.com
Wind gusts could reach 100 mph in some spots as SoCal faces another day of danger fire weather
With a destructive fire burning out of control in Ventura County, Southern California faces another day of intense winds and dry conditions.
latimes.com
Rescuers respond after bus overturns on upstate New York highway
Rescue operations are underway after a bus with passengers aboard rolled over on an upstate New York highway
abcnews.go.com
Liam Payne’s body flown back to UK ahead of funeral
Liam Payne died on Oct. 16 in Buenos Aires after falling from his hotel balcony.
nypost.com
Why not having a ton of friends can be better for your health, according to study
Abandoning any social butterfly tendencies could help people stay healthy as they get older — thought it's not about being lonely.
nypost.com
"Mornings Memory": 90-year-old Effie Nielson breaks records in weightlifting
Our "Mornings Memory" takes us back to 2002, when Effie Nielson, at 90, lifted 135 pounds in a Nevada contest, breaking three world records and inspiring generations with her strength.
cbsnews.com
Drew Barrymore Complains She Hasn’t Gotten Early Access To ‘Yellowstone’ Episodes —Despite Her Talk Show Sharing A Parent Company With The Western: “They Have This Thing On Lockdown”
"We couldn’t even get a clip!"
nypost.com
What a potential Fed rate cut could mean for the economy
As the Fed wraps up its two-day meeting, there's a chance of another interest rate cut. CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger joins "CBS Mornings Plus" to talk about the potential impact on the economy and what it means for consumers.
cbsnews.com