Look, I think really the economy is what resonated with people. And that\u2019s what I heard in Arizona a lot. People were worried about the cost of everything. And I think some of the frustration was that we were spending money, but not necessarily helping people. And that\u2019s also \u2014 \u201d Gallego began before host Jake Tapper cut him off.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpending money like in Ukraine, you mean?\u201d Tapper asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, exactly. And part of my frustration was, we would love nothing more to help you out, but also, we don\u2019t have the votes from Republicans. But even getting to that discussion starts going down a long conversation. The biggest lesson we have to learn here is, when people are hurting economically, they\u2019re going to take care of themselves first. And that\u2019s what we have seen for the last \u2014 change elections for the last 20 years. And I think it\u2019s important for Democrats to remember that from now on. You have to take care of people at the bottom line. You have to give them some level of economic security, especially Latino men. Latino men believe they can work themselves out of any problem. Like, I remember growing up, when I didn\u2019t have enough money to travel back home for Christmas, I just went and worked extra hours,\u201d Gallego said.<\/p>\n
Tapper jumped in and asked, \u201cWhen you were a Marine?\u201d<\/p>\n
When I was at school. And so I would \u2014 I literally went to a convention center and threw on a costume and handed out leaflets, right? That\u2019s the mentality of Latino men,\u201d Gallego said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis election \u2014 I\u2019m sorry \u2014 this time is the first time I\u2019d ever heard many of them say, \u2018I just don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m doing anything to provide for my family. I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m bringing them security.\u2019 Until we actually focus on that and understand that, we\u2019re going to have problems really bringing them back into the Democratic fold,\u201d Gallego said.<\/p>\n
In the interview, Gallego continued by blaming Harris\u2019s poor performance with Latino voters, namely, on the party\u2019s reliance on \u201cpeople from the same backgrounds\u201d\u2014Ivy Leaguers\u2014including the hiring of consultants to create messages targeted at the Latino population.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a lot of politicians didn\u2019t want to hear what was actually happening out there,\u201d Gallego said. He pointed out that his campaign pushed early on border security and economic issues.<\/p>\n
Following their devastating failure on election night, Democrats are still in chaos.<\/p>\n
The party lost the Senate, failed to recapture the House, and saw the Harris campaign lose seven battleground states to President-elect Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Polls that showed the race was closer and even leaning toward the vice president compounded the blow to party insiders.<\/p>\n
Biden and Harris supporters have been trading blame for the loss in the days since. Many supporters of Harris (and some who have no stake in the outcome) have accused the president of continuing to run after it became clear to many that he would lose to Trump.<\/p>\n
Obama White House official Jon Favreau, host of Pod Save America, stated on his show that after his dismal debate performance in June, Biden\u2019s campaign internal polling showed that Trump would have won with 400 electoral votes if Biden had stayed in the race.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Harris\u2019 team has come under fire from Biden supporters for the startling amount of money the campaign spent over its more than 100 days in office.<\/p>\n
Despite raising $1 billion, the campaign is still limping after the election with millions of dollars in debt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Look, I think really the economy is what resonated with people. And that\u2019s what I heard in Arizona a lot. People were worried about the cost of everything. And I think some of the frustration was that we were spending money, but not necessarily helping people. And that\u2019s also \u2014 \u201d Gallego began before host…<\/p>\n