On Thursday night, while her friend Kamala Harris was accepting the Democratic nomination for president in Chicago, Dana Walden was on the Paramount lot in Hollywood for the season premiere of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building. Had Harris’s historic ascension happened in any previous cycle, the Disney Entertainment co-chair would very likely have been at the United Center with her husband Matt and other Hollywood bigwigs—Jeff Shell, Donna Langley, Bela Bajaria, Bryan Lourd—who were on hand to witness the speech and take part in the festivities (“an amazing experience,” per one such bigwig). Harris has described Dana and Matt as “extraordinary friends,” partially responsible for her marriage to Doug Emhoff, and the Waldens have donated to her campaigns for decades.

Alas, some strategic considerations probably prevented Walden from making the trip. ABC News, which she oversees, is hosting a presidential debate next month, and Walden’s ties to Harris have already come under heavy-handed scrutiny from Donald Trump and The New York Times. As notably, Walden is seen by most Disney and industry insiders as the leading candidate to take over the entertainment giant when Bob Iger steps down in 2026. Obviously, the optics would have hurt both the company and its news division, as well as her own ambitions—a brand withdrawal for all involved, in Igerian parlance.