Former Harris Communications Director Jamal Simmons says Democrats need to “stop underestimating” President-elect Donald Trump and instead get on the “right side” of how voters view institutions they don’t believe in.
Since Trump‘s win Tuesday evening in both the Electoral College and popular vote, Democrats have questioned where Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign went wrong with voters. On CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront,” Burnett pointed out to Simmons how Trump seems to have a clear plan, as he has continuously released names for his upcoming administration. Burnett then asked the former Harris aide what Democrats should prepare for under the new administration.
“One thing Democrats have to do is stop underestimating Donald Trump, right? This has gotten Democrats in trouble two times and almost a third time against Joe Biden because he didn’t beat him by that much when it came to the Electoral College, right?” Simmons said. “So Democrats have to stop underestimating Donald Trump and start paying attention to the fact that there are a lot of Americans in this country, clearly a majority of Americans, who still feel like they’re on the outside.”
“The one thing Trump did well, it was kind of dastardly from a Democratic perspective, but he did it well. He identified, he put himself on the side of the people who were outside going against the institutions. Democrats have to not defend institutions that people don’t think are taking care of them,” Simmons said.
Simmons went on to highlight his worries for Trump’s second administration, questioning Trump’s unpredictability.
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“So it’s time for Democrats to figure out how they get on the right side of those institutions. And what I’m worried about with the administration is, in the Clinton administration, which is where I started when I was a kid, you know, we believed in soft power, the economic power that went first. The Obama administration sort of similarly, the Bush administration, it was hard power, right? The military was leading.”
“This is like [a] puzzle power, right? Nobody knows what these guys are up to, what Donald Trump might do. I think he tries to use that to his benefit, but it also could create error, right? So because we don’t know, it is a rife place, it’s ripe to have mistakes occur on the international scene, and that could be deadly. It could be deadly.”
On Monday evening, Trump announced he will tap Republican Florida Rep. Mike Waltz as White House national security advisor, according to The Wall Street Journal. The reveal of Waltz joining Trump’s new administration comes shortly after the former president disclosed former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan will serve as the new “border czar.” Former Republican New York Rep. Lee Zeldin will join as the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/CNN/”Erin Burnett OutFront”)
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