CNN contributor David Axelrod said “racism and sexism” played a role in Kamala Harris’ surprising defeat at the hands of Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Axelrod made these comments around 3 a.m. ET, so the race had not yet been officially called for Trump.
But at that moment it was clear that the momentum was in favor of the now president-elect, given that he had already conquered the very important states of Pennsylvania and Georgia.
Axelrod, who was a close adviser to Barack Obama during his presidency, stopped short of saying that bias caused Harris to lose the White House entirely, but he said it had an impact.
“Let’s be absolutely direct about it,” he said on the panel. “There were calls for racism in this campaign, and there is racial bias in this country, and there is sexism in this country, and anyone who thinks that didn’t in any way affect the outcome of this race is wrong.”
David Axelrod, a key figure in Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and his administration, thought racism and sexism were part of why Kamala Harris failed in her bid for president.
He added: “I’m not saying that was the main reason Kamala Harris lost and Donald Trump won.”
In an interview in July, Trump said Harris “became a black person” after promoting her Indian heritage..
‘She was always of Indian descent and was just promoting Indian heritage. She didn’t know she was black until several years ago when she turned black and now wants to be known as black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or black? Trump told the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago.
Trump also made unproven claims that Haitian immigrants in the Ohio city of Springfield were eating dogs and cats.
Accusations of racism, not leveled directly at Trump so much as his campaign as a whole, intensified after his wild New York City rally at Madison Square Garden.
Kamala Harris has become the second woman to lose to Donald Trump, without managing to break the glass ceiling just as Hillary Clinton failed to do in 2016.
Donald Trump arrives at an election night event Wednesday with former first lady Melania Trump and his son Barron Trump.
Insult comedian Tony Hinchcliffe had a speaking slot at the event and joked that Puerto Rico was a “floating island of garbage.”
This prank received widespread condemnation from Democrats, Puerto Rican pop stars like Bad Bunny and Ricky Martin, and even Florida Republicans like Senator Rick Scott.
It even raised fears that Trump could lose Pennsylvania, which has about 580,000 eligible Latino voters, most of whom were of Puerto Rican descent.
By contrast, Hispanic men across the country appear to have propelled Trump to victory, with exit polls showing that demographic backing him over Harris by a 10-point margin of 54 percent to 44 percent. .
In fact, Axelrod praised Trump’s team for running a “very smart campaign,” despite maintaining that Trump himself had made a mistake.
“Ultimately, it was a rational, well-conceived, well-executed campaign for an often irrational candidate, and they overcame it to sell their message or the message they thought they should sell to the country,” Axelrod said.
Pictured: CNN panelists discussed the results as they came in, and Van Jones also attributed Harris’ loss to racism.
Fellow panelist Van Jones, another Obama alum, eventually weighed in, arguing that candidates of color are held to a different standard.
“There’s a license that (Trump) had to just be a jerk, just to be a nasty jerk to everyone,” Jones said.
He said that even though she was qualified to be president, it was clear to him that her defeat shows that American society has not overcome its prejudices.
“She’s not Oprah or Beyoncé,” Jones said.
Oprah and Beyoncé, who have had notable success as black women and have amassed billions of dollars between them, were among the many celebrities who campaigned hard for Harris in the final days of the race.
Kamala Harris had dozens of Hollywood celebrities backing her White House bid, including Oprah Winfrey, who traveled across the country on Monday to appear at Harris’ final 2024 campaign rally (pictured).
Beyoncé appeared on Kamala Harris’ campaign trail in Texas two weeks ago during a rally meant to highlight the dangerous medical consequences of the state’s strict abortion ban (pictured).
As for Trump, he received endorsements from figures such as Joe Rogan and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
As for Trump, he received endorsements from figures such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk, former WWE star Hulk Hogan and Joe Rogan.
Throughout Tuesday’s election night, most media outlets gradually increased their predicted chances of Trump winning.
The last domino to fall was the state of Wisconsin, where Trump was almost three points ahead of Harris in the polling averages.
When the Associated Press called the state at 5:34 a.m. ET, Trump surpassed the 270 Electoral College votes he needed to win the White House.
Trump gave his victory speech before the election was called, but when the final result was likely to go in his favor.
Harris is expected to address the nation sometime Wednesday.