When hearing about a powerful person who wouldn’t let underlings look him in the eye, you might think of Egyptian pharaohs, Chinese emperors, or any ancient potentate claiming god status. You probably wouldn’t associate such imperiousness with a 2024 presidential candidate, but, says a lifelong Democrat and ex-office holder, this is precisely what Kamala Harris demanded of her junior staff while California’s attorney general.
That man, Terry McAteer, ought to know, too: His son worked for Harris for part of a summer as an intern.
Boss From Hell
Coming from a family of Democrats, McAteer has every reason to be sympathetic to Harris. His father, J. Eugene McAteer, had been a Democratic San Francisco supervisor; McAteer then followed in his dad’s footsteps, being elected Nevada County schools superintendent for six four-year terms.
Given this pedigree, it’s not surprising that his son, Gregory, felt a passion for politics as well. Facilitating this, McAteer helped his son secure an unpaid summer internship, and Gregory wound up at Harris’s attorney general’s office. It would be an experience the young man would never forget.
Note here that McAteer related his son’s experiences in a 2019 article published while Harris was still vying for the Democratic presidential nomination; it presents, as he puts it, “another side” to Harris. Also know that he treats her as kindly as possible, calling her a “good orator” who has accomplished some “fine things” in office (he didn’t explain what these might be). Additionally, he says he had Gregory vet the article for accuracy before publication.
Here’s the relevant portion, as reported in The Union:
Senator Harris vocally throws around “F-bombs” and other profanity constantly in her berating of staff and others. The staff is in complete fear of her and she uses her profanity throughout the day.
As Attorney General, Senator Harris instructed her entire staff to stand every morning as she entered the office and say, “Good Morning General.”
Never once during the month-long internship did Harris introduce herself to our son (as he was only in an office with 20 paid employees) and staff was too intimidated by her to introduce him. The only acknowledgment was a form letter of “thanks” signed by Harris given to him on his last day of service.
Gregory was also given instructions to never address Harris nor look her in the eye as that privilege was only allowed to senior staff members.
Gregory’s Hell would soon end, though, as he was able to transfer to late Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office a month after beginning with Harris and was, as McAteer puts it, “delighted.”
McAteer’s description of the situation is understated; he calls Harris’s behavior “demeaning” and the work environment “hostile.” In reality, forbidding people to look you in the eye suggests a personality disorder. It’s downright “weird,” in fact, to use the term Harris’s campaign and its enablers are trying to brand Republicans with (projecting all the way, apparently).
Young Gregory isn’t alone, though, as a Monday Washington Times piece on Harris’s vice president’s office makes clear. To wit (as presented at American Thinker):
In a new report by the watchdog group Open the Books, researchers quantified her human resources problem. They discovered a 92% staff turnover through payroll records.
Half of her staff listed on public payroll records quit in the past year, the organization calculated.
… High turnover in the White House isn’t new, but Ms. Harris’ numbers are higher than others.
In the same time span, President Trump experienced a 72% turnover and President Biden had a 77% turnover.
Vice President Mike Pence hired 29 employees during his first year in the Trump administration, and five remained on staff after three years, indicating an 83% turnover rate.
Ms. Harris hired 49 staffers and retained only four three years later.
Past employees described a toxic and dysfunctional environment in the vice president’s office that seemed to worsen as Ms. Harris’ approval ratings sank.
I’ll emphasize that Trump, who has been demonized as “not playing well with others,” had a lower turnover rate than Harris, Biden, and even prayerful Pence.
Part of a Pattern
Harris, however, isn’t the only political wicked witch (of the West Wing, in her case). Former first lady Hillary Clinton would reportedly curse at Secret Service agents and was “a nightmare to work with.” Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) poses as “Minnesota nice” but is Minnesota vice with her staff. And Democrat Lori Lightfoot was reportedly as mean as a snake to her underlings while Chicago mayor.
Commentator Andrea Widburg has perhaps some idea what makes these women tick, too, explaining that she’s had such female superiors in the past. “These women often attain high positions (which is why they were my bosses), but their success never alleviates their insecurity,” she writes. “Instead, it only heightens their narcissistic tendencies. To build a carapace around that empty black hole inside of them, they never accept responsibility, demand worshipful responses from those around them, manipulate people like chess pieces, and are verbally abusive.”
As for Harris, it’s no surprise that her lack of character also shaped her behavior as a prosecutor. In fact, she “was the worst of both worlds,” wrote civil rights lawyer Harmeet Dhillon Monday: “A soft-on-crime progressive prosecutor who failed to keep her city safe, and who looked the other way when it came to ethics and public integrity.”
So a picture of Harris emerges: a woman empty to the core except for power lust, a woman who sees others as objects — and who will step over and on anyone who stands between her and her ambitions.
