(Headline USA) Sen.-elect Adam Schiff, D-Calif., admitted on Sunday’s Meet the Press that the “entire Democratic Party,” including himself, was to blame for Vice President Kamala Harris’s sweeping loss this month.
The Democrat made the comment during an interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker, who pressed Schiff on his prediction a month prior to Election Day that Harris would win “overwhelmingly.”
Schiff responded by insisting Harris’s chance at victory was never a “guarantee.”
“I thought she could win,” he said. “I thought she could win in all the battleground states.”
Ultimately, Democrats were rocked by an “anti-incumbent wave,” Schiff claimed, especially with regard to the economy.
“That was too much to overcome,” he said.
“I think the principal issue is the economy, and over years and decades it has gotten more and more difficult for people working full-time to make a living,” he continued. “And until we resolve that challenge to the economy, we may find the presidency is easier to get than it is to keep.”
Pressed on whether Schiff agreed with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other Democratic leaders that President Joe Biden bores much of the blame for Democrats’ losses because of his decision to run for reelection, Schiff tried to dodge the question.
“Look, I think the entire Democratic Party bears the responsibility, myself included,” Schiff said.
“And the former president,” he added. “They [Republicans] mounted an effective campaign. You have to give them credit for that.”
It is unlikely Schiff will take his own advice to heart and encourage his home state of California to reconnect with working class Americans. In fact, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other top Democratic state leaders are already planning to make California the center of the resistance to President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration.
Schiff’s own comments this week suggested that he agreed with Newsom’s approach.
“Anytime you have someone—particularly someone who is going to become president of the United States—fawning over dictators, emulating their language, attacking the press, undermining our institutions, yeah, we should be concerned about it,” Schiff said, “because at the end of the day, it means that the American people will suffer.”
