Failed Harris campaign went deeper into debt blowing money on star-studded events



Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, and self-identified "Childless Cat Lady" Taylor Swift were among the many coastal celebrities who endorsed Kamala Harris in the lead-up to the vice president's monumental defeat. It turns out that the production of inauthentic election-time adoration and ideological conviction was expensive.

Federal filings revealed that the campaign, which is reportedly indebted to the tune of over $18 million after blowing roughly $1 billion on Harris' latest failed presidential run, poured boatloads of cash into influencer networks and production companies linked to big names in the entertainment industry.

Federal Election Commission filings show, for instance, that the Harris campaign committee paid Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions $1 million on Oct. 15.

Winfrey tried her apparent best on more than one occasion to generate excitement for Harris. In September, she hosted a rally in Michigan, suggesting that there was a "grassroots movement" behind the vice president and that Harris inspired "a real feeling of optimism and hope."

On the eve of Harris' rejection by the majority of American voters, Winfrey told a crowd in Philadelphia once again to vote, suggesting it might be their last opportunity ever to do so.

Katy Perry, Jon Bon Jovi, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, rapper 2 Chainz, and Lady Gaga also made appearances at Harris' final swing-state concerts. The Washington Examiner indicated that the campaign blew over $15 million on "event production"-related costs.

'It didn't matter to have a bunch of celebrities talking to no one.'

Elements of the defeated Harris campaign told the New York Post that former Obama campaign adviser Stephanie Cutter pushed the star-studded concert performances as a way to turn out lower-propensity voters — a plan apparently supported by senior Harris adviser David Plouffe, who has since taken steps to erase his social media presence.

One campaign source told the Post, "They said they were 'spending to zero.' I guess they overshot zero."

Another source said that the costly events constituted "a real misuse of funds that could have been better spent on ads laying out economic polices" to irate and struggling voters. "It didn't matter to have a bunch of celebrities talking to no one, because one, 75 million people already voted, and two, people were concerned about their own financial issues, not Oprah telling them America won't exist."

The Harris campaign apparently dodged the Post's request for comment.

'Now they are being squeezed by vendors and others.'

"Money can't buy you love or a good candidate," a Trump campaign adviser told the Examiner.

When compared to President-elect Donald Trump's various podcast appearances, which were virtually all massively popular — especially his appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience," which has netted over 48.7 million views on YouTube alone despite its initial suppression — Harris' "Call Her Daddy" interview with Alex Cooper was a failure, netting fewer than 845,000 views on YouTube.

This promotional spot was not only ineffective but costly. An unnamed source told the Examiner that the Harris campaign spent six figures building a set for the vice president's "Call Her Daddy" appearance.

Federal filings also indicate that the Harris campaign spent tens of millions of dollars on consultants to stimulate and simulate support online. The Examiner noted that Village Marketing Agency received over $3.9 million, ostensibly for its help recruiting social media influencers to boost the vice president online.

Trump appeared to troll the Harris campaign on Truth Social over the weekend, writing, "I am very surprised that the Democrats, who fought a hard and valiant fight in the 2020 Presidential Election, raising a record amount of money, didn't have lots of$’s left over. Now they are being squeezed by vendors and others."

"Whatever we can do to help them during this difficult period, I would strongly recommend we, as a Party and for the sake of desperately needed UNITY, do," continued the president elect. "We have a lot of money left over in that our biggest asset in the campaign was 'Earned Media,' and that doesn't cost very much. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

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Trump delivers a master class in comedy — and demolishes Harris



President Donald Trump helped raise money for New York City's most vulnerable women and children Thursday evening by bashing Kamala Harris, suggesting that some of her remaining male supporters are cuckolds and insinuating that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) was a direct beneficiary of the tampons he put in boys' restrooms.

Trump's humorous critique of his opponent and the Democratic Party — which had the crowd in stitches and subsequently prompted many a meltdown in the liberal media and among Harris boosters — was thematically reinforced at the 79th annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner by an unlikely source: Jim Gaffigan, a left-leaning comedian who called Trump a "fascist" in 2020.

Although Gaffigan made sure to poke fun at Trump, he risked the ire of his leftist peers by similarly knocking Harris — questioning her decision to blow off the event and suggesting that she became the Democratic candidate by undemocratic means.

"The Democrats have been telling us Trump's re-election is a threat to democracy," said Gaffigan. "In fact, they were so concerned of this threat that they staged a coup, ousted their democratically elected incumbent, and installed Kamala Harris."

Early in his speech, Trump emphasized his appreciation for the dinner, which Harris refused to attend — an event hosted by the Archdiocese of New York that he frequented with his late father, raising money for kids with special needs, foster children, low-income single mothers, and other vulnerable persons in the city.

After noting that he was happy to participate in a New York event that he wasn't summoned to by subpoena, Trump unleashed on Harris, noting that her absence, which she tried to remedy with a four-minute video submission featuring former "Saturday Night Live" star Molly Shannon, was "weird" and "deeply disrespectful" — an assertion that was audibly well received by the audience, who booed her in absentia.

Trump joked that Harris was likely hunting with Walz, referring to the governor's embarrassing hunting-themed photo op last weekend, or alternatively "receiving communion from Gretchen Whitmer," the Michigan governor who recently shared a video apparently mocking Catholics and the Eucharist.

Echoing a previous statement from Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the organizer of the dinner, Trump pointed out that the last major party candidate not to attend the event was Democratic candidate Walter F. Mondale, who lost 49 out of 50 states, securing only 13 electoral votes in the 1984 election against Ronald Reagan.

Earlier in the evening, Gaffigan said, "This event has been referred to as the Catholic Met Gala. 22% of Americans identify as Catholic. Catholics will be a key demographic in every battleground state. I'm sorry, why is Vice President Harris not here?"

'Governor Walz isn't here himself, but don't worry, he'll say that he was.'

Trump, who sardonically suggested that Harris' laugh was "beautiful" and recommended keeping her husband, Doug Emhoff, away from the nannies, suggested that if the organizers of the event really wanted the vice president to accept their invitation, they should have "told her the funds were going to bail out the looters and rioters in Minneapolis and she would have been here, guaranteed."

Prior to roasting some of Harris' allies, Trump suggested that the country needs new leadership, noting:

We have someone in the White House who can barely talk, barely put together two coherent sentences, who seems to have mental faculties of a child. It's sad. This is a person who has nothing going, no intelligence whatsoever — but enough about Kamala Harris.

Trump subsequently singled out Ross Morales Rocketto's Democratic booster group White Dudes for Harris, saying, "I'm not worried about them at all because their wives and their wives' lovers are all voting for me. Every one of those people are voting for me."

After suggesting White Dudes for Harris were cuckolds, Trump roasted Harris' running mate, saying, "Unfortunately Governor Walz isn't here himself, but don't worry, he'll say that he was."

"I used to say that Democrats were crazy for saying that men have periods," continued Trump. "But then I met Tim Walz."

Although he acknowledged that speakers at the event customarily make some self-deprecating jokes, Trump noted there was no point taking shots at himself "when other people have been shooting at me."

Trump did, however, adopt a serious tone toward the end of his speech, noting that in the wake of two known assassination attempts, he has "a fresh appreciation for how blessed we are by God's providence and His divine mercy," adding that with God's help, "there is nothing that cannot be achieved."

When wrapping up his remarks, Trump noted that New York City needed the room for a "large group of illegal aliens coming in from Texas."

While Trump had the crowd laughing, including longtime critics Gaffigan and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Harris campaign tried spinning his speech as a failure.

Ammar Moussa, the Harris campaign's rapid response director, claimed in a joyless statement that Trump "stumbled over his words and lashed out when the crowd wouldn't laugh with him. The rare moments he was off script, he went on long, incomprehensible rambles, reminding Americans how unstable he's become. And of course he made it all about himself."

In her brief Al Smith dinner video submission, Harris went on the defense, suggesting that she would never say anything negative about Catholics despite previously suggesting the Knights of Columbus' Catholic faith disqualified them from serving as judges and introducing legislation aimed at forcing Catholic organizations to engage in activities that violate their religious beliefs.

After citing a verse from the Gospel of Luke, Harris closed her video by recommitting "to reaching across divides, to seek understanding and common ground."

Gaffigan responded to Harris' video saying, "As I watch that, I couldn't help but think of — now I know how my kids felt when I FaceTime into a piano recital they were at."

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Biden seems to keep trolling Harris, demonstrating that she's an empty vessel



Kamala Harris is doing her best to appear large and in charge in the final weeks before the election. President Joe Biden no longer appears interested in helping her maintain the illusion.

Harris recently made a stink about her inability to work with authorities in Florida on hurricane relief efforts. Within hours, Biden announced that he was in touch with Gov. Ron DeSantis and ready to succeed where his former running mate had failed.

While Biden's team maintains that the president wants Harris to succeed, this turn of events amounts to yet another signal that Harris' boss is at the very least subconsciously working to sabotage her.

Telephone tag

The Biden-Harris administration's response to Hurricane Helene has largely been a catastrophe. Apparently keen for a clean slate and a second chance, Harris set her sights on Florida, where Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall on Wednesday.

A White House official told CNN that Harris has been unsuccessfully attempting to get in touch with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to discuss storm preparation and recovery.

'It's not about you, Kamala.'

On Monday, Harris suggested that DeSantis was engaged in politics as opposed to crisis management.

"Moments of crisis, if nothing else, should really be the moment that anyone who calls themselves a leader says they're going to put politics aside and put the people first," said Harris, evidently enraged by her alleged ghosting.

"People are in desperate need of support right now, and playing political games at this moment, in these crisis situations — these are the height of emergency situations — is just utterly irresponsible, and it is selfish, and it is about political gamesmanship instead of doing the job that you took an oath to do, which is putting the people first," added Harris.

DeSantis, who has been in contact with Federal Emergency Management Director Deanne Criswell, said in an interview Monday that while Harris has been griping about missed calls, he has been hard at work "helping people prepare for Hurricane Helene, helping effectuate rescues of people after Hurricane Helene, helping people pick up the pieces of their lives after Helene, and then have to also turn around and prepare for major impacts and maybe even more impacts from Hurricane Milton."

"My focus has not been on dealing with Kamala Harris," continued the governor. "I didn't know she tried to contact me, but I'd also say, it's not about you, Kamala."

DeSantis stressed that whereas Trump and Biden have refrained from politicizing storms in past years, Kamala Harris has apparently chosen now as the first time to call — "to parachute in and inject herself when she's never shown any interest in the past."

A call worth taking

Amid the kerfuffle, Biden announced that DeSantis had taken his call — a signal that notwithstanding his decrepitude, Biden was still running the show.

'He's def voting for Trump.'

"Tonight, I spoke with Florida Governor DeSantis and Tampa Mayor [Jane] Castor for firsthand reports on Hurricane Helene recovery and preparations for Hurricane Milton," Biden wrote on X. "My Administration is ready to support both leaders and the people of Florida with any further resources they may need."

Whereas in the past, Biden has emphatically used the term "Biden-Harris administration," there were no traces of the vice president in the president's messaging.

Biden added, "I also spoke with National Weather Service Director Ken Graham regarding the expected impacts of Hurricane Milton for the state of Florida. I urge all those in the storm's path to evacuate now while it is safe to do so."

Christina Pushaw, an aide to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), noted Tuesday, "Governor DeSantis & President Biden spoke last night. There is a chain of command when it comes to disaster response, which Florida is very familiar with. VP Harris is not part of that chain of command; the President is. If Harris doesn't understand that, she isn't prepared."

Pushaw also retweeted the following message: "For all of your losers saying @GovRonDeSantis was playing politics, he spoke to the ACTUAL POTUS. Have a seat."

Trolling

Keen observers concluded on the basis of the timing and phrasing of the post that Biden, who just weeks ago donned a red Trump 2024 hat, is "just trolling Kamala at this point."

Charles Cooke, senior editor at the National Review, noted, "Harris under the bus."

One user quipped, "He's def voting for Trump."

DeSantis' call with Biden amounts to another messaging defeat for the Harris campaign, which is desperate for Harris to take starring roles before the election.

Harris aides recently suggested to CNN that they want Biden out of the picture so that Harris won't be seen running as an extension of the president. When, for instance, Biden went to North Carolina last week to survey the damage, Harris' allies felt she was robbed of an opportunity to make her presence known in a state she stands a good chance of losing.

Harris was also looking forward to taking center stage when Biden jets off to Germany; however, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre revealed Tuesday afternoon that Biden will instead be hanging around "in order to oversee preparations for and the response to Hurricane Milton."

Biden has also been torpedoing Harris' effort to distance herself from the current administration's failures.

During Harris' debate with Trump, she apparently enjoyed a boost when she said, "Clearly, I am not Joe Biden."

Biden kindly responded last week by emphasizing, "She was a major player in everything we've done."

"She's been, and her staff is interlocked with mine in terms of all the things we're doing," added Biden.

Despite the appearance that Biden is setting trip wires for the woman who unceremoniously replaced him, one of the president's senior advisers claimed, "The president is all in to help get the vice president elected."

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Navy torpedoes embarrassing post showing commanding officer firing rifle with backward and covered scope



The U.S. Navy shared an image to its official Instagram page Tuesday showing Commander Cameron Yaste, executive officer aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS John S. McCain, firing a rifle.

The post was captioned, "From engaging in practice gun shoots, conducting maintenance, testing fuel purity and participating in sea and anchor details, the #USNavy is always ready to serve and protect."

Keen observers noticed something amiss about the photograph taken on March 24.

Some critics suggested the fore grip on the rifle could be mounted closer to the gun's center. A few had something to say about Yaste's stance or his ostensible choice to shoot on three-round burst. Most, however, noted that the scope on the rifle was backward, with its cap still on.

Mockery and memes swiftly followed, prompting the Navy to torpedo its post.

Keyboard comedians came out of the woodwork, creating a slew of memes. Other branches also joined in the fun, sharing images of service members firing rifles with properly mounted scopes.

The National Guard, for instance, posted an image Thursday of two guardsmen firing rifles with no comment besides a side-eyes emoji.

The U.S. Marine Corps did likewise, sharing an image of Marines assigned to Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1/5, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, conducting a live-fire deck shoot aboard the U.S. Navy's USS Boxer on April 6. The Marines' post was captioned, "Clear Sight Picture."

The military comedy Instagram page, dearmomimdead, responded to the U.S. Navy's initial post with its own, captioned "HEY NAVY. I FIXED UR SH!T...," which was less charitable than the posts shared by the USMC and the National Guard.

While Task and Purpose made expressly clear that the U.S. Navy "is without equal on the open seas" and has no problem obliterating America's foes when playing to its strengths, it quipped, "If an engagement calls for rifles, Marines will be there to help them out." Task and Purpose then provided a visual indication on Instagram of how the scope ought to have been mounted.

Even lawmakers got in on the mockery.

Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) shared an image of a gun with the barrel pointed toward the would-be shooter, writing, "Navy's newly issued sidearm."

Navy's newly issued sidearm.
— (@)

While many evidently found the bungled photo op amusing, others interpreted the error as bad omen, with at least one user noting, "We're going to lose a major war."

An archived gallery of now-deleted images on the Department of Defense's Defense Visual Information Distribution Service shows that Yaste posed with the rifle on at least two other occasions with correction.

After deleting the post, the Navy noted, "Thank you for pointing out our rifle scope error in the previous post. Picture has been removed until EMI [extra military instruction] is completed! #Readiness."

Stars and Stripes noted that EMI is defined by the Nay as "instruction in a phase of military duty in which an individual is deficient, and is intended for and directed towards the correction of that deficiency."

Commander Yaste previously served as division officer aboard the USS Bataan, as weapons and executive officer aboard Patrol Coastal crew HOTEL, and as combat systems and weapons officer aboard the USS Hopper.

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Socialist darling compares debate to ‘catcalling’; Twitter goes to town

Thursday after Daily Wire editor-in-chief Ben Shapiro challenged Democratic House nominee Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to a debate, socialist darling Ocasio-Cortez responded by comparing Shapiro’s offer, which included a payment of $10,000 to either her campaign fund or charity, to “catcalling.”

Twitter had some things to say about her analogy.

Of course, Shapiro chimed in:

Because how else do you respond to that kind of eyewash?

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