In a recent development, Anita Dunn, a former senior adviser on communications to President Biden, has pointedly accused House Speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) of undermining Biden's re-election campaign.
Dunn, who has since transitioned to a super PAC supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, also criticized Democratic donors for disregarding the preferences of their party's primary voters by favoring Harris over Biden.
In her first interview since Biden, 81, withdrew from the 2024 race, Dunn expressed her frustration with those within the party who publicly doubted Biden's candidacy. "You know, clearly there were leaders of the party who decided to go ahead and go very public. And that gave permission to other people to go public, Dunn told Politico, referring to the increasing number of Democrats who urged Biden to withdraw following his lackluster performance in the June 27 debate.
When questioned if she was referring to "senators and House members" and specifically to Pelosi's television appearances that reignited the debate around Biden's candidacy, Dunn responded affirmatively. She asserted that the skepticism cast by Pelosi and other senior congressional Democrats on Biden's candidacy were "key moments" that prevented the Biden campaign from effectively navigating the situation.
"And then you had this decision that the Democratic Party made to ignore their primary voters and ignore their primary process, and that was a very donor-driven thing, Dunn added, likely alluding to Democratic megadonor and Hollywood star George Clooney's op-ed in the New York Times urging Biden to end his campaign.
According to The New York Post, Clooney's July 10 piece, which former President Barack Obama was reportedly aware of but did not intervene, acknowledged Biden's lack of mental acuity, which was evident during his debate with former President Donald Trump and had been apparent weeks earlier at a campaign fundraiser that raised $30 million. On the same day, Pelosi appeared on MSNBCs Morning Joe and cautioned that time was running out to find a replacement Democratic presidential nominee.
Dunn also criticized the unprecedented decision for a presumptive Democratic nominee to suspend a campaign and endorse a successor candidate just weeks before the partys convention. She claimed this decision contradicted the views of undecided voters who assessed Bidens debate performance and public polling.
Dunn revealed that she received messages from Republican friends during this period, expressing disbelief at the Democratic Party's actions. They were saying, Weve never seen anything like this. Our party closes ranks. You know, you fight it through. You have a 24-hour news cycle. He had a bad debate, and you move on,' she added. They could not believe what was going on here.
Dunn further attributed the loss of the House to Republicans in the 2022 midterms to Pelosi, suggesting that better leadership could have maintained Democratic control. Pelosi, however, in an interview promoting her new book, "The Art of Power," criticized Dunn and other members of the Presidents political campaign, stating, Ive never been that impressed with his political operation.
Login