There is dysfunction inside the VP’s office, aides and administration officials say. And it’s emanating from the top.

In interviews, 22 current and former vice presidential aides, administration officials and associates of Harris and Biden described a tense and at times dour office atmosphere. Aides and allies said Flournoy, in an apparent effort to protect Harris, has instead created an insular environment where ideas are ignored or met with harsh dismissals and decisions are dragged out. Often, they said, she refuses to take responsibility for delicate issues and blames staffers for the negative results that ensue.

How many books would we have on this if it happened under Trump?

  • MarxMadness [comrade/them]
    ·
    3 years ago

    This gives me a bit more optimism that Harris won't get the 2016 Hillary treatment in the 2024 primaries.

    • redfern45 [none/use name]
      ·
      3 years ago

      She dropped out before any primary in 2020. She has zero charisma and even the libs who just want to see a woman President liked warren or even Amy over her lol. She will absolutely eat shit if she has to face any sort of open competition

      • MarxMadness [comrade/them]
        ·
        3 years ago

        Exactly. The threshold question is whether she'll get the type of support she'd need to head off the competition early (as Hillary did in 2016). Hearing stuff like this makes me think that's less likely, this bit in particular:

        Recently, a Harris friend personally reached out to Flournoy on behalf of one of the party’s top donors to try to arrange a brief meeting. They were ignored. The friend said it wasn’t clear whether Flournoy knew who they were. The donor also contacted Harris’ office personally to connect, and didn’t hear back for weeks. They eventually were told the VP was too busy to schedule some time.

        “This is someone who has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars—millions, even—for your boss and you’re just blowing them off?” the Harris friend asked. “Next time Kamala wants [them] for something, it’s like, ‘Hey, I couldn’t even get a call-back from your chief of staff!’”

        • Itsmorning [none/use name]
          ·
          3 years ago

          A politician who doesn't respond to bribery. Ouch, that's gotta hurt. Kamala really is stupid if she's violating that rule. No wonder she's getting bad press, the people who bribed her aren't getting what they paid for. These are warnings to get back on track and comply.

      • Orannis62 [ze/hir]
        ·
        3 years ago

        And Biden dropped out of all his previous primaries before the primaries actulaly started. Don't underestimate what institutional backing can do.

      • MarxMadness [comrade/them]
        ·
        3 years ago

        He would have reasons to say that even if it weren't true, though. If he says he's not running in 2024 during the last election, that plays into the "Biden is a senile, doddering old fool" narrative. If he says it now, that plays into the same narrative, but also distracts from whatever he's trying to get done, ratchets up the incentives for people to run out the clock on his term instead of playing ball, and kickstarts the 2024 primary (which is the last thing you'd want if the goal is a Hillary-style coronation for Harris).

        Maybe he's telling the truth, maybe he's not, maybe his aging will take this all out of his hands whatever he thinks.