The Blubber

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ teams are pointing fingers at each other over squandering more than a billion dollars in donor funds on a failed presidential campaign.

Following Donald Trump’s historic win, Democrats have been left reeling, questioning how such a large campaign fund wasn’t enough to stop a candidate they view as a “threat to democracy.”

Kamala Harris’ aides argue that Biden’s poor debate performance against Trump in June, which ultimately led to his last-minute decision to drop out, cost Harris the race.

Biden’s team, however, claims that Harris’ three-month campaign was poorly managed and wasted millions in key donor contributions.

“How did you spend $1 billion and still lose? What the f***?” one frustrated former Biden staffer said, criticizing Harris' team’s excuses.

A Financial Times analysis found that the Harris campaign spent $1.2 billion, while Trump’s campaign spent around $750 million. Some estimates suggest the total cost may have been even higher.

Combined, the Harris campaign, related PACs, and the Democratic National Committee raised over $2.3 billion, while Trump’s team, its PACs, and the Republican National Committee brought in $1.8 billion. In total, both sides raised nearly $4.2 billion and spent $3.5 billion, making it the most costly presidential race on record.

Despite the higher spending, Trump won decisively in both the electoral and popular vote—a victory margin not achieved by the GOP in decades. This loss has ignited fierce criticism within the Democratic Party’s top ranks, with campaign and White House staffers trading blame over who was truly at fault.

Both Democratic campaigns had funneled hundreds of millions into ads highlighting key messages, but it didn’t translate into success.

The defeat was compounded by reports of campaign debt: Politico disclosed that Harris’ operation is reportedly $20 million in the red.

During a call with staff on Thursday night, sources revealed to Axios that campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon was on the verge of tears as she addressed the campaign’s outcome.