'Furious' Democratic senator unleashes on his own party for its failures
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., revealed on Sunday he is "furious" at the Democratic Party for losing to President Donald Trump twice and believes his party's brand is tarnished nationally.
"I don't think nationally, the Democratic brand helps very much anywhere. If it did, we wouldn't have lost to Donald Trump twice. I know a lot of supporters of mine and friends of mine are furious at Donald Trump. I am… Furious at people they think aren't standing up enough to Donald Trump. I am. But I'm also furious that the Democratic Party that has lost twice to Trump," Bennet told CNN host Jake Tapper.
Tapper asked Bennet if the Democratic Party's "record low popularity" would hurt his aspirations to become governor of Colorado. An April Fox News poll showed that the Democratic Party is underwater with voters, with a net negative 10% favorability rating. A Pew Research poll found that 60% of respondents had an unfavorable view of the Democrats, and a Wall Street Journal poll had the same result.
Bennet claimed Trump was sent to D.C. by voters twice to "blow the place up," because they are sick of the "self-interested" partisanship in Congress. The Colorado senator went on to blast his party for failing to provide Americans with real solutions for the economy, and declining student outcomes in education.
"I think they're sick of a Democratic Party who hasn't been able to show how we're going to address an economy where the middle class continues to shrink and where, over the last 20 years, we've actually lost ground in terms of, you know, the achievement of our kids in school. We need to address those things," he said.
Students' math and reading test scores have still not recovered to their pre-COVID levels according to a Sept. 2024 study by the Center on Reinventing Public Education.
Bennett proceeded to trash Trump, who he claimed would not be hired for any job in his state, but maintained that the Democratic Party must offer an alternative for the country.
"I think it's very important for us to stand up against the insanity that Trump represents and the chaos that he represents, and show that there's something better. But, we should understand that there were a lot of people that voted for him for a reason, and that's because they wanted to blow up Washington, D.C. They're not surprised by his corruption, that's sort of a ratification of who he is. And we need to show people something different," he said.
Bennet launched a gubernatorial campaign in April, looking to succeed term-limited Gov. Jared Polis, in the 2026 midterm elections.
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