After dealing with nonstop bullying, being talked down to, and “soul-destroying criticism,” staffers are fleeing the White House in droves.
A mass exodus of staffers from Kamala Harris‘ office is leading to speculation that the first female vice president is an even worse failure than many had envisioned.
What happens when you pick your vice president solely based on immutable characteristics such as race and sex, rather than finding someone likeable, skilled, and intelligent? This is the problem with the Democrat Party.
Democrats have dug themselves so deep into the hole of identity politics that they have put forward unlikeable and unremarkable candidates like Kamala Harris, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Stacey Abrams. None of these women actually have any real qualifications. They won against Democrats with more experience and more knowledge of the political landscape and how to govern, and even beat Republicans that checked just as many “diversity” boxes as they did. But somehow, they still got into office, simply because the Democrats had to appease the woke left.
Now, all of that work may have been for nothing. Rumors have been circulating for months about chaos within the White House, specifically coming from within Kamala Harris’ staff. It appears that working for someone who is completely unqualified for office is a difficult job.
It has apparently gotten to the point where even the left has given up on trying to cover up the story. Even left-wing mainstream media outlets are now reporting on the gossip.
The Washington Post writes: “The rumors started circulating in July: Vice President Harris’s staff was wilting in a dysfunctional and frustrated office, burned out just a few months after her historic swearing-in and pondering exit strategies.”
The Post goes on to detail a last-ditch effort by Harris’ staffers to portray working for Kamala as a treat: talking about an all-staff party that was hosted at her official residence, where they were all eating burgers.
“Let me tell you about these burgers at the VP’s residence!! The food was good and the people were amazing,” Symone Sanders gushed in a tweet.
At the time, Sanders was chief spokeswoman for Harris. Now, just five months later, she is leaving that position. Of course, she is remaining cordial, claiming that she simply needs a break after the pressure of the campaign, the first year in office, and navigating the pandemic.
But Sanders isn’t the only staffer that has quit Harris’ team. Communications chief Ashley Etienne and two other staffers left earlier this year, and Kamala has a long history of having trouble retaining staff.
The Washington Post reports:
“Critics scattered over two decades point to an inconsistent and at times degrading principal who burns through seasoned staff members who have succeeded in other demanding, high-profile positions. People used to putting aside missteps, sacrificing sleep and enduring the occasional tirade from an irate boss say doing so under Harris can be particularly difficult, as she has struggled to make progress on her vice-presidential portfolio or measure up to the potential that has many pegging her as the future of the Democratic Party.”
Former Democratic strategist Gil Duran served as an aide to Harris in 2013. After just five months of working for her, he quit. Speaking with the Washington Post, he confirmed her past issues, saying that she repeats “the same old destructive patterns.”
“One of the things we’ve said in our little text groups among each other is what is the common denominator through all this and it’s her,” Duran said.
“Who are the next talented people you’re going to bring in and burn through and then have (them) pretend they’re retiring for positive reasons,” he told The Post.
Other staffers who worked for Harris prior to entering the White House have reported that a constant problem was that she would refuse to read briefing materials in detail that were prepared by her staff members, then would berate them when she appeared unprepared.
“It’s clear that you’re not working with somebody who is willing to do the prep and the work,” a former staffer said. “With Kamala you have to put up with a constant amount of soul-destroying criticism and also her own lack of confidence. So you’re constantly sort of propping up a bully and it’s not really clear why.”
While this mass exodus is finally being covered in the media, the White House is still trying to explain it away, saying that the staffers are just moving on to bigger and better things, and that everything is going well.
“In my experience, and if you look at past precedent, it’s natural for staffers who have thrown their heart and soul into a job to be ready to move on to a new challenge after a few years,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at a press briefing. “And that is applicable to many of these individuals. It’s also an opportunity, as it is in any White House, to bring in new faces, new voices and new perspectives.”