Schiff Whines About Dems Failures, ‘Lack Of Coordinated Response’ To Trump
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) voiced his disappointment with the Democratic Party’s lack of a "coordinated response" to President Donald Trump during a discussion with ABC’s Jonathan Karl on Sunday.
“I think the lack of a coordinated response in the State of the Union was a mistake, and frankly, it took the focus off of where it should have been," Schiff stated. He emphasized that the real issue should have been "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 for American families that were watching that lengthy address, sitting at the kitchen table hoping he would offer something to help them afford a new home or pay their rent, afford health care, or afford child care.”
Schiff also responded to Sen. John Fetterman’s harsh critique of the Democratic reaction, where Fetterman described it as “a sad cavalcade of self-owns and unhinged petulance.”
“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, 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,” Schiff asserted. However, recent economic data contradicts his claim.
When Karl asked Schiff how the Democratic Party should address Trump’s presidency, he referenced Democratic strategist James Carville, who has suggested that the party should "play dead" and consider a political retreat.
Schiff rejected that notion, arguing that his party required its "own broad, bold agenda to improve the economic well-being of Americans." However, he did not clarify why Democrats under Biden had not pursued stronger economic policies to achieve that goal.
“We need to be advancing policies and making the arguments about what we have to offer, not simply standing back and letting them collapse under their own corrupt weight. To me, that’s not enough. We need to effectively use litigation as we are. We need to effectively use communication to talk to new people in new ways, as we are,” Schiff added.
Other progressive members of Congress also dismissed Carville’s suggestion. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., argued, “In fact, the problem is the Democrats have been playing dead for too many years.”
Fetterman took to social media to express his disapproval of the responses to Trump’s address before Congress last week.
“A sad cavalcade of self-owns and unhinged petulance. It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained. We’re becoming the metaphorical car alarms that nobody pays attention to—and it may not be the winning message,” the senator posted on X.
During Trump’s speech, several Democratic lawmakers displayed signs with messages such as “FALSE,” “SAVE MEDICAID,” “PROTECT VETERANS,” and “MUSK STEALS.” Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) interrupted the speech by shouting that Trump lacked a "mandate" from voters, leading House Speaker Mike Johnson to have him removed from the chamber.
Some Democrats opted not to attend the speech, while others walked out as Trump spoke.
“The Democrats should lose the Midterms based on their behavior at last night’s Joint Address to Congress,” Trump asserted in a Truth Social post on Wednesday.
Trump further argued that “Republicans should utilize the footage provided on the total disrespect they showed to all of those that were honored that night, including young ladies who were killed by illegal migrants, people with terminal cancer, etc. They didn’t even have the common courtesy to stand, smile, or applaud. This could be, on analyzing the full tape of this Historic Event, your full CAMPAIGN TO VICTORY! In other words, Republicans can take what happened last night, and win any Race in the Country.”