As former Vice President Kamala Harris weighs another White House run in 2028, a longtime advisor is firing back at Democratic strategists and donors who argue she has squandered an opportunity to politically reinvent herself following her 2024 election defeat.

Veteran Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, an outside advisor to Harris, pushed back against the criticism highlighted in a new Politico report, defending Harris’ policy proposals and campaign activity as Democrats debate whether the former vice president deserves another shot at the White House. Cardona argued the story was «infuriating in its silliness.»

The report, based on interviews with nearly 20 California-based Democratic donors and strategists, highlighted growing skepticism among some party insiders about Harris’ political future and whether she has done enough to distinguish herself from her unsuccessful 2024 campaign.

Longtime Democratic strategist Doug Herman, a veteran of former President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns, told Politico that Harris «totally blew it… She hasn’t gotten into the mix.»

AOC GIVES MAJOR HINT ABOUT 2028

Former Gov. Jim Hodges of South Carolina, the lead off state in the Democratic Party’s 2028 presidential nominating calendar, told Politico, «I don’t see anything different myself. It seems like more of the same to me.»

But Cardona, a veteran of the Bill Clinton administration, the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama presidential campaigns who currently serves as a member of the Democratic National Committee, disagreed that Harris had failed to spell out what she would offer Democrats anxious for change.

«How can you state that she hasn’t done anything new or groundbreaking or talked about new initiatives or policies and then layout exactly those policies – like proposing an expanded Supreme Court, lowering the voting age to 16, making DC and Puerto Rico states. Those are pretty groundbreaking policies!» Cardona told Digital, as she pointed to some of Harris’ moves since the end of former President Joe Biden’s administration.

Harris, the nation’s first Black vice president, has also said that Black people should be «transactional voters,» instead of automatically supporting Democratic candidates.

«She’s damned if she does and damned if she doesn’t,» Cardona argued, adding that Harris «is still the most qualified person to be president of the United States that is mentioned as a possible candidate for 2028.»

Harris has been crisscrossing the country this year, first on a book tour for her best-selling campaign memoir «107 Days» and currently to support fellow Democrats running in the midterm elections.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE ELECTION HUB

While Harris has teamed up with Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan and congressional nominees in her home state, some Democratic nominees running in red states made headlines in recent weeks by asking the former vice president not to campaign with them.

But Cardona said, «Harris has been out there nonstop talking to young voters, women voters, black voters, Latino voters, and she has been asked by many candidates to come and campaign with them. She has focused her energies on winning the midterm elections. Can you imagine the backlash if she was out there focusing on herself and how she can remake the Democratic Party?»

Harris replaced Biden as the Democrats’ 2024 presidential nominee after he ended his re-election bid following a disastrous debate performance against President Donald Trump. Her truncated three-month presidential campaign ended in defeat, with Trump narrowly sweeping all the key battleground states as he won back the White House.

If she runs a third time for president, Harris will enjoy instant name ID and plenty of goodwill from within her party. But she would also face a Democratic base trying to move past the 2024 election setbacks, and she would likely be part of a very crowded and competitive 2028 primary field.

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

A Democratic consultant, who asked for anonymity to speak more freely, told Digital that «voters feel like they haven’t heard much from Harris, which means bad memories from her 2024 election loss remain fresh in their minds.»

But longtime Democratic strategist Michael Ceraso said that consultants «are not voters.»

«I just don’t trust that the consulting class really has a finger on the electorate,» he told Digital. «To listen to consultants saying Harris has blown it – presidential politics hasn’t really even started yet.. These consultants are just getting soundbites.»

Ceraso noted that it took Biden three runs to win the White House.

«The third time was the charm and everybody said to Biden when he ran the third time, ‘why are you running.’ Well guess what, he ended up becoming the nominee and the president,» he said. «Why can’t Harris look at that template and say ‘that can apply to me too.’»

politics, kamala harris, joe biden, donald trump, democrats elections, presidential primaries, elections

Al menos seis personas murieron durante la noche del martes y la madrugada de este miércoles por ataques rusos contra distintas regiones de Ucrania, mientras los bombardeos con misiles balísticos provocaron cortes de electricidad en amplias zonas de la capital ucraniana. Las autoridades regionales informaron de tres muertos en Kiev, dos en la región central de Dniproy uno en la región suroriental de Zaporizhzhia.

El alcalde de la capital, Vitali Klitschko, indicó que los ataques alcanzaron infraestructura energética de la ciudad y sus alrededores. “Las instalaciones energéticas de Kiev y de la región circundante han sufrido un ataque masivo con misiles balísticos. Hay interrupciones del suministro eléctrico”, escribió Klitschko vía Telegram.

DTEK, el mayor proveedor privado de electricidad de Ucrania, informó que la ofensiva provocó cortes de emergencia en cinco distritos de Kiev. La compañía indicó que las interrupciones del suministro afectaron a los distritos de Darnytskyi, Dniprovskyi, Pecherskyi y Solomianskyi, además de una parte de Holosiivskyi.

Respecto a los ataques contra edificios residenciales, el alcalde reportó: “Un edificio de 9 plantas fue alcanzado por un incendio en el distrito de Desnyanskyi. Los servicios de emergencia se dirigen al lugar”.

Además, 20 resultaron heridas en Kiev durante esta última oleada de bombardeos rusos contra instalaciones energéticas y edificios residenciales. La Fuerza Aérea de Ucrania alertó durante la madrugada sobre el avance de varios misiles hacia la capital.

Medios ucranianos también informaron de detonaciones en Kharkiv, en el noreste del país, y en Dnipro, en el centro-este. Otros bombardeos alcanzaron Sumy y Chernígov.

El presidente ucraniano, Volodimir Zelenski, señaló poco antes de la medianoche que un ataque balístico ruso alcanzó una central eléctrica de Kiev, una de las más importantes de la capital. Zelensky denunció que Ucrania no recibió por segunda vez en cerca de 24 horas información anticipada de sus socios sobre el lanzamiento de los misiles desde territorio ruso. Según explicó, esa falta de alertas dificulta la respuesta del Ejército ucraniano. “Nuestros sistemas detectaron estos misiles cuando estaban prácticamente en Kiev”, afirmó el mandatario, que confirmó el impacto contra la instalación energética.

El presidente no identificó al país aliado que dejó de proporcionar la información de inteligencia. Ucrania quedó sin esos datos después de que Estados Unidos advirtiera a Kiev que podía suspender el intercambio de inteligencia si mantenía los ataques contra refinerías rusas, a los que Washington se opone por su posible impacto en el mercado internacional de combustibles.

“Esto es absolutamente injusto: están destruyendo nuestra infraestructura y Ucrania ni siquiera recibe alertas tempranas sobre lanzamientos de misiles balísticos”, añadió.

En Rusia, el gobernador de la región de Saratov informó, con base en datos preliminares, que un ataque con drones ucranianos mató a una persona en la ciudad de Balakovo.

El alcalde de Moscú, Serguéi Sobianin, aseguró que las defensas aéreas rusas derribaron cerca de 500 drones que se dirigían hacia la ciudad durante la noche. Las autoridades rusas añadieron que alrededor de 160 drones fueron derribados sobre la región de Rostov, mientras otros aparatos tenían como objetivo la capital rusa.

Los residentes de Kiev escucharon explosiones provocadas por bombardeos rusos antes de la activación de las sirenas antiaéreas durante la noche del lunes al martes, una secuencia poco frecuente desde el inicio de la guerra.

El episodio ocurrió después de que el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, anunciara el domingo en Truth Social un supuesto “alto el fuego energético” entre Rusia y Ucrania. Trump afirmó que ambos países habían aceptado detener los ataques de largo alcance contra instalaciones eléctricas.

Zelensky expresó sorpresa por ese anuncio y sostuvo que los ataques posteriores contra la infraestructura energética de Ucrania representaron la “respuesta” del mandatario ruso, Vladimir Putin, a las declaraciones de Trump. Trump criticó en varias oportunidades a Zelensky por los ataques ucranianos contra refinerías de petróleo rusas. El sábado, además, planteó que era “hora de que Ucrania tuviera un nuevo presidente”. El mandatario estadounidense también recibió críticas de Zelensky y de sectores políticos dentro de Estados Unidos después de anunciar la semana pasada que planea comprar diésel a Rusia, pese a las sanciones vigentes contra Moscú por la guerra.

(Con información de AFP)

War,Europe,Military Conflicts

The Trump administration is adopting a new rule that would shorten the time refugees have to challenge the termination of their legal status, marking another restriction on legal immigration pathways as the White House continues its immigration enforcement crackdown.

The new policy, which takes effect Wednesday without undergoing the usual advance public notice-and-comment process, reduces the time refugees have to respond to a notice of intent to terminate their status from 30 days to 10.

According to the new rule, the administration is aiming to «mitigate potential risks» linked to people who were admitted as refugees but were not eligible for refugee status.

The documents pointed to refugees admitted during the Biden administration, claiming there was an «alarming erosion of the integrity» of the refugee program during those years, although refugee advocates dispute that allegation.

TRUMP ADMIN PAUSES VISA APPOINTMENTS WORLDWIDE AMID HEIGHTENED SCREENING FOR APPLICANTS

«A review of refugee processing policies and procedures implemented under the Biden administration indicates an alarming erosion of integrity leading to aliens being admitted to the United States as refugees when their identities, eligibility for refugee classification, and admissibility were determined based on incomplete records,» DHS’ document reads.

«The priority of expediency over quality encouraged a lack of robust interviews,» it added. «Certain questions to ensure that aliens were eligible for refugee status prior to admission to the United States were omitted and this increased the risk of ineligible aliens being approved for refugee classification and subsequently admitted to the United States.»

A spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Services, Zach Kahler, similarly said the agency has found «an alarming erosion of screening and vetting measures» during the Biden administration to «rush processing and maximize the number of refugees admitted.»

The Trump administration is «ensuring that refugee status is reserved only for those who were eligible under the law,» he said in a statement to The Associated Press.

This comes after the Trump administration ordered the review of at least 185,000 refugees admitted during the Biden administration who still have pending green card applications.

The U.S. refugee admissions program has historically enjoyed bipartisan support since Congress passed the Refugee Act of 1980. Refugees undergo extensive security screenings and background checks before being approved for resettlement. Many spend years waiting in refugee camps before they can be admitted after undergoing multiple rounds of interviews and screenings.

With the Trump administration’s new rule, critics argue tens of thousands of people who fled persecution and wars in their home countries could be forced into deportation.

«These families did everything asked of them,» Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president of Global Refuge, said in a statement. «They submitted to interviews, background checks and years of waiting abroad, only setting foot on U.S. soil once government officials approved their applications.»

She said the Department of Homeland Security now wants to «revisit those decisions on a 10-day clock, a notice period wholly insufficient to find a lawyer, translate documents or get records out of a country they were forced to flee due to conflict or persecution.»

«In some cases, refugees may not even receive the notice before their ten days are up, effectively eliminating their only chance to respond,» she added. «If the government’s case for termination is truly strong, it can afford to give people a meaningful chance to challenge it.»

HIAS, a major refugee aid group, also warned that refugees who have fled violence, persecution and displacement will be at risk of being deported to countries where they could be subject to persecution and torture.

«They are trying to upend the core principle that refugee resettlement represents permanent protection,» HIAS Vice President Naomi Steinberg said in a statement.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FINES OF UP TO $1.8M FOR MIGRANTS

The Trump administration has significantly overhauled the U.S. refugee admissions program, sharply restricting overall admissions while prioritizing the resettlement of white South Africans.

Last month, the Trump administration established a ceiling of 17,500 refugee admissions for fiscal year 2027, with most slots allocated to Afrikaners, a predominantly white ethnic group in South Africa.

During his first term, President Donald Trump reduced the number of refugees approved every year. The Biden administration reversed that trend, setting a refugee admissions ceiling of 125,000 for fiscal year 2025.

When Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, he immediately suspended the refugee program, stranding people around the world who had been set to come to the U.S. The administration later reopened the program but limited it mostly to white South Africans.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

immigration, donald trump, politics, refugees, homeland security, deportation