Rep. Clyburn throws Kamala Harris campaign under the bus, says team failed her

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., called former Vice President Kamala Harris a "great candidate" who was ill-served by her campaign team, during an interview on Friday.

The Democratic congressman was responding to CNN anchor Kate Bolduan asking about a New York Times report which said that since Harris' loss in the 2024 election, the former vice president has been mulling over another bid for the White House or entering the 2026 California gubernatorial race.

Clyburn said he wasn't going to advise Harris on her next steps but praised her as a "tremendous talent" who had been let down by her campaign staff during the presidential race.

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"I will say this. I think that she is a tremendous talent. I think she ran a great campaign. I think she was ill-served in that campaign by people who should have listened to some of us who saw and felt things," Clyburn began.  

"Listen to Bill Clinton when he told them what was going on. Listen to yours truly, when I was going around these rural communities, I knew what we needed to do and was not doing it," he continued.

"She was a great candidate, and I think she will make a great candidate in the future, whatever she decides to run for. But I‘m not going to give any advice as to whether or not she should or should not."

Harris' office did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.

HARRIS WAS ‘COMPLETELY SHOCKED’ BY DEFEAT, BELIEVED SHE COULD'VE WON WITH MORE TIME, AUTHOR SAYS

According to the bombshell new book, "Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House," by journalists Amie Parnes and Jonathan Allen, Harris "bought the hype" she was going to win the election.

"She was completely shocked, and [Harris' running mate] Tim Walz was shocked," Parnes said on the podcast "Somebody's Gotta Win with Tara Palmeri," last week.

"They thought that they were going to win. And so, you know, when they come back now and say, 'Oh, no, we didn't really have a chance.' No, that's not what they were thinking. They thought they were going to win," she added.

Harris campaign staffers felt "gaslit" by leadership about Harris' chances at winning after being told that "things were looking good" for the candidate ahead of the election, according to Parnes.

Harris has reportedly told friends in the aftermath of her defeat that she could've won the election if she had more time and if Biden hadn't run for re-election.

"She could have won, she told friends, if only the election was later in the calendar — or she got in earlier. In other words, Joe Biden was to blame," the authors wrote.