Daily Beast contributor Keli Goff faced significant blowback for correctly predicting that Kamala Harris could never be president as soon as Joe Biden stepped aside. Revisiting her widely-read piece the day after Trump’s re-election to the White House, the Daily Beast spoke with Goff to learn more about how she tapped into something—that few of her journalistic colleagues noticed—so early on.

The Daily Beast: First things first: were you surprised at all by last night’s results?

Keli Goff: Yes and no. There was no version of this election where Kamala would win, but I thought it would be closer and so I thought it would take longer to get the results. But it wasn’t close. It was decisive.

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Why do you think you saw this coming in a way so many in the media did not?

Honestly, I think the main thing is that I don’t spend much time on social media. My social circle is not comprised primarily of other journalists. Most of the journalists who have been proven so wrong about this election live in a bubble where they primarily talk to other journalists whose cable shows they want to get booked on and so they don’t get to hear what real people actually think. Many of the real-life African Americans I know are not fans of super liberal policies, for example, and the Democratic Party of today is much further to the left of the party of Bill Clinton.

Secondly, a lot of Black voters—again, those outside of the media bubble—didn’t feel the connection to Kamala Harris that they felt to the Obama family, particularly Michelle. I explained some of this in my previous column, but I would say Kamala faced challenges the Obamas did not.

What were some of those challenges?

Barack and Michelle were the kind of trailblazers who made even African Americans who weren’t Democrats proud. It wasn’t just their Ivy league pedigrees; they were so incredibly eloquent, intelligent, authentic and known for being kind. Every Black parent could point to them and tell their kids, “I want you to be like them when you grow up.” That kind of inspiration motivates voters and Kamala didn’t engender the same vibes.

Any final thoughts?

I think the mainstream media lost this election just as badly as Kamala did. If so many pundits and mainstream outlets had not tried to cover for her, including by not seriously addressing allegations of abuse leveled against her husband, voters would not have tuned out some of the legitimate coverage of Trump’s shortcomings. And I think a lot of voters, including Black men, recoiled at being told how to vote.

Read Goff’s original........

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