Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s (D-MN) advance crew was busy prepping Saturday afternoon for her “big announcement” scheduled for Sunday.
An early visit to Boom Island Park showed staffers moving in and out of heated tents while they erected a stage with the Minneapolis skyline as a backdrop. Temperatures were slightly above zero early Saturday and those on the scene were decked out in snow gear, making it unlikely that Klobuchar would subject her staff to freezing wintry weather to announce that she isn’t in fact entering the 2020 race.
Plus, Klobuchar’s daughter flew in from New York City for Sunday’s event, and posted a video from Boom Island Park Saturday afternoon.
“My mom invited me to this big announcement happening Sunday, but she forgot to tell me it was happening outside,” she said.
Abigail here! I'm taking over mom's Twitter for a second with a message about tomorrow.
Go to https://t.co/Hz91NGmwT1 for more details! pic.twitter.com/dmk4l54EDD
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) February 9, 2019
Klobuchar boasted that the event will have hot “cocoa,” “camp fires,” “music”—”the whole bit.”
The Sunday announcement will come amid multiple reports that Klobuchar runs an abusive and demeaning office, as The Minnesota Sun reported. It’s widely known that the Minnesota senator has one of the highest turnover rates among Senate staffs, and occupied the top spot on that list for several years.
But as Klobuchar gears up for her debut on the national stage, details of her office culture are just now being exposed by the national media. State media, however, have elected to ignore these reports, and are instead running glowing articles on the three-term senator ahead of her big day.
The Star Tribune, for instance, published two Klobuchar-related articles Saturday, one titled, “Eight things to know about Amy Klobuchar,” and another discussing how she’s preparing “to mix it up on the national stage with expected bid for president.”
The latter story did note that Klobuchar “has churned through staff at a fast clip,” and said she has a “reputation as a highly demanding, at times difficult boss.”
It didn’t, however, mention that she has allegedly “yelled, threw papers, and sometimes even hurled objects” at staff, according to Buzzfeed’s latest report.
“Anything could set her temper off, they said, and it was often unpredictable. Among things that staffers said had prompted outbursts from Klobuchar: minor grammar mistakes, the use of the word ‘community’ in press releases, forgetting to pack the proper coat in her suitcase, failing to charge her iPad, and using staples,” the Buzzfeed report added—none of which is mentioned in The Star Tribune’s reporting.
Instead, another Saturday article from The Star Tribune chose to focus on the number of media requests Klobuchar received in 2018.
The Pioneer Press ran an article titled, “Who is Amy Klobuchar, what’s her story, and why is she so popular in Minnesota?” That story offered readers a guide on how to pronounce her name. It’s “Klo-bush-ar,” for those who care.
Her announcement is set to take place at 1:30 Sunday afternoon, just a day after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) officially entered the race.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Amy Klobuchar” by Lorie Shaull. CC BY-SA 2.0.
