A CNN panel discussion escalated into a contentious debate on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, when businessman and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary referred to former Vice President Kamala Harris as a “loser” after her loss in the 2024 presidential election.
The incident took place during CNN’s NewsNight program as panelists discussed the Democratic Party’s strategy following President Biden’s decision to exit the 2024 race. O’Leary censured Democrats for not conducting a traditional primary when selecting Harris as their nominee after Biden’s withdrawal following a poor debate performance against Donald Trump.
“They did not run a process. They picked a loser, and she lost, and she got slaughtered because they didn’t run a process,” O’Leary stated to the panel.
This comment was met with immediate opposition from fellow panelists, including CNN political commentators Bakari Sellers, Karen Finney, and podcast host Van Lathan, who defended the former vice president and opposed O’Leary’s depiction.
Lathan swiftly intervened, urging respect for Harris, while Finney noted that calling the former vice president a “loser” was disrespectful. Both commentators appeared visibly unsettled by O’Leary’s direct critique of Harris.
The discussion became more heated as O’Leary persisted with his viewpoint. Despite objections from other panelists, he asserted that he was merely stating facts about the election outcome and not being disrespectful, which led to heightened tensions on the set.
CNN political commentator Scott Jennings attempted to steer the conversation toward former President Biden’s absence from public view following his withdrawal from the race. Jennings raised questions about decision-making during the transition period, noting that after Biden exited, he “basically disappeared” and was largely unseen between Election Day and the inauguration.
“At that point, if he was not fit to run for office, I argued at the time he was not fit to serve in the office at the time, yet he was,” Jennings remarked, raising concerns about who was responsible for “monumental policy decisions” during that period.
As the conversation intensified, Sellers defended Harris, asserting, “there was nothing about Kamala Harris that’s a loser.” This prompted O’Leary to emphasize his stance more emphatically.
The panel devolved into chaotic crosstalk as multiple voices sought to be heard. O’Leary’s voice rose above the others as he reiterated his claim that Harris was “slaughtered” in the election because the Democratic Party had “anointed” her instead of allowing her to secure the nomination through a competitive primary process.
CNN host Abby Phillip attempted to regain control of the turbulent segment by pointing out that Harris had been duly elected as vice president in 2020 on Biden’s ticket. O’Leary countered by asserting that Harris had never been elected president and reiterated that she had been “anointed” as the nominee without facing primary scrutiny.
Before the segment ended, O’Leary added a final critique regarding Harris’s communication skills, claiming she “couldn’t put two sentences together,” prompting Phillip to firmly refute his assessment, stating, “We know that is not true.”
The heated exchange highlights broader tensions in American political discourse following the 2024 presidential election. Harris’s nomination followed Biden’s unexpected announcement that he would not seek reelection, a decision that came after months of speculation about his age and fitness for office. The Democratic Party’s decision to quickly unify behind Harris without additional primaries has been a point of debate among political analysts from both parties.
The discussion on CNN stemmed from a segment about an upcoming book titled “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” written by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’s Alex Thompson. According to reports about the book, top Harris advisor David Plouffe criticized Biden, suggesting that his delayed exit from the race significantly hampered Harris’s campaign efforts.
O’Leary, 70, is known for his candid assessments both on “Shark Tank” and in media appearances. Before his television career, he co-founded SoftKey Software Products, later renamed The Learning Company, which was acquired by Mattel for $4.2 billion in 1999. O’Leary first gained television recognition on the Canadian show “Dragons’ Den” before joining the American adaptation “Shark Tank” in 2009.
Known to fans as “Mr. Wonderful,” O’Leary has developed a reputation as an unfiltered business expert who openly shares his opinions. This approach has made him a polarizing but popular figure on television, where his straightforward style frequently generates headlines.
The CNN segment ended with the disagreement unresolved as the program transitioned to another topic. The exchange clip quickly circulated on social media, drawing comments from both supporters of O’Leary’s candid assessment and those who viewed his remarks as unnecessarily harsh.
This incident occurs amidst ongoing analysis of the 2024 election results and discussions about the future direction of the Democratic Party. Political strategists have debated whether a more traditional primary process might have led to a different outcome or better prepared the eventual nominee for the general election campaign against Trump.
