In the presidential election, not only did President-elect Donald Trump prevail over Vice President Kamala Harris, but he also triumphed over former President Barack Obama.
Throughout the entirety of Harris’s campaign, Obama was a staunch supporter of Harris, and he warned voters that the election of 2024 will be a struggle between character and beliefs rather than ideas.
The choice of the people is clear, however, given that Trump won the Electoral College with a resounding 312 to 226 margin. This victory was made possible in part by the fact that Trump became the first Republican to win the popular vote by nearly three million votes since former President George W. Bush in 2004.
The legacy of Barack Obama, the de facto head of the Democratic Party, has been severely harmed as a result of this decision, and the party will remain essentially impotent in Washington, District of Columbia, until at least the year 2026.
After Trump’s triumph eight years earlier, which drastically transformed the Republican Party, the Democrats have been compelled to reconstruct themselves as a result of the political destruction that Trump caused in 2024. According to a report by the Washington Examiner, a significant number of members are requesting that the party seek out new leadership rather than continuing to rely on its former leaders.
As Democratic governors, several of whom are expected to run for president in 2028, form a coalition called Governors Safeguarding Democracy to better protest Trump, former Obama Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is pleading with the Democratic Party to “do better than reach back to its glory days to find victory.” Johnson is making this request as the coalition brings together Democratic governors.
According to Johnson, who was quoted in the Washington Examiner, “It is no longer the party of Obama.” Neither the Roosevelt party nor the Kennedy party is the party that exists today. Without a doubt, the Republican Party is no longer the party that Ronald Reagan formerly led. An effective political party is one that is able to look forward rather than backward.
In addition, Tom Cochran, a former member of the Obama administration’s State Department and a Democratic strategist who is currently the managing director of the public relations and public affairs firm 720 Strategies, said that it is “difficult” for the party to “inspire people” with “voices from yesterday when we’re trying to solve problems from tomorrow.”
“This problem is magnified when polling numbers reflect dissatisfaction with the status quo and a hunger for significant change,” Cochran said in an interview with the Washington Examiner. A clear knowledge of what the collective frustrations are in the United States of America requires the Democrats to display a desire to listen, as well as to demonstrate that they are open to new ideas and opinions.
According to what Pietrusza said to the Washington Examiner, “I think it’s possible that Obama no longer possesses the power and influence he once did.” It’s just that time passes by after a certain point. And despite the fact that you might have been historic at one point in time, you will eventually become irrelevant to the news.
As an illustration of Obama’s diminishing power, consider the time when he insulted black male voters while he was campaigning for Kamala Harris.
Last month, President Obama made the following statement: “My understanding, based on reports I’m getting from campaigns and communities, is that we have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running.” When I say this, I am addressing guys directly: a portion of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the concept of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other choices and other justifications for that.
Garry South, a strategist for the Democratic Party, made the argument that Barack Obama “is one of the most compelling voices we have in the party.” He made this comparison by contrasting Obama’s support for Harris with George W. Bush’s decision to not support Donald Trump.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner, South stated, “No one can blame him for Harris’ loss; that is totally on her.” “He went above and beyond the call of duty in campaigning for her, but voters do not base their vote on surrogates in a presidential campaign,” the author writes.
However, a Democrat in the Senate stated to the Washington Examiner that the party will “once again” find new standard-bearers moving forward as Democrats reflect on the year 2024 and Harris regains her political footing following the election. This is similar to what Clinton, former Secretary of State John Kerry, former Vice President Al Gore, and other nominees did before her.
Former Secretary Johnson and strategist Hahn are two examples of Democrats who have pointed the finger at the party’s decline in support from blue-collar workers. These individuals, for example, are opposed to social programs that address concerns related to transgender people as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion.
According to Johnson, a current partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Democratic politicians are “letting slip away the so-called working class, of all colors.” Johnson made this statement from his position as a partner at the firm.
“When it comes to politics, it’s more about culture,” he remarked. Coastal elites, chardonnay, and political correctness are the things that people think of when they think of our party. Over the course of some time, I have entertained the idea that perhaps we ought to transform into the party of John Fetterman. Choose the hoodie and the crocs instead.
At the same time, Hahn was certain that Democrats are not dependent on Obama, arguing that the notion that they are is “more of a conservative meme than a real thing.”
“It is abundantly clear that Democrats need to figure out how to reach voters from the working class,” he stated. The primary election for the party will be a strong one in 2028.
