Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson has had a very successful career encouraging people to highlight the power of love and the importance of forgiveness.
But now Williamson, the best-selling author and spiritual adviser who launched her second consecutive campaign for the White House earlier this month and who is the first Democrat with a national following for President Biden’s primary challenge, is facing accusations from former political staffers that her public image contrasts sharply with her private behavior.
According to a report published Thursday by Politico, a dozen people who worked with Williamson on her 2020 presidential campaign say she “subjected her employees to unpredictable, explosive fits of rage. They said Williamson could be cruel and demeaning to her staff and that her behavior went far beyond the typical stress of a grueling presidential cycle.”
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Williamson calls the allegations “defamatory” and “categorically untrue”.
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Best-selling author Marianne Williamson addresses the audience as she launches her 2024 presidential campaign in Washington, March 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Former two-time Representative Paul Hodes of New Hampshire, who served as Williamson’s state director in the crucial first state presidential primary in the country in 2020, confirms the report.
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“What Politico reported was completely consistent with what I saw during the campaign and what I personally experienced with her on multiple occasions,” Hodes, who was quoted in the report, told Fox News Thursday.
Hodes said, “There are multiple reasons why I am not helping her this time. Her behavior is one of the reasons.”
“It is important that we have a president with the right temperament,” he stressed. “It’s very important to have leadership that is calm under pressure. The presidency is a very stressful job…you need real leadership that can be calm under pressure.”
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According to former campaign workers interviewed by PoliticoWilliamson’s outbursts included throwing phones at staffers and in one instance, the candidate became so angry about the logistics for a campaign trip that she slammed on a car door until her hand began to swell, forcing her to go to an emergency room.
Democratic presidential nominee Marianne Williamson is greeted by Senate President Jeb Bradley at the Statehouse in Concord, New Hampshire, on March 9, 2023. (New Hampshire State Senate)
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Williamson’s campaign dismissed the report as an attempt to smear her presidential bid.
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Williamson said that “former staffers trying to score points with the political establishment by smearing me may be good for their careers, but the intent is to divert attention from the important issues facing the American people … This presidential campaign expects a concerted effort to dismiss and belittle us.” But the reinforcement of outright lies should not occur.”
Williamson also denied ever throwing a phone at staffers. But she did acknowledge that she went to the emergency room after getting upset and slamming her hand on a car door, but said that a “car door is not a person. I would never be physically hurtful to a person.”
Paul Steinhauser is a political reporter from New Hampshire.
