Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz admitted Sunday on CNN that when his party held power, they failed to pass legislation that could “improve” voters’ lives.
Democrats have struggled to understand how their party lost to President Donald Trump in November, with some blaming poor messaging and party voters pointing to progressive policies. On “State of the Union,” host Jake Tapper asked Walz what he believes the party’s issue with voters is, questioning whether Americans were simply rejecting “what you were selling, particularly on immigration.”
“No, on immigration, what we were asking for is a bipartisan policy that strengthens immigration control, that recognizes that we need a workforce here, that they should be allowed here legally and that when they get here, they’re part of the American fabric,” Walz said. “That is the bipartisan bill we had.”
“Donald Trump snatching up college grad students and sending them back or sending folks to El Salvador illegally, that’s not the policy. But for us to them to say we don’t care that violent criminals come in, we most certainly do, what we were asking for is the resources to make sure they don’t get here,” Walz added.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, encounters at the U.S. southern border reached record highs, with an estimated 8.5 million migrant encounters recorded over four fiscal years. While both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris attempted to downplay the severity of the border crisis during their campaigns, voters have consistently ranked the issue among their top concerns when deciding who to vote for.
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As Trump follows through on his campaign vow to shut down the southern border and conduct mass deportations of illegal migrants, a March Fox News poll found that 63% of Americans support deporting illegal immigrants.
Walz went on to state that his party’s issue was allowing the GOP to define their policies on topics like providing food for children, illegal immigration and income gaps between races.
“Those are policies that have strengthened America. I think what we allowed ourselves to do is we got timid. Then when we got power, we didn’t pass things that improved people’s lives,” Walz said. “This whole idea, I think the Democratic Party gets theoretical, you know, talk about food insecurity. People are hungry, get them food. People don’t have a house, make sure they have a living wage.”
“That’s the point that I’m saying is Fox News will glorify, ‘Oh, he’s for DEI.’ Not your definition of DEI. My definition is rule of law that’s fair, that everybody gets an opportunity. That’s the point I think we have to make,” Walz continued.
Since his failed campaign with Harris, Walz has reemerged in the media spotlight, launching a town hall tour in March across red districts throughout the country. However, despite his attempt to boost the party ahead of the midterm elections, Democrats have reached an all-time low favorability rating among voters, according to a recent CNN/SSRS poll.
“Now, look, I’ll be the first tell you, Jake, I’m out here doing what I can do. I don’t know if I’m the best spokesperson to do it after just losing an election. But what I know is the public, and you saw it across the country this weekend, they’re rising up and asking their leadership to do something,” Walz said.
In a poll released March 16, CNN/SSRS found the Democratic Party’s favorability has dropped to just 29% among voters—a 20-point decline since January 2021. While most of the criticism came from within, only 63% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents now approve of the party, down nine points since January and 18 points since the start of the Biden-Harris administration.
The poll also found that 52% of Democratic-aligned adults believe the party’s current leadership is taking it in the wrong direction, while over 30% of respondents couldn’t name a Democrat they felt “best reflects the core values” of the party.
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