Democrats are still pointing fingers after shocking election results

WASHINGTON—The outcome of the 2024 presidential election has left many Democrats feeling devastated and disheartened. While some voters are still coming to terms with the result, a blame game has emerged within the Democratic Party leadership.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the former House speaker, finally spoke out about the election results in an interview with The New York Times published on Nov. 8.

“We have to live with the consequences. And because the president immediately endorsed Kamala Harris, it made it nearly impossible to have a primary at that time. If it had happened much earlier, things would have been different,” Pelosi explained.

Addressing the nation from the Rose Garden at the White House on Nov. 7, Biden assured a peaceful transition of power to President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration and urged Americans to accept the results.

Later that day, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre faced questions from reporters about whether Biden felt any responsibility for the outcome.

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Jean-Pierre pushed back against criticism directed at Biden.

She highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic brought “global headwinds” that had a “political toll” on many sitting presidents worldwide in 2024.

Regarding the president’s decision to step down from the race, Jean-Pierre mentioned, “he immediately endorsed her, and the party rallied behind her.”

“And it’s because she was the right person for the job.”

Democratic strategist Theryn Bond argued that the Democrats struggled due to poor coordination, “antiquated” messaging, and a lack of clarity on their policies and platform.

“I don’t believe that President Joe Biden can be faulted for the defeat,” Bond shared with The Epoch Times.

She noted that Biden stepping down sooner would have helped, but only if the campaign infrastructure had already been established, with a compelling message and a candidate capable of winning the support of the American public.

Many in the nation’s capital were dismayed by the election outcome, where Vice President Kamala Harris received over 92 percent of the vote.

Following her loss, supporters gathered at the vice president’s residence, the Naval Observatory, leaving flowers and Post-it notes of encouragement outside her home.

“Thank you for your joy,” read one note.

“Our hero,” said another.

‘They Are Too Liberal’

In the early hours of Nov. 6, Trump was declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election.

Later that day, Harris delivered an emotional concession speech at Howard University.

“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” she stated, urging her supporters to continue fighting for freedom and democracy.

Rockii Wright, a junior student at Howard University who attended Harris’s speech on campus, expressed disappointment with the election result.

She mentioned that some individuals at her school were experiencing a sense of loss, as if they had lost a loved one.

“That’s how much it meant to them, because this was essentially their only option, their only real hope,” she explained.

There was a belief that real change was possible, Wright noted. After coming close and then losing, she remarked, “It was just like, dang.”

Bill Godsey, a staff member at the medical school on campus, expressed frustration with the election outcome.

“America has shown us who they are,” he remarked after watching Harris’s speech.

“We are not a united state, we are an angry state, and we are a divided state, and that’s where we are right now,” he declared. “We have to acknowledge that in order to make it better.”

A voter originally from Ethiopia, who recently became a U.S. citizen, was seated at a Starbucks near Howard University, sipping his coffee. The individual, who preferred to remain anonymous, mentioned that he voted for Biden in 2020 but chose not to vote for any candidate this time.

“I don’t have anything against Harris personally, but I didn’t want to vote for the Democratic Party,” he told The Epoch Times.

He continued, “They are too liberal. And I feel like they are going too far.”

The Blame Game

Trump clinched a decisive victory in the November election, becoming the first Republican in two decades to win the popular vote. Republicans have secured control of the Senate and are poised to take over the House as well.

The defeat for the Democrats has laid bare deep divisions within the left, with prominent progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) criticizing the party’s trajectory.

“First, it was the white working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well.”

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) pointed out that it’s inappropriate for Democrats to brand American voters as “sexist and racist.”

Republican strategist Brian Seitchik concurred, noting that Democrats are currently in “the blame game phase” rather than reflecting on their shortcomings.

“Once they move past this phase, I expect they will critically assess how they fell short,” he shared with The Epoch Times.

According to Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), Democrats “should be taking positions that resonate with the majority of Americans” instead of pursuing far-left policies like ‘defund the Police.’”

“The far left has a large platform, and therefore, has a significant impact in shaping the perception of the Democratic Party.”