• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

2

Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026

3

Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns

1

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

2

Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026

3

Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns
SuccessKamala Harris

What Kamala Harris is doing right—and wrong—in the lead-up to Election Day, according to former press sec. Jen Psaki

By
Jane Thier
Jane Thier
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jane Thier
Jane Thier
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 25, 2024, 5:02 AM ET
AUSTIN, TEXAS - MARCH 10: Jen Psaki speaks onstage during the 2023 SXSW Conference and Festivals at Austin Convention Center on March 10, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Amy E. Price/Getty Images for SXSW)
Kamala Harris “is basically saying to people, ‘You’re invited into this party. We want you to be a part of this,’” Psaki said.Amy E. Price—Getty Images

Jen Psaki, a former communications lead for President Barack Obama and first White House press secretary for President Joe Biden, thinks the Democrats have a strong chance of taking it all in November.

Recommended Video

Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign is focused pretty squarely on the right strategy at the moment, Psaki, currently the host of MSNBC’s Inside With Jen Psaki, told Fortune in an interview Wednesday. Namely, appealing to elusive undecided voters. 

The Harris team is “working to convert and convince and persuade voters who may not have made a final decision,” explained Psaki. One such effort in that direction was the Democratic nominee’s recent series of campaign events with Liz Cheney, aimed at galvanizing never-Trump Republicans, mainly women. 

One potentially surprising roadblock: Harris isn’t Biden, and Biden remains “very popular among many, many Democrats.” 

The President’s decision this summer to end his campaign only made him more popular, Psaki said. “He is very popular among older white voters, which is a group of voters that [Harris] needs to continue to expand her base of support with.”

Any candidate, in the weeks leading up to Election Day, shouldn’t be focusing just on galvanizing their own base and mobilizing people to show up at the ballot box—though that’s certainly “always a big message,” she added.

The crux of Harris’s issue, in these crucial final days, is to make clear to the Biden lovers out there—and there are many in the Democratic party, Psaki said—that she values and respects her predecessor, and she’s honored to be his potential successor.

But she has to toe the line and also express that she’ll “pave a different road in some areas,” Psaki said. “I think that is a tricky road, but it is certainly possible to implement.”

Courting the never-Trump Republicans

Harris “is basically saying to people, ‘You’re invited into this party. We want you to be a part of this.’” Psaki said. “That, to me, is a recognition that in order to win, you have to expand the base of the electorate.”

There’s another factor the Harris campaign would do well to keep top of mind, Psaki added. Aside from being infamously bombastic and off-the-cuff, Trump is still an “incumbent of sorts.” That advantage makes him even less fit to be underestimated. 

“He’s a former president; he has a high floor of support, meaning there are people who support him, even if, as he were to say, he were to shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue,” Psaki said. “That bends the mind—I think we can all acknowledge that—but he does have that base of support.” 

That base is largely made up of people who feel “forgotten, disappointed, and disgruntled with the government,” she has observed. “And Trump has tapped into and spoken to that pretty consistently since he came up that elevator.” 

Psaki contends Trump isn’t actually fighting for those people: people “living paycheck to paycheck” and those who “feel disappointed by the system.” Trump has also benefited from a “huge amount of disinformation.” 

Nonetheless, “sometimes people forget that he is a former president,” she said. “He was the leader of the Republican Party. Has been for nearly a decade, and there is a base of support that comes with that.”

Making her own name

One thing everyone can agree on, across party lines: There’s no precedent for the current moment. That’s one of Harris’s main challenges in her run against Trump, Psaki said, “even though Harris has far better policies.” 

Then there’s the thorny issue of carrying on the best of Biden’s legacy, while also carving out Harris’s own identity with a newer, younger approach. “She needs to be mindful that [she] also was his vice president—still is his vice president,” Psaki said. “She can’t not run on the things that they have done together, because that is part of her qualification. But it’s not a carbon copy, because events in the world and issues people are grappling with, and circumstances, and even your own positions evolve.” 

Take gay marriage as an example. “Barack Obama was not openly for gay marriage; neither was Joe Biden in the first [Obama] term,” Psaki said. “That changed.” 

A new identity

Then of course there’s Harris’s identity as a Black woman nearly 20 years younger than the president. “She inherently comes to every discussion and debate from a different viewpoint,” Psaki said. “And that does matter, as somebody who sat at a table where I look different sometimes, just as being a woman, from other people at the table. That perspective does matter, and I think it’s important for people to remember.”

But the issues of policy may prove to be a consistent thorn in Harris’s side. “As the sitting vice president, just on a technical level, I think there’s a lot of desire to hear and understand from people who are very disappointed,” Psaki said. In particular: Harris’s plans with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian disaster. 

“Negotiations are happening about how to bring about a ceasefire, bring an end to the conflict and the war and the suffering in Israel and Gaza,” Psaki said. But Harris can’t come out with a different position than Biden has. “She’s currently the sitting vice president. She’s not just somebody who primaries the president. So that’s a challenge.”

The Fortune 500 Innovation Forum will convene Fortune 500 executives, U.S. policy officials, top founders, and thought leaders to help define what’s next for the American economy, Nov. 16-17 in Detroit. Apply here.
About the Author
By Jane Thier
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Success

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Success

Melinda French Gates’ advice to new IPO millionaires: ‘Give half your money away’
Startups & VentureMost Powerful Women
Melinda French Gates’ advice to new IPO millionaires: ‘Give half your money away’
By Emma HinchliffeJune 13, 2026
7 hours ago
Aravind Srinivas wearing glasses
SuccessBillionaires
CEO of $20 billion AI firm Perplexity says the secret to success is ‘sleeping with that fear’ that your competitor will steal your idea
By Preston ForeJune 13, 2026
7 hours ago
Jamie Dimon says remote work breeds ‘rope-a-dope politics’ and stunts young workers’ growth
Successchief executive officer (CEO)
Jamie Dimon says remote work breeds ‘rope-a-dope politics’ and stunts young workers’ growth
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 13, 2026
8 hours ago
Raquel Urtasun
SuccessCareers
The ‘AI superstar’ CEO behind a self-driving truck unicorn on why Gen Z is a better hiring bet than industry veterans
By Preston ForeJune 13, 2026
8 hours ago
Bret Johnsen looks up, smiling, as he claps his hands.
C-SuiteSpaceX
SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen quietly engineered its historic IPO and became an overnight billionaire
By Sasha RogelbergJune 13, 2026
9 hours ago
t
C-SuiteElections
Upstate New York sticker mogul has a bronze Trump statue, MAGA hip-hop album and a presidential endorsement. The local machine wants the Marine
By Michael Hill, Anthony Izaguirre and The Associated PressJune 12, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
Environment
Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
By Catherina GioinoJune 9, 2026
4 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 12, 2026
1 day ago
Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns
Real Estate
Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns
By Sydney LakeJune 13, 2026
8 hours ago
American taxpayers have spent $33 billion on sports stadiums. They got fewer seats—and higher prices
Success
American taxpayers have spent $33 billion on sports stadiums. They got fewer seats—and higher prices
By Catherina GioinoJune 11, 2026
2 days ago
U.S. energy secretary says 7 million barrels of oil exiting Persian Gulf daily, but Chevron CEO rebuts the claim
Energy
U.S. energy secretary says 7 million barrels of oil exiting Persian Gulf daily, but Chevron CEO rebuts the claim
By Jordan BlumJune 12, 2026
22 hours ago
Anthropic disables Fable and Mythos AI models after U.S. government bars it from giving foreigners access
AI
Anthropic disables Fable and Mythos AI models after U.S. government bars it from giving foreigners access
By Jeremy KahnJune 13, 2026
13 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.