This story probably seems familiar to most and that’s because it was already discussed in Politico a few weeks back. The culture that is being created at the White House these days seems rather toxic and punches are not being pulled on this topic. Harris’ office in the West Wing is particularly problematic, as there are even allegations of abuse.
The sourcing was not really there in this instance, as Harris herself seemed to get off pretty easily. Her chief of staff, Tina Flournoy, is the one who ended up taking all of the slings and arrows. Flournoy is said to be the gatekeeper who is way too overzealous about creating a barrier between reporters and Harris. This is where all of the “Kamala is a bad boss” whispers started to come from.
It was easy enough for the Democrats to say that this piece was not all that important because the sourcing wasn’t there. They may have continued to get away with this excuse, if not for the follow-up report from Business Insider. There are all sorts of accounts from various staffers that attest to the fact that she is a total pain in the you-know-what. If we had to guess, Harris probably prides herself on it.
Sadly, there are aides who are claiming to have needed therapy after working for her. The Business Insider site has a paywall but that’s okay. The Free Beacon is here to provide some of the highlights from the explosive piece:
“The outlet interviewed a dozen former Harris staffers from various points in her political career, nearly all of whom “spoke on condition of anonymity to protect professional relationships, adding that Harris’ job trajectory means it’s well within reason she could become the most powerful person on the planet.”
That’s a terrifying prospect for ex-aides who recall a “toxic” and “reactionary” workplace infused with “a sense of paranoia in that office that you never knew when she was going to snap at you.” One former staffer who had mostly positive things to say about Harris conceded that her staffers were often “so stressed out that they were making themselves sick. Is that toxic? I don’t know.”…
A longtime communications professor in California said at least 20 interns who worked in Harris' attorney general and Senate offices came to her crying and seeking advice.
— Darren Samuelsohn (@dsamuelsohn) July 14, 2021
Within the community of traumatized former Harris staffers, the Politico report “went around like wildfire,” as many “recognized treatment they had seen” during their time in her office. One former aide even forwarded the story to their therapist along with a note that read: “Rarely in life are we publicly vindicated.” The ex-staffer told Insider they sought therapy to “resolve trauma from the on-the-job abuse” after Harris was selected as Biden’s running mate in 2020.
And another screenshot of texts among former Harris aides pic.twitter.com/CGrlabhQIw
— Darren Samuelsohn (@dsamuelsohn) July 14, 2021
Their accounts described Harris as an unpredictable boss who would unleash “a lot of verbal abuse” upon staffers who failed to fulfill her erratic demands, or even for handing her the wrong type of pen. The traumatic work environment could explain why Harris had one of the highest staff turnover rates among U.S. senators between 2017 and 2020.”
The bit about the pens is particularly galling. She just HAD to have Pilot Precise V7 Roller Balls, a detail that was so specific staffers were forced to commit it to memory. How awful did she have to be for so many staffers to lose their minds like this? The funniest part of all this is that Amy Klobuchar was essentially disqualified from the job because of the stories that were coming out about her abuse.
Biden thought that he was avoiding these types of concerns and now he has stepped right in them by choosing Harris. It’s hilarious to anyone who is not on the left side of the aisle but we are sure that some of the more moderate Democrats are having a good chuckle these days. Of course, the liberals are going to be making all of the excuses in the world. They are only picking on her because she is a woman! You know how that song goes…
