Democratic Washington Rep. Adam Smith delivered a stark critique of his own party’s standing on key issues Tuesday.
CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten explained Monday how dramatically Americans have shifted toward trusting Republicans over Democrats on immigration since President Donald Trump’s first term. Smith, on “CUOMO,” said Democrats need to rebuild “credibility” through honesty about their failures on immigration and other issues rather than solely attacking Trump.
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“My party needs to reestablish our credibility on a number of issues. It’s not going to be enough, even if it is strategic and tactical and smart to criticize what Donald Trump does. I mean, we have to do that and we have to do it intelligently,” Smith said. “It’s just not going to be enough because we don’t have the credibility that we need on issues like immigration, like DEI, dealing with racism and discrimination. Like the economy. I think we need to spend more time reestablishing our own credibility, not just bashing, on what Trump does.”
Smith argued that the key to countering Trump is to “govern well,” particularly emphasizing the need for more affordable housing, which he said Democratic policies have made more difficult to develop.
“We can’t build housing in part because of all the rules, all the regulations, all of the incompetence of Democratic governance. Fix that. Show people that we can build housing. Show people that we do believe in opportunity and personal responsibility,” he said. “You can believe in both and you will do a better job of delivering for people if you do.”
The Democratic representative suggested his party should oppose certain Trump administration immigration policies but also collaborate with Republicans to secure the border.
“We need more border security. We need a secure border and we need to admit on my side, the [former President] Joe Biden administration didn’t do that. At least not until last six to eight months. We failed and we failed because we followed the far left’s policies on don’t deport anybody, open up the borders for many more asylum seekers without being concerned about the volume,” Smith told host Chris Cuomo. “I think we need to be honest with the American people.”
“We screwed up and we are going to reestablish our credibility and have a sensible approach, but I think you would agree when you look at the initial steps that the Trump administration has taken, I mean you can be a reasonable Democrat like me and still be deeply troubled by the approach that the Trump Administration is taking on immigration,” he continued.
Cuomo responded that he does not believe Democrats possess “the high ground to criticize” Trump’s efforts to tackle illegal immigration after the Biden administration’s handling of the crisis.
Even Biden’s former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director P.J. Lechleitner on Monday praised the Trump administration’s approach to illegal immigration during an MSNBC appearance, citing its “support” of his former agency and the interagency collaboration the administration has established.
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