Kamala Harris’s $20 million concert strategy backfires spectacularly, leaving the campaign in massive debt. What the hell were they thinking?
At a Glance
- Harris campaign spent $20 million on election-eve concerts featuring Lady Gaga and Katy Perry
- All seven targeted swing states were won by Donald Trump despite the celebrity-studded events
- Campaign ended with at least $20 million in debt, leaving vendors and workers unpaid
- Concerts failed to sway “low-propensity voters” or generate significant positive media coverage
A Costly Miscalculation
Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign made a $20 million gamble on star-studded concerts that spectacularly failed to deliver electoral success. Despite raising an impressive $1 billion from donors, the campaign ended in financial disarray, with millions in unpaid debts and a string of losses in crucial swing states.
What were they thinking? Didn’t they realize they could just offer better policies, instead? That wouldn’t have cost them $20 million.
The ill-fated strategy involved staging seven election-eve concerts featuring A-list celebrities like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. These extravagant events were intended to galvanize “low-propensity voters” in battleground states. However, the approach backfired dramatically, with Donald Trump securing victories in all targeted states, leaving the Harris campaign with empty coffers and unfulfilled promises.
Report: Kamala Harris Blew $20 Million on Election-Eve Concerts with Lady Gaga, Katy Perry in Swing States Where Trump Beat Her https://t.co/cmWtkhVNWV
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) November 9, 2024
Hollywood Glitz vs. Fiscal Responsibility
While the pop stars generously waived their performance fees, the campaign still incurred astronomical costs for staging, sound, and security. The decision to invest heavily in these concerts, championed by Obama campaign alumni Stephanie Cutter and David Plouffe, has come under intense scrutiny. Campaign chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon, who initially approved the concerts, is now distancing herself from the decision as criticism mounts.
“They said they were ‘spending to zero.’ I guess they overshot zero,” a source told the New York Post.
The aftermath of this costly misstep has left the campaign scrambling to reconcile its balance sheets. Donation pages remain active in a desperate attempt to address the deficit, while finance staff work to untangle the financial mess. The decision to prioritize celebrity endorsements over addressing voters’ economic concerns has drawn sharp criticism from within the campaign itself.
“Jen [O’Malley dillon] blew through a billion dollars in a few months, and it was all Jen’s idea to do all the concerts,” a campaign staffer said.
You’d have thought the Democrats might have learned from their obsession with celebrities back in 2016, but apparently they didn’t.
