Former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, who served under Barack Obama, has said that the 2024 election is Donald Trump‘s to lose, as there isn’t enough time for Vice President Kamala Harris to “seal the deal.”
Daley, who led Al Gore‘s campaign for president against George W. Bush in 2000, said that the shorter campaign since Harris’ selection as the nominee was a double-edged sword, and didn’t leave the Democrat enough time to present herself to voters properly.
Speaking to Politico, Daley said that the last 20 days of the election needed a shake-up in order for Harris to win, predicting that otherwise, Trump would emerge victorious.
“In the final three weeks, something’s got to happen to seal the deal for Harris—and if it doesn’t, that’s a problem,” he said. “I think it’s his to lose and she’s the underdog. So she’s got to have something happen to give her that extra push at the end.”
Getty Images
“It’s not anyone’s fault because vice presidents aren’t well known, that’s the job,” he continued. “And it’s not an easy task in four months, so she’s gotta keep trying to find the format that can get her out there.
“It’s risky because if you make a flub or a mistake it gets heightened. And even though there’s the benefit of a short campaign for her, the downside of it is, it’s a short campaign…. I know we Democrats are all excited about this being a short campaign. There’s a positive to that, but the negative is exactly what we’re talking about here.”
Newsweek contacted Daley for further comment, as well as the Trump and Harris campaigns for a response, via email.
With 20 days left before election day, polls in key swing states have continued to tighten. Harris has maintained a very small lead in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as Nevada, while Trump has the edge in North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia.
Harris has continually led in polling averages nationally, with a consistent two-point lead over Trump, according to the latest aggregates.
However, there is growing fear among Democrats that Trump has more momentum going into the final stretch, as he has whittled away slowly at Harris’ lead in the Midwest in polling averages over the past few weeks.
Do you have a story we should be covering? Do you have any questions about Donald Trump and the 2024 election? Contact [email protected].
