It’s never a good sign when a report comes with a big red disclaimer at the top of each page, but that’s what happened when the Democratic National Committee belatedly released its controversial autopsy report on the 2024 election.
“This document reflects the views of the author, not the DNC,” the disclaimer said on Thursday.
“The DNC was not provided with the underlying sourcing, interviews, or supporting data for many of the assertions contained herein and therefore cannot independently verify the claims presented.”
It’s an inauspicious label on a document that has caused so much heartburn.
Ken Martin, the DNC chair, originally promised to release the autopsy, then decided to keep it under wraps because he said he didn’t want to cause a distraction ahead of the midterms.
After months of handwringing, Martin released the report on Thursday, saying it was only withheld because it was so shoddily done.
After all that, what’s in the report?
Here are some takeaways from the 192 pages.
The report has some big gaps
The report is far from comprehensive, and it avoids some of the most critical factors in the 2024 race.
For example, it doesn’t address President Joe Biden’s decision to run for a second term at 81, despite widespread concerns about his age. Biden dropped out after a faltering debate performance, and Harris was quickly anointed to replace him at the top of the ticket.
After serving as Biden’s vice president, Harris was viewed in some corners as the natural choice for a new nominee. But the report does not address lingering concerns that the process was rushed or should have been handled in a more deliberative manner.
Perhaps most notably, the words “Gaza” and “Israel” do not appear anywhere in the text.
Democrats suffered from internal disagreements over the genocide in Gaza, which sapped enthusiasm for Harris among voters who were upset by the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s genocide in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
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Harris was boxed in
The report found that the Biden White House did not “position or prepare the vice president” in a way that would allow her to lead a successful campaign.
It wasn’t until Biden announced his departure from the race in July that the campaign’s polling team scrambled to get fresh public opinion on three key areas — “one on the Vice President’s biography and record, one on her vision and plan, and another on attacks and responses.”
The team also determined Harris had no answer on a sensitive issue: The Trump campaign’s anti-transgender attacks. Specifically, the report highlighted the pollsters’ belief that the Democratic nominee was “boxed” in by Republicans’ “very effective” advertisement highlighting Harris’ previous support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries for prison inmates.
“Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you,” the ad said.
The report said: “If the Vice President would not change her position — and she did not — then there was nothing which would have worked as a response.”
