Ex-Obama aides give reasons why Kamala Harris lost the election

Democrats across America are mourning defeat in the 2024 election after Vice President Kamala Harris made a concession to President-elect Donald Trump.

To the latest episode of the podcast Pod Save America, Hosts Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor, Dan Pfeiffer and Jon Lovett, all of whom worked in the White House under former President Barack Obama, discussed the election results and tried to figure out what factors contributed to Harris' loss.

“A majority of the country, spanning all ages, races, genders, religions and political persuasions, have chosen four more years of Donald Trump. Either because they like him, because they like his agenda, or because they don't see him and his agenda as such.” “Or they voted for him based on bad or incomplete information,” Favreau said.

“Or they hated the Democrats,” Vietor replied before discussing the main reasons for the election results.

President Joe Biden should not have run

President Joe Biden initially sought re-election until a poor performance in the debate and concerns about his age ultimately led to him dropping out in July, resulting in Harris becoming the nominee and just over 100 days to campaign had.

“It was a mistake for Joe Biden to run for re-election,” Vietor said.

“What was asked of her was virtually impossible,” Lovett added.

Dan Pfieffer explained at the beginning of the episode: “The incumbent president has an approval rating of about 40, which is 41 percent.”

Vietor added: “The White House learned the wrong lessons from the 2022 midterm elections. They didn’t listen to voters’ obvious concerns about Joe Biden’s age and anger on the economy.”

The economy

It was clear to the podcast hosts that the economy is a key factor.

“Most people say, at least according to the exit poll and almost every other poll we've seen in recent years, 'I'm struggling financially because of inflation,'” Favreau said.

“Three quarters of voters believe the country is on the wrong path, two thirds are dissatisfied with the economy. “In the election survey, 45 percent of voters said that their families’ financial situation was worse than it was four years ago,” said Pfeiffer.

“This was an economic problem, and people blamed the upper class for the poor economic conditions,” Favreau said.

The Changing Identity of the Democratic Party

The four men discussed the identity of the Democratic Party and its relationship with voters as a factor that also influenced the election outcome.

“Our party is now the party of an educated, cosmopolitan minority,” Lovett said. Vietor added: “My main concern is how we can reclaim the mantle of the working class party. Because I’m worried we’ve lost him.”

Favreau talked about how Democrats deal with people's identities and the influence this has on politics. “People’s race, ethnicity and gender identity are not the most important factors in their politics.”

“We as a party have to stop treating them like this. This party cannot be the sum of its identities and interest groups, there must be a larger message about improving people's lives,” he said.

“The idea that Latinos only care about immigration, black voters only care about criminal justice reform, or women only care about reproductive freedom is condescending and just plain wrong. We have to have a message that reaches everyone, everyone can see themselves in it,” Favreau said.

Foreign policy

Vietor emphasized the influence of foreign policy on the election result. The conflict and increasing tensions in the Middle East as well as the ongoing war in Ukraine were factors in the election for many voters.

“We have to become an anti-war party again,” he said. “Four percent of voters said in election polls that foreign policy had made their decision.”

Vietor said: “People were not only offended by the war in Gaza, but also concerned about the amount of money the US is spending on weapons for Ukraine, and we either need to think of a new way of talking about why that is important and why we do.” “We do it or realign our foreign policy priorities.”

“You've heard a lot of people say that Donald Trump is going to be the guy to keep us out of World War III,” he said, adding: “That's the opposite of the talk in 2016.”

The Establishment

“Trump was able to take on the mantle of anti-establishment candidate at a time when voters were really, really angry,” Vietor said, adding that people’s anger was enough to justify “taking the risk” of a second one Trump's term in office.

Vietor added that anti-establishment sentiment caused voters who hated Washington to look to Trump because he “seems like the one who's going to burn it down.”

“If we are always able to defend democratic institutions that most people in the country believe are not working for them, then we will be the defenders of a broken system,” Favreau said.

Pfieffer said Democrats must “become a party that wants to reform democracy.”

Newsweek The Harris campaign emailed the Harris campaign for comment outside of normal working hours.

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