You live, you learn. Finger-pointing has erupted over the Kamala Harris campaign spending $20 million on swing-state concerts on Monday night, just hours before the VP’s stunning election loss to Donald Trump. This has raised concerns that everyday staff and vendors may not get paid, as reports suggest the campaign is in debt by the same amount.
Members of the defeated Harris team revealed to The Post that these concerts had a devastating impact on the Democratic campaign’s finances, and this was no secret. One planned performance by ’90s alt-rock icon Alanis Morissette was canceled to save money.
The seven swing-state concerts on election eve featured performances by Jon Bon Jovi in Detroit, Christina Aguilera in Las Vegas, Katy Perry in Pittsburgh, and Lady Gaga in Philadelphia. 2 Chainz joined Harris on Nov. 2 for an eighth concert in Atlanta.
Two sources said that Obama campaign veteran Stephanie Cutter pushed the concert concept to attract lower-propensity voters. Although the performers donated their time, the sets required significant manpower and financial resources. Cutter’s plan was backed by fellow Obama alum David Plouffe.
Harris added Cutter and Plouffe to her campaign after replacing President Biden in July, causing internal tensions with the existing Biden campaign team. Harris-Walz campaign chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon eventually approved the concert plans but has since told colleagues she didn’t want to do them and delayed the decision for weeks.
If true, this indecision led to increased production costs. Internal critics also questioned the role of campaign operations chief Dana Rosenzweig, who controlled the purse strings and should have raised financial concerns.
The events barely made headlines, except for the Philadelphia rally where Oprah Winfrey claimed that Trump winning might mean “we will not have the opportunity to cast a ballot again.” Voters in the swing states elected Trump the next day.
An insider expressed concern about the financial impact on those who worked to elect Harris. Vendors are expected to get upset soon, though staff payments seem unaffected so far. Another source said finance staff is reconciling the balance sheets, and no one has been stiffed.
In the week before Election Day, as campaign bosses realized their $1 billion war chest was nearly depleted, they tried to scale back concert costs, which were expected to run between $15 million and $20 million. Morissette’s show was canceled just two days before the scheduled performance.
A second source called the events “a real misuse of funds that could have been better spent on ads explaining economic policies” to voters concerned about inflation and high interest rates.
Despite the enormous fundraising in the 107-day campaign, the Harris campaign ended the race at least $20 million in debt, according to Politico. Spokespeople for the Harris campaign and Morissette did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
Source link: https://nypost.com
