Former Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri is advising the campaign of a white male candidate, despite previously pooh-poohing the notion of a white male candidate.
The Hill reported Monday that Palmieri is helping the campaign of Montana Governor Steve Bullock behind the scenes "as an informal adviser." Palmieri has not confirmed the report, but a day earlier had liked several Bullock videos on Twitter and tweeted out that "I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know whole Bullock family, & they are all really great & talented people."
But during an April 24 MSNBC appearance, Palmieri complained about polls showing former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg in the lead, saying "It's something to see the top of the polls being led by three white men."
"I have to say, I am concerned, as somebody who worked for a woman candidate last time, that there's something about the sort of biases we still hold about leadership and what that looks like that makes us gravitate towards men and even white men," she said, "and there's something about how these images that we still hold makes it harder for the women candidates who are really great to break through."
Palmieri made a similar point only a few weeks ago on May 3. "Why are [Beto O'Rourke] and Mayor Pete the ones that are the breakout stars?" she asked MSNBC's Nicole Wallace. "What is it that we find so inspiring in what they say that we don't see in the women candidates? I think this is mushy, gender biases that I think we hold in our heads."
"Why is it that these two men have broken out in a way that [Kamala Harris] and Elizabeth Warren and Kirtsen Gillibrand [have not]?" she asked.