Charlamagne tha God, a popular radio talk show host, said there is no need to think too much about why Democrats lost the 2024 election.
"It's dinner table issues. It's literally that simple," Charlamagne said on "This Week." "Every day people wake up and all they want to do is have more money in their pocket and to feel safe. I don't care if you're Black, white, gay, straight, whatever religion you are. Those are the two things that you're thinking about every day."
Charlamagne, who interviewed Vice President Kamala Harris twice in the weeks before the election, said Democrats did a poor job on messaging, particularly on their plan to secure the border, which President-elect Donald Trump made a central focus of his campaign.
Minorities were concerned about the increase of gangs due to immigration, Charlamagne said.
"This was the first time in my life that I heard people in my community, Black people, brown people, having those conversations," Charlamagne said. "So that was going to be an issue. They felt like things were safer.
"They felt like the border was safer under Trump. Trump is saying, 'Build the wall.' When they were telling you that it was a problem, y'all were saying, No. It's not a problem."
Democrats also faced a backlash from voters of color due to identity politics, while Trump was able to speak to the grievances of the working class, Charlamagne said.
"Most people, they just care about keeping food on their table and keeping a roof over their head," Charlamagne said. "I think sometimes people forget about that. They forget about the working class."
Charlamagne was critical of President Joe Biden before he dropped out of the race, calling him an ineffective messenger.
"A lot of people make jokes about 'The Weekend at Bernie's' thing and say, 'I would vote for Biden if he was a corpse.' " Charlamagne said. "He damn near was."
Even though he endorsed Harris, Charlamagne said he was not surprised Trump won, but that Harris deserves credit for revitalizing a dead campaign.
"I think that the vice president made a lot of people sit up on the couch and pay attention, and at least be curious," Charlamagne said. "With Biden, everybody was just knocked out, asleep, gone."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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