Apparently, Vice President Kamala Harris is hard to work for… shocker.
MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend, ex-senior advisor and chief spokesperson for Harris, suggested she had a bad experience working for the VP amid mounting criticism.
After President Joe Biden was forced out of the 2024 race, Harris, who has earned a reputation as an alleged “soul-destroying” workplace “bully,” greeted her new staff but was met with concerns.
Sanders-Townsend explained that her experience working for Harris—after only ever working for men—might make the VP the last woman she works for.
“She was always aware of the criticism of her, right?" Sanders-Townsend said. "When I worked there, we didn't hide it from her. But it did not deter her. It was something, though, that I think any candidate, any candidate, any person in power needs to be aware of."
“Because when you're not aware, the last thing you want is your candidate, your principal, the vice president of the United States of America to be out there and someone says something and they're like ‘Well, what’s that all about?' ‘Well, ma’am, we discussed that this morning at 10 a.m.,” she continued.
During her tenure as vice president, only four of the initial 71 staff members hired by Harris during her first year in office are still working for her— equating to a 92 percent staff turnover rate.
A 2021 Politico report pointed out that Harris often “refuses to take responsibility for delicate issues and blames staffers for the negative results that ensue.”
“People are thrown under the bus from the very top, there are short fuses, and it’s an abusive environment,” a person with close ties to Harris’ office said. “It’s not a healthy environment, and people often feel mistreated. It’s not a place where people feel supported but a place where people feel treated like sh*t.”
According to the book Amateur Hour, when Harris worked as California's Attorney General, she was reportedly known for maintaining a “toxic” workplace.
The book described Harris as being a boss from Hell, pointing to students who worked for the VP as interns who would report back to their professor feeling as if they "weren't valued.”
In a 2019 resignation letter, Harris's then-State Operations Director Kelly Mehlenbacher said she had “never seen an organization treat its staff so poorly.”
In addition, Gil Duran, a former Harris aide during her time as an AG, blamed the now-VP for her office's struggles.
“What is the common denominator through all this?” He said. “It’s her.”
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