By Jaryn Crouson
Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris frequently berated staff and subjected them to harsh rules during her time serving as California attorney general, according to an op-ed published in 2019 in The Union.
Harris served as California’s attorney general from 2011 to 2017, during which time Gregory McAteer interned for Harris for a month, according to the op-ed. The article was written by Gregory’s father, California superintendent and son of former state senator Terry McAteer during Harris’ 2020 presidential bid, and details claims made by his son about Harris’ constant mistreatment of staff.
McAteer claims in the op-ed that staff were “in complete fear” due to Harris frequently berating them with ‘f-bombs’ and would not allow low-level staff the “privilege” to address her or look her in the eyes.
“Sure, the job is stressful and we’ve all dealt with an angry boss in our lives but there is another side of Kamala Harris which the general public does not know,” McAteer said.
McAteer reported that staff were instructed to stand as Harris entered the room every morning and say “good morning general,” according to The Union. McAteer’s son was also allegedly never directly addressed by Harris during the month he worked for her, despite the office consisting of only about 20 staffers, who were “too intimidated” to introduce McAteer to Harris themselves. (RELATED: ‘She’ll Be Seen As A B*tch’: Chris Cuomo Warns Kamala Harris Not To Be ‘Mean’ If She Wants To Beat Trump)
“Senator Harris vocally throws around ‘F-bombs’ and other profanity constantly in her berating of staff and others,” McAteer wrote. “The staff is in complete fear of her and she uses her profanity throughout the day.”
McAteer wrote that while he approved of Harris’ work, he believed “how she treats her staff is as important as an individual’s legislative accomplishments.”
“A person’s character is probably one of the most important attributes for someone wanting to obtain the office of president,” McAteer continued. “I don’t know about you, but this is not the workplace of someone who respects her staff… she didn’t show the quality of leadership skills or even being a decent boss.”
McAteer concluded by saying his son approved of the article’s claims before its publishing, saying “he is willing to put his own integrity on the line because the truth is important to him.”
“[I]ntegrity and character are still virtues that can and should be upheld in our politicians and politics; we just haven’t seen them in a while.”
Terry and Gregory McAteer and the Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.