Former President Barack Obama is secretly running Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, using his people to direct her bid, ex-Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy claimed Sunday.
“If you’re watching the campaign now, some of Obama’s [key people such as] David Plouffe and others are now working on the campaign,” McCarthy said on 770 WABC’s “The Cats Roundtable.”
“You’re getting the Obamas shifting from running the White House to now running this campaign.”
Obama’s former top advisers have had major roles with Team Harris.
Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, helped handle the vetting process for Harris’ selection of a running mate for vice president.
Harris also hired Plouffe — Obama’s campaign manager in 2008 and later one of his top White House advisers — as a senior campaign aide. The political operative Plouffe has advised TikTok and Uber, too.
In addition, Harris has tapped Stephanie Cutter, who worked as deputy campaign manager for Obama’s 2012 re-election, as her campaign’s senior adviser for strategy messaging.
The firm of Obama ad-maker Jim Margolis also is supposed to join team Harris, according to Politico. He had worked on Harris’ 2020 campaign.
Harris hired veteran Democratic adviser Jennifer Palmieri as senior adviser to Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, too.
Palmieri served as director of communications for the White House under Obama and held the same post for former Secretary of State and ex-New York Sen. Hillary Clinton’s 2016 White House bid.
Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, campaign chairwoman for the 2024 Kamala Harris presidential campaign, also worked on Obama and Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.
But a former top adviser to the ex-president scoffed at claims that Obama is directing Harris’ campaign.
It is not unusual for veteran Democratic campaign strategists to work for successive candidates running for the White House.
“President Obama will get involved if Harris asks him to,” the source said.
During Sunday’s interview with host John Catsimatidis, McCarthy of California called Harris a “San Francisco liberal.”
He also rapped her selection of Minnsesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.
“This is by far … the most liberal ticket in the history of American politics. … We do not want to put San Francisco and Minnesota across this country,” said McCarthy, who was the first speaker ousted in a floor vote, which took place in October.
He claimed that passing over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, as the Dem veep pick was a mistake.
“Any political-science person would tell you it’s all coming down to Pennsylvania and Georgia,” McCarthy said of the 2024 election.
“Why would [Harris] skip Shapiro in picking a VP? Is she not going to stand up to her own party when they want to attack Israel? She wasn’t there when the prime minister of Israel came to speak to Congress. That’s her role and responsibility as president of the Senate,” he said.
McCarthy also railed against Harris’ deciding vote as the presiding officer of the Senate to pass President Biden’s pandemic-related stimulus bills. The vice president votes to break a tie.
“She gave the deciding vote that brought us inflation,” he said. “We’ve watched these families struggle at the grocery store, at the gas station. There’s nothing left for them. They are working so hard just to try to make ends meet.”
