Schiff Makes Big On-Air Admission About His Party’s Biggest 2024 Failure
California Senator Adam Schiff admitted on ABC News Sunday that the Democratic Party’s failure to remain “laser focused” on the rising cost of living contributed to their loss in the 2024 election. He also criticized former President Donald Trump’s economic strategies.
Under President Joe Biden, inflation surged to 9 percent in June 2022, a sharp contrast to the 1.4 percent rate when he took office. Despite the financial strain on Americans, Biden and his party largely downplayed the issue, repeatedly highlighting economic achievements even as citizens struggled with skyrocketing expenses.
During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” co-host Jonathan Karl questioned Schiff about an incident where a Democratic lawmaker was removed from the House Chamber on Tuesday for attempting to disrupt Trump’s speech. Referencing a post by Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman, who argued that such disruptions only harmed the party, Karl asked Schiff if Fetterman had “a point.”
“Well, I think the lack of a coordinated response to the State of the Union was a mistake,” Schiff acknowledged. “Frankly, it took the focus off of where it should have been, which is on the fact that the president spoke for an hour and 40 minutes and had nothing to say about what he would do to bring down costs.”
Schiff further argued that Trump’s speech failed to provide solutions to help Americans “afford a new home, pay the rent or afford health care or child care.” He emphasized that Democrats should maintain their “focus” on economic issues—despite not prioritizing this in their campaign strategies ahead of the election.
“They’re destroying the economy, and they’re making it harder and harder for Americans to afford things. That’s where we need to keep the focus,” Schiff said of Trump and the Republican Party, though he did not provide specific evidence. “That’s why we lost the last election, because we weren’t laser-focused on the high cost of living, and what they’re doing now is just making it so much worse in the administration, and that’s really what we need to emphasize.”
Karl did not press Schiff for further details regarding his claims that Trump and the Republicans were worsening economic conditions.
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Throughout Biden’s presidency, Republicans frequently warned about economic instability, but the White House assured the public that financial conditions were improving. However, slower-than-expected job growth, persistent inflation, and record immigration numbers contributed to economic uncertainty.
While some Democrats have admitted that their policies may have played a role in their election loss, others, such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, contended that voters simply did not “realize how much” the party had accomplished for them.
Regarding Trump’s economic policies, early indicators suggest improvement. On Tuesday, the Labor Department reported that inflation eased to 2.8 percent in February, compared to the 3 percent rate in January, Biden’s last month in office. This positive development led to gains on Wall Street before the market opened, according to reports.
Additionally, while egg prices remain higher than the previous year, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that average costs have dropped by roughly $2 per dozen.
“A good piece of news we just got in the last day or two is that the average cost of eggs has now gone down $1.85 since we announced our plan about a week-and-a-half ago,” she stated, referencing a $1 billion initiative designed to boost egg supplies and bring down costs.
Furthermore, interest rates have continued to decline following Trump’s inauguration in January. CNBC reported on Wednesday that home mortgage rates fell for the sixth consecutive week, reaching their lowest levels since October of the previous year. The outlet noted that average rates decreased from 6.73% to 6.67% last week.