Full Interview w/ Maria Comella - The Mistake That Doomed Kamala Harris Against Donald Trump

Former Republican operative turned Harris campaign strategist Maria Comella joins Chuck Todd to deliver a brutal post-mortem on Democratic failures and to reflect on her unique career path across the political spectrum. From her early days in Republican politics to the inner workings of the Harris campaign, Comella offers candid insights on what it takes to run for office in an era defined by partisanship, shifting voter coalitions, and struggling party identities. She shares stories about Christie’s sharp self-awareness, Giuliani’s early years, and the challenges Harris faced in balancing her legal background with her political ambitions. Together, Chuck and Maria dive into the pitfalls of Democratic messaging in the Trump era, why Harris couldn’t connect with Republican voters, and how Biden and Harris miscalculated their approach to the left. They also explore the rise of outsider candidates like Sanders and Trump, the failure of movements like “No Labels,” and whether a third party—or even a unifying military figure—could ever gain traction. With upcoming races in New Jersey and New York on the horizon, Comella weighs in on the donor class panic over Mamdani, Cuomo’s uncertain future, and what it will take for either party to break through with an electorate hungry for reform. Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Maria Comella joins the Chuck Toddcast 02:00 Maria’s origin story 06:30 Difficulty running for state/local offices after being in unpopular congress 07:30 Experience of working for Rudy Guiliani 11:15 Moving from Republican politics to the Harris campaign 12:15 Do Cuomo, Giuliani and Christie have much in common? 13:15 All three are voracious readers 14:15 Chris Christie was the most self-aware of the three 15:30 Christie was mad at Chuck over Meet the Press interview 18:00 Did you have a seat at the table with the Harris campaign? 19:45 Kamala Harris tried to be everything to everyone 21:30 Harris seemed like a more natural fit in law than in politics 22:15 Harris had ideological identity issues  23:45 Why Harris didn’t appear on Joe Rogan’s podcast 24:45 Harris for Republicans vs. Republicans for Harris 25:30 Biden & Harris didn’t know how to talk to Republican voters 27:00 Liz Cheney wasn’t effective as a surrogate 29:00 Biden & Harris were afraid to go after the left 30:15 Harris campaign said she’d be different, but didn’t show it 31:30 Harris’s appearance on The View symbolized her loss 33:15 Harris had nearly a difficult, but not impossible task 34:30 Harris didn’t need to campaign with never Trump Republicans 36:00 Harris was too late with her closing argument message 37:30 Dukakis’s closing message was just an airing of grievances 38:45 Harris’s closing message didn’t meet voters where they were 40:00 Democratic messaging has been dumb and lazy in Trump era 41:30 Obama was the last candidate the public voted “for” 42:45 Rise of Sanders and Trump show how weak the parties are 43:15 Is there room for a third party? 44:45 Why the “No Labels” party fell flat 47:30 Could a less partisan military leader bring the country together? 49:15 The system was built to force compromise rather than win/lose 51:00 Voters want a reformer/change, Harris didn’t offer that 53:30 The GOP “establishment” let problems fester and ended up with Trump 55:30 Rand Paul & Josh Hawley have stayed true to themselves 57:15 Imitating Trump doesn’t ever work for GOP candidates 59:30 Who on the Democratic side could break through with GOP voters? 1:01:30 The “Stop Mamdani” movement can’t coalesce around one candidate 1:03:00 Donor class panicking they can’t stop Mamdani 1:04:15 Schumer & Jeffries failed to find good NYC mayor candidate 1:06:30 What will Cuomo do? Could he drop out? 1:08:15 Money & ad buys won’t stop Mamdani 1:10:30 New Jersey governors race will be the closest race in November 1:12:00 The Democratic consultant class is out of touch with voters