{"id":2337362,"date":"2024-09-05T15:49:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-05T19:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/does-harris-campaign-have-expectations-game-problem-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-05T15:54:56","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T19:54:56","slug":"does-harris-campaign-have-expectations-game-problem-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/does-harris-campaign-have-expectations-game-problem-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Harris campaign have \u2018expectations game\u2019 problem? &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdoes-harris-campaign-have-expectations-game-problem-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2337362&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the challenges\u2063 faced \u200dby Vice President Kamala Harris&#8217;s campaign as it navigates expectations and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-working-hard-to-not-do-anything-stupid-during-afghanistan-withdrawal-anniversary-report\/\" title=\"Biden Admin Working Hard To Not Do Anything \u2018Stupid\u2019 During Afghanistan Withdrawal Anniversary: Report\">public perception leading<\/a> up to the presidential election against former President\u2064 Donald Trump. It highlights a series of missteps, including\u200b the campaign&#8217;s \u2063failure to manage the narrative surrounding potential running mates and speculation about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-endorses-mike-pences-brother-without-mentioning-ex-vp\/\" title=\"Trump Endorses Mike Pence\u2019s Brother Without Mentioning Ex-VP\">high-profile endorsements<\/a>, like those from celebrities such as Beyonc\u00e9. <\/p>\n<p>The piece\u200c notes that Harris&#8217;s campaign has \u2063struggled to control rumors\u200c and expectations, with events like the discussion around her running mate being overshadowed by criticism of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and culminating in the selection of Minnesota Governor \u2063Tim Walz instead. \u2063A key point of contention was the handling of debate rules, particularly\u2062 concerning microphone usage that\u200b Harris&#8217;s team initially advocated for but \u2063ultimately conceded \u2062to. \u200b <\/p>\n<p>Despite these issues, the article \u2064asserts that there is no strong evidence \u200cthat Harris&#8217;s poll numbers have suffered significantly due to these missteps, but they have nonetheless contributed to a perception of her campaign as reactive\u200c rather than proactive. The overall message underscores the importance of managing public expectations in a political \u200ccampaign and the potential fallout from miscommunication.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Does Harris campaign have &lsquo;expectations game&rsquo; problem?<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1727384\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Never promise what you can&rsquo;t deliver.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>It&rsquo;s a lesson many of us (hopefully) learn sometime by early adulthood. After all, it only leads to disappointment and loss of respect from the person or people who have been let down.<\/p>\n<p>The campaign of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Vice President Kamala Harris<\/a> has, for the third time in recent weeks, allowed a story to bubble up publicly only to have it squashed by subsequent events. Most recently, the Democratic presidential nominee failed to pressure ABC News into changing agreed-upon debate rules concerning muted microphones in her Sept. 10 debate against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>former President Donald Trump<\/a>, who is the 2024 Republican presidential nominee. Before that, Harris&rsquo;s campaign inadvertently allowed Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) to be perceived as the favorite for Harris&rsquo;s running mate. Then, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, a flurry of rumors flew that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/beyonce\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Beyonc&eacute;<\/a> would perform.<\/p>\n<p>To be fair, Harris&rsquo;s campaign never actually promised any of these things. And, in at least the first two cases, stories got out of hand while her campaign was still gearing up for a truncated fall fight against Trump after President Joe Biden dropped out and endorsed her. None have been deal-killers for Harris with voters. There&rsquo;s no real evidence that her poll numbers have dipped due to these missteps.<\/p>\n<p>Still, each has made Harris and her campaign team appear less than in command of fast-moving events. They have also been fed at least some negative stories they&rsquo;ve had to rebut.<\/p>\n<p>Take the Shapiro running mate episode. Harris, 59, had little time to pick a running mate after Biden, 81, quit his reelection bid after bowing to pressure from high-profile and rank-and-file Democrats concerned about his desultory June 27 debate performance against Trump. Meanwhile, Shapiro&rsquo;s attributes for the vice presidency were obvious. He&rsquo;d won the Pennsylvania governorship in 2022 by a wide margin in the nation&rsquo;s premier swing state. Tapping him would have gone a long way to ensure the Harris ticket won Pennsylvania&rsquo;s crucial 19 Electoral College votes.<\/p>\n<p>But over a two- to three-day period, Shapiro came in from withering criticism from a small but vocal, anti-Israel bloc who were angry about the governor&rsquo;s support for the Jewish state after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, which claimed about 1,200 lives and left hundreds as hostages of Hamas, in the Gaza Strip. Cries of &ldquo;Genocide Josh&rdquo; sprang up on social media &mdash; no matter that Shapiro&rsquo;s, who is Jewish, position on the Middle East conflict was virtually indistinguishable from other would-be Harris running mates, such as Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ).<\/p>\n<p>Harris ultimately went in a different direction to choose her running mate, tapping Walz, a progressive favorite since winning Minnesota&rsquo;s governorship in 2018 after 12 years as a House member. Harris had every right to choose whoever she wanted as a running mate, for whatever reason. Yet by letting Shapiro appear as the presumed front-runner amid days of media coverage, it ended up looking, to some, as if she caved to her party&rsquo;s most virulent anti-Israel forces.<\/p>\n<p>Running mate choices are usually only of interest to the most die-hard political junkies, not the general population. That&rsquo;s not the case with anything involving Beyonc&eacute;. The Grammy award-winning singer and entrepreneur is such a cultural icon that even rumors of an appearance by her at an event can upstage and overshadow planned programming.<\/p>\n<p>That&rsquo;s exactly what happened when Democrats gathered for their national convention. The chatter began weeks before, amid reports that Beyonc&eacute; had granted the vice president permission to use her 2016 song &ldquo;Freedom&rdquo; for her presidential campaign. Rumors soon flew about a Beyonc&eacute; concert in support of Harris. Then, about a possible DNC appearance by the singer in Chicago. (Taylor Swift, also among the biggest artists on the planet, was the subject of similar rumors.)<\/p>\n<p>The buzz reached a point of ridiculousness during the final day of the four-day political convention. Beyonc&eacute;&rsquo;s private plane was rumored to have landed at Chicago&rsquo;s O&rsquo;Hare airport while the convention&rsquo;s house band could be heard practicing Beyonc&eacute; songs.<\/p>\n<p>TMZ, at one point, reported that Beyonc&eacute; would indeed be performing. Media outlets tried to match the &ldquo;scoop&rdquo; but came up short because it didn&rsquo;t exist. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;She was never scheduled to be in Chicago,&rdquo; Beyonc&eacute;&rsquo;s representative, Yvette Noel-Schure, said in a statement shortly after.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, while it wasn&rsquo;t the fault of Harris&rsquo;s campaign that the Beyonc&eacute; rumors spread, it could have tried to tamp them down immediately, even if the timing was inconvenient as the nominee-in-waiting prepared for her acceptance speech &mdash; the biggest of her life.<\/p>\n<p>The Harris campaign played a more active role in the most recent expectation-setting debacle. For weeks, her representatives made it clear that they wanted live mics for Harris&rsquo;s presidential debate against Trump. The idea was that Trump couldn&rsquo;t control himself and, with frequent interruptions and rude remarks about his Democratic rival, would look unpresidential to the millions viewing the debate. The Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/records-show-blm-co-founder-patrisse-cullors-jail-reform-campaign-gave-60k-to-her-consultancy-thousands-more-for-friends-and-luxury-malibu-resort\/\" title=\"Records Show BLM Co-Founder Patrisse Cullors\u2019 Jail Reform Campaign Gave k To Her Consultancy, Thousands More For Friends And Luxury Malibu Resort\">campaign gave<\/a> mixed signals, with his campaign staff behind the scenes pushing for muted mics while the candidate publicly said he could go either way.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, Harris&rsquo;s campaign gave in and agreed to the ground debate rules laid out by the host network, ABC News, for the Philadelphia debate, which meant no live mics. By that point, Harris&rsquo;s team had let the story fester for days at a time, to the point that the final call, which was made by the news network, looked like a loss.<\/p>\n<p>But Harris&rsquo;s campaign is not alone in its struggles to keep some things private. On Wednesday, someone leaked an internal Trump campaign memo warning staff to please stop leaking.<\/p>\n<p>Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, Trump&rsquo;s co-campaign managers, warned employees that talking to the press could cost them their jobs.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You should not be independently speaking or communicating with any members of the press &mdash; on or off the record,&rdquo; the message said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s all a reminder that campaigns only have so much in their control. Inevitably, staff conflicts, international decision-making, and other matters not meant for prying eyes do become public.<\/p>\n<p>Harris&rsquo;s team has had a particularly bad run of &ldquo;expectations setting.&rdquo; Nothing that&rsquo;s been a political deal-killer. But it&rsquo;s the kind of thing they&rsquo;ll likely want to clamp down on in the final 61 days before Election Day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1727384\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1727384\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Does the Harris campaign struggle with managing expectations? It&#8217;s a fundamental lesson many learn by early adulthood: never promise what you can&#8217;t fulfill. Failing to do so often results in disappointment and a loss of respect from those who feel let down. Recently, Vice President Kamala Harris&#8217;s campaign has faced this issue multiple times, allowing stories to gain traction only for them to be deflated by later developments. Most notably, during her debate on September 10 against former President Donald Trump, the Democratic presidential nominee was unable to persuade ABC News to alter the agreed-upon rules regarding muted microphones.<\/p>\n<p>Prior incidents included her campaign unintentionally allowing Governor Josh Shapiro (D-PA) to be seen as a frontrunner for her running mate and rampant speculation about a potential performance by Beyonc\u00e9 at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. To be fair, Harris&#8217;s team never explicitly promised any of these outcomes; however, they did allow narratives to spiral out of control while preparing for an abbreviated fall campaign against Trump after President Joe Biden withdrew and endorsed her.<\/p>\n<p>These missteps haven&#8217;t significantly harmed Harris&#8217;s standing with voters\u2014there\u2019s no clear evidence that her poll numbers have suffered as a result\u2014but they have made it seem like she and her team are struggling to keep up with fast-moving events. This has also led them into situations where they&#8217;ve had to counter negative stories.<\/p>\n<p>Take the situation with Shapiro: after Biden stepped aside due to pressure from party members concerned about his lackluster debate performance against Trump on June 27, there was little time for Harris to select a running mate. Shapiro seemed like an obvious choice given his significant victory in Pennsylvania\u2019s gubernatorial race in 2022\u2014a state critical for securing Electoral College votes. However, he soon faced backlash from an outspoken anti-Israel faction upset over his support for Israel following terrorist attacks that resulted in numerous casualties and hostages taken by Hamas.<\/p>\n<p>Despite being Jewish himself and holding views similar to other potential candidates like Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) or Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Shapiro became embroiled in controversy that painted him unfavorably among some Democrats. Ultimately, Harris chose Walz instead but allowed media coverage of Shapiro\u2019s candidacy\u2014which lasted several days\u2014to create an impression that she capitulated under pressure from anti-Israel elements within her party.<\/p>\n<p>Running mate selections typically interest only dedicated political enthusiasts; however, anything involving Beyonc\u00e9 captures widespread attention due to her cultural significance. Leading up to the convention were rumors suggesting she might perform or appear at events supporting Harris after reports indicated permission had been granted for using one of Beyonc\u00e9&#8217;s songs during the campaign.<\/p>\n<p>As speculation escalated\u2014culminating on the final day of the convention when rumors circulated about Beyonc\u00e9 arriving at O&#8217;Hare airport\u2014the reality proved different when it was confirmed she had no plans whatsoever related to Chicago or its events.<\/p>\n<p>While not directly responsible for these rumors spiraling out of control, Harris&#8217;s team could have acted more swiftly in addressing them despite their inconvenient timing before such an important speech\u2014the biggest moment of her career thus far.<\/p>\n<p>In another instance concerning expectations management leading up toward debates against Trump\u2014Harris\u2019s representatives expressed their desire for live microphones during discussions aimed at showcasing Trump&#8217;s unfiltered behavior\u2014but ultimately conceded ground rules set forth by ABC News which favored muted mics instead after letting anticipation build over several days without resolution appearing favorable towards their initial stance.<\/p>\n<p>This pattern isn\u2019t unique; even Trump&#8217;s camp recently dealt with internal leaks prompting co-campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles warning staffers about speaking off-the-record with journalists\u2014a reminder campaigns can only control so much amidst unpredictable dynamics surrounding politics today including staff conflicts or international affairs becoming public knowledge unexpectedly along this journey ahead toward Election Day approaching rapidly now just 61 days away!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2695,"featured_media":2337363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/harris-communist-attacks.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[34059,40221,35844,5894,32076],"class_list":["post-2337362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-election-2024","tag-expectations-game","tag-harris-campaign","tag-politics","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/harris-communist-attacks.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2337362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2695"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2337362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2337362\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2337363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2337362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2337362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2337362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}