Late Tuesday on CNN, former Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang, now a CNN contributor, warned that his old opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden could not defeat Trump with just a pledge to return to the years of former President Barack Obama alone.
According to Yang, it needed to start with an understanding of what problems facing the country led to Trump’s presidency.
“Donald Trump needs to be defeated,” he explained. “Forty-two percent of my supporters said they would not support the Democratic nominee in the general, in large part because when I ran, I ran for the problems that predated Trump. Like, Donald Trump would never be our president today if things were going well for a lot of people around the country. Bernie Sanders would not have almost been the nominee last time if things were going well for people around the country. So even as Joe Biden saying, ‘Hey, we need to defeat Donald Trump,’ he also has to say, ‘Look, things have not been working for millions of Americans, and after we defeat Donald Trump,’ we need to get deep into these problems, get our hands dirty and solve them. This can’t be a, ‘Hey, I’m better than Trump’ race. It has to be, ‘Hey. I understand how Trump became our president.’”
Khanna touts new draft committee for likely 2028 presidential bid: ‘I’m honored’
Watch: El-Sayed Supporters Celebrate Win with a Chant That Reveals Their True Priorities
Republican AGs stand ready as ‘last line of defense’ against leftist policies after dismal midterms for party
Watch: CNN Anchor Slips Up and Makes a Telling Admission While Gleefully Reporting Midterm Results
Ted Cruz delivers scathing assessment after far-left Dems sweep midterms and more top headlines
White House official details what gets Trump’s attention in intelligence briefings
Democrats already recruiting oversight staff as left-leaning law firms gear up for Trump investigations
17 years after Fort Hood massacre, victims’ families grapple with gunman’s looming execution
Where Democrats could use their landslide victories to redistrict
Republicans turn on Trump after devastating midterm losses hand Democrats control of Congress
WATCH: Bodycam captures chaotic response to deadly Citibank shooting in Florida
Three executions scheduled across US on same day for second time this year
Ted Cruz says ‘blue tsunami’ took over Texas after Democrats swept statewide races
Republicans, Take Note: Ballot Measure Success in Face of Blue Wave Shows Voters Still Want Conservative Policies
JD Vance Says ‘Everyone Knows Why We Lost’ in Fiery Post-Election Message
Yang told a CNN panel people were left behind in the Obama-Biden years, and they were not happy about it. He called on Biden to recognize that situation and address it, which he said would better his chances in the 2020 general election.
“I think he’s been talking about restoring a culture, tone and a soul of the country,” Yang added. “I was talking about putting more money in Americans’ hands because I saw we decimated entire ways of life in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin. And because I was talking in those terms about the real problems these people have experienced, again, 42% of my supporters were not going to support the Democratic nominee. I’m hoping that we can get some of those people to support Joe. But it would be helpful if Joe acknowledged it because one of the weaknesses of saying, ‘Hey, return to Obama years’ is that there are many Americans who were getting behind in those years, too, and they’re pissed off. And so, if you say, I’m going to revert, that loses to that group of people. There are so many Americans who just don’t think their institutions are working for him at all, and Joe Biden’s’s weakness is he represents those institutions. I’m endorsing Joe. We need Joe to beat Trump. But we’ll have a much better chance of that if Joe recognizes that our institutions have been failing many Americans for a long time.”
