Is Obama Covertly Running Kamala Harris' Campaign?

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy isn’t one to spew conspiracy theories, but what he said about Kamala Harris’ campaign was interesting, given the recent hires. The California Republican said that the man who is the real campaign manager is none other than former President Barack Obama (via NY Post):

Former President Barack Obama is secretly running Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, using his people to direct her bid, ex-Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy claimed Sunday. 

“If you’re watching the campaign now, some of Obama’s [key people such as] David Plouffe and others are now working on the campaign,” McCarthy said on 770 WABC’s “The Cats Roundtable.” 

“You’re getting the Obamas shifting from running the White House to now running this campaign.” 

[…] 

Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, campaign chairwoman for the 2024 Kamala Harris presidential campaign, also worked on Obama and Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign. 

But a former top adviser to the ex-president scoffed at claims that Obama is directing Harris’ campaign. 

It is not unusual for veteran Democratic campaign strategists to work for successive candidates running for the White House. 

“President Obama will get involved if Harris asks him to,” the source said. 

Since the expulsion of Joe Biden, Obama’s top operatives have joined the Harris campaign:

Quickly flush with cash, flooded with volunteers and greeted by jubilant crowds, Vice President Kamala Harris’ newly minted campaign has now made a major move to help manage it all, bringing on some of the biggest names in Democratic politics. 

A flurry of high-profile hires … — including David Plouffe, who managed President Barack Obama’s first White House run, and veteran Democratic operatives Stephanie Cutter and Jennifer Palmieri — comes as the Harris campaign rushes to transform away from Joe Biden’s operation and make a mad dash to November.

“This is, let’s take Trump down once and for all," said a person with close knowledge of the process around Harris. This person, like others in this story, requested anonymity to speak candidly. 

Plouffe 

held a string of cushy corporate jobs since his departure from the campaign scene, and I doubt he’d jump onto a true rat ship unless someone else was pulling the strings. Let’s put it another way: would you be shocked if we discovered later that Obama was the secret quarterback here? The former president worked behind the scenes to jettison Biden after his disastrous June 27 debate. He knew Biden couldn’t beat Trump and felt the same way about Kamala. Like the rest of the party, he’s obsessed with defeating Trumpism in America. Harris’ political operation, or lack thereof since she can’t keep staff, is likely worse than Biden’s, evidenced by how easy it was to topple him from the top of the ticket. Someone had to step in—a heavyweight—and Obama is that guy. Again, not saying what McCarthy said is true, but it would be an unsurprising revelation.