Incoming White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield is defending President-elect Joe Biden‘s campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon after she called Republican lawmakers “a bunch of f***ers.”
In a tweet on Wednesday afternoon, Bedingfield wrote, “So [Jen O’Malley Dillon] would be the first to tell you her mom doesn’t approve of the spicy language.”
“But I would be the first to tell you that the point she was making in this conversation with [Glennon Doyle] is spot on: unity and healing are possible — and we can get things done,” she added.
So @jomalleydillon would be the first to tell you her mom doesn’t approve of the spicy language, but I would be the first to tell you that the point she was making in this conversation with @GlennonDoyle is spot on: unity and healing are possible — and we can get things done. pic.twitter.com/HOVVDbY42K
— Kate Bedingfield (@KBeds) December 16, 2020
During an interview with Glamour, O’Malley Dillon — who is the incoming deputy White House chief of staff — said, “The president-elect was able to connect with people over this sense of unity. In the primary, people would mock him, like, ‘You think you can work with Republicans?’ I’m not saying they’re not a bunch of f***ers.”
She also called Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) “terrible.”
O’Malley Dillon emphasized that she believes Biden will be able to work with Republicans to pass bipartisan legislation, “This sense that you couldn’t wish for that, you couldn’t wish for this bipartisan ideal? He rejected that. From start to finish, he set out with this idea that unity was possible, that together we are stronger, that we, as a country, need healing, and our politics needs that too.”
“Like Joe Biden says all the time, ‘Great leadership starts with listening.’ It’s challenging for us to do that right now, because of how polarized we are. But politics breaks down to one-on-one conversations and not being afraid to talk.”
Finally, she said, “The atmosphere in the world now is like, ‘Oh, if you compromise, you don’t believe in something.’ No, it’s: I believe in it so much that I’m going to work to find a path we can both go down together.”
Axios reported that O’Malley Dillon’s comments have caused a stir in Biden’s inner circle with some donors arguing she should apologize to Biden and Republicans.
