Report Details How Harris Campaign Managed Events
Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign expenditures have come under intense scrutiny following her resounding loss to President-elect Donald Trump.
According to The Washington Examiner, the Harris campaign poured millions into high-profile media and entertainment appearances, including a notable $1 million payment to Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions.
The expense was linked to a town hall Winfrey hosted for Harris in September, and Winfrey’s support continued with an appearance at Harris’s final campaign rally in Philadelphia, where she endorsed the vice president, saying, “We’re voting for values and integrity… for healing over hate.”
The campaign’s big spending on entertainment didn’t stop there. In an attempt to appeal to younger and diverse audiences, the Harris team spent six figures on a set for her appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, a popular show with a significant following. This October interview, filmed in a Washington, D.C. hotel room, aimed to amplify Harris’s appeal in non-traditional media spaces but, despite the investment, it underperformed in terms of viewership.
In addition to media appearances, Harris’s campaign staged multiple celebrity-studded concerts across seven swing states on the night before Election Day. The line-up included big names like Jon Bon Jovi in Detroit, Christina Aguilera in Las Vegas, Katy Perry in Pittsburgh, and Lady Gaga in Philadelphia.
Rapper 2 Chainz also performed with Harris at a rally in Atlanta three days before the election. However, despite the fanfare, reports indicate these events cost the campaign as much as $20 million—money that, some argue, could have been better spent on more direct campaign outreach or on advertisements in battleground areas.
Republican strategist Brad Todd criticized the campaign’s strategy, suggesting that while advertising is essential, content matters just as much. “Money can’t buy you love or a good candidate,” Todd commented to The Examiner. He observed that advertising, while useful, is only effective if paired with a compelling message.
“What her campaign was missing was any effort to break with the unpopular administration she has been a part of,” he added, highlighting what many see as a missed opportunity for Harris to distinguish herself from the existing administration’s challenges.
The lavish spending on celebrity engagements has sparked questions about the campaign’s priorities and strategy, particularly given the economic concerns driving voters this election cycle. Critics argue that instead of focusing on issues like inflation and cost-of-living, the Harris campaign leaned heavily into entertainment and endorsements from Hollywood, potentially alienating working-class voters who were more concerned with immediate economic issues than with star-studded rallies.