Biden’s Loyalty Demands Stifle Harris’s Campaign Strategy

A new book talks about how President Joe Biden’s demand for loyalty made it hard for Kamala Harris to separate herself from his unpopular choices during her debate against Donald Trump in 2024. The book, FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, says Biden often told Harris to avoid showing differences in their views, similar to how he linked John McCain to George W. Bush back in 2008.

This control held back Harris’s campaign, as Biden’s team kept a close watch on her messages and even pushed aside her trusted advisor, Sean Clegg, when he suggested she should highlight her achievements instead of focusing on Biden’s past actions. After the election, the unsuccessful campaign of Harris and Tim Walz faced a lot of blame, with many people pointing fingers at Biden’s low approval ratings for hurting Harris’s chances.

Tensions grew as Biden’s staff kept Harris’s team from openly criticizing his record. Clegg’s advice to not focus on Biden’s past led to him being left out of important meetings by strategist Stephanie Cutter, which caused a bigger divide between Harris’s supporters and Biden’s inner circle. Critics say that this lack of freedom made it hard for Harris to create her own plan, making Biden’s policies a big problem for her campaign.