Latest news with #ex-DNC
New York Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Rep. Sarah McBride rips Democrats for not knowing how to combat anti-trans attacks: ‘Can't ignore these issues'
Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., criticized the Democratic Party's silence on Republican-led attacks on trans issues, arguing on Tuesday that the party needs to learn how to engage on the issue. 'I do think it was a problem that our party didn't explicitly respond to the anti-trans attacks. We can't ignore these issues. We can't just not respond and leave the narrative entirely to the Republicans,' McBride said when pressed by ex-DNC chair Jaime Harrison on his podcast. Discussing how Democrats should respond to Republicans on trans issues, the lawmaker specifically noted President Donald Trump's ad during the 2024 campaign that depicted former Vice President Kamala Harris as being for 'they/them' and the president as being 'for you.' McBride, a transgender lawmaker, said the party broadly should be focused on a 'diverse working class,' and should reject the idea of 'absolute purity politics.' 'I will say one of the reasons why, the sense that I have gotten from some Democrats as I talked to them, that you often see silence from Democrats in response to these attacks is because, to your point, they don't know how to respond, not because they don't know what they believe or how they feel, but because they feel like there is no way to respond in a way that doesn't result in everyone yelling at them,' McBride said during Harrison's podcast, 'At Our Table.' McBride said Democrats didn't need perfect terminology or to embrace the 'maximalist position' on trans issues, but suggested acknowledging concerns about transgender people participating in sports. Rep. Sarah McBride criticized the Democratic Party for staying silent on constant attacks from Republicans on trans issues. At Our Table with Jaime Harrison 'You can grapple with concerns around, for instance, trans people participating in sports, acknowledge that there are very real questions out there. But who is best able to answer those questions about how to balance respect and fairness in women's sports? It's not 435 members of Congress who know nothing about women's sports and even less about trans people. It's the individual athletic associations that understand their sports the best,' McBride said. The Democratic lawmaker said Republicans were trying to misdirect when they talk about trans people, accusing Trump of wanting to 'line the pockets' of corporations and wealthy people. 'And I think we have to be crystal clear about that while also pushing back against these attacks in ways that doesn't dismiss everyone with a question or a concern as a closed-minded bigot,' McBride said. On Jaime Harrison's podcast, McBride said, 'We can't ignore these issues,' and that the Democratic Party has to fight back against anti-trans attacks. Getty Images McBride said in June that the party might have overplayed its hand regarding trans issues. 'I think that's an accurate reflection of the overplaying of the hand in some ways — that we as a coalition went to Trans 201, Trans 301, when people were still at a very much Trans 101 stage,' McBride told The New York Times' Ezra Klein in an interview. The Delaware lawmaker said many of the cultural norms surrounding transgender people were likely premature for a lot of Americans. 'We became absolutist — not just on trans rights but across the progressive movement — and we forgot that in a democracy we have to grapple with where the public authentically is and actually engage with it. Part of this is fostered by social media,' McBride said.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Transgender lawmaker says Democratic Party doesn't know how to respond to anti-trans attacks
Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., criticized the Democratic Party's silence on Republican-led attacks on trans issues, arguing on Tuesday that the party needs to learn how to engage on the issue. "I do think it was a problem that our party didn't explicitly respond to the anti-trans attacks. We can't ignore these issues. We can't just not respond and leave the narrative entirely to the Republicans," McBride said when pressed by ex-DNC chair Jaime Harrison on his podcast. Discussing how Democrats should respond to Republicans on trans issues, the lawmaker specifically noted President Donald Trump's ad during the 2024 campaign that depicted former Vice President Kamala Harris as being for "they/them" and the president as being "for you." McBride, a transgender lawmaker, said the party broadly should be focused on a "diverse working class," and should reject the idea of "absolute purity politics." "I will say one of the reasons why, the sense that I have gotten from some Democrats as I talked to them, that you often see silence from Democrats in response to these attacks is because, to your point, they don't know how to respond, not because they don't know what they believe or how they feel, but because they feel like there is no way to respond in a way that doesn't result in everyone yelling at them," McBride said during Harrison's podcast, "At Our Table." McBride said Democrats didn't need perfect terminology or to embrace the "maximalist position" on trans issues, but suggested acknowledging concerns about transgender people participating in sports. "You can grapple with concerns around, for instance, trans people participating in sports, acknowledge that there are very real questions out there. But who is best able to answer those questions about how to balance respect and fairness in women's sports? It's not 435 members of Congress who know nothing about women's sports and even less about trans people. It's the individual athletic associations that understand their sports the best," McBride said. The Democratic lawmaker said Republicans were trying to misdirect when they talk about trans people, accusing Trump of wanting to "line the pockets" of corporations and wealthy people. "And I think we have to be crystal clear about that while also pushing back against these attacks in ways that doesn't dismiss everyone with a question or a concern as a closed-minded bigot," McBride said. McBride said in June that the party might have overplayed its hand regarding trans issues. "I think that's an accurate reflection of the overplaying of the hand in some ways — that we as a coalition went to Trans 201, Trans 301, when people were still at a very much Trans 101 stage," McBride told The New York Times' Ezra Klein in an interview. The Delaware lawmaker said many of the cultural norms surrounding transgender people were likely premature for a lot of Americans. "We became absolutist — not just on trans rights but across the progressive movement — and we forgot that in a democracy we have to grapple with where the public authentically is and actually engage with it. Part of this is fostered by social media," McBride said.
CNBC
21-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Republican Party has nearly five times more cash on hand than the Democrats
The Republican National Committee has almost five times the cash on hand as its Democratic counterpart, as Democrats seek to regain their footing following a disappointing 2024 cycle. The RNC reported having $72 million on hand at the end of May, compared to just $15 million for the DNC, according to campaign filings out Friday. While the RNC has for months held a cash advantage over the Democratic National Committee, the $57 million gap is the widest disparity between the two parties since at least July 2020, according to California Target Book's Rob Pyers. It's still early, but the GOP's cash edge could give the party an early boost as it looks to build out campaign infrastructure ahead of next year's midterms. "The single most important thing the DNC can and should be doing right now is raising money," Democratic strategist Adrienne Elrod told CNBC. The filings come as the DNC has faced internal tension since President Donald Trump's return to the White House. Earlier this month, leaders of two large labor unions each declined their nominations to continue serving on the committee, dealing a blow to Chair Ken Martin. Martin has also overseen internal divisions over ex-DNC Vice Chair David Hogg's bid to challenge sitting Democratic incumbents. Hogg stepped down from his role earlier this month amid backlash. Some Democrats say that the fundraising gap underscores deeper concerns within the party. "The base of the party and donors alike do not have confidence in the direction of the party," said Cooper Teboe, a Democratic strategist in Silicon Valley. Teboe said that the party has not presented "a positive, inspiring vision." The DNC, however, points to a surge in grassroots support. The party says it raised roughly $40 million in individual donations since Martin became chair in February, a record for that four-month period. The contributions go to a range of areas, according to the DNC, including "building up critical infrastructure from tech to organizing to in-state investments for critical, target races." "This is only the start, but it's a record-setting start that allows Democrats to meaningfully invest in every part of the country," Martin said in a statement. The DNC's war chest is roughly double what it held during the same period in 2017, suggesting there is time for them to catch up. "The goals Chair Martin has set out — investing in all 50 states and building the state of-the-art infrastructure necessary to win back the White House in 2028 — are ambitious and necessary, but they can only be achieved by raising money," Elrod said. Looking ahead, Teboe said that Democrats may be successful in next year's midterms "as a reaction to Trump's overreach but it will take a new generation of voices to get the party out of this mess." "Those voices will emerge in the 2028 primary and we will have the chance to rebuild a stronger Democratic Party outside of the influence of the old guard that seems incapable of understanding what motivates normal Americans," he said. The Republicans' money advantage comes after a 2024 election cycle during which Tesla founder Elon Musk poured nearly $300 million into helping elect Republicans. Musk's surge of donations to help elect Trump certainly took some pressure off the rest of the party's fundraising apparatus. It's unclear what the RNC might have decided to pay for last year's elections, were it not for Musk's millions. Musk last month said that he was going to do "a lot less" political spending in the future. It's also unclear how Trump will use the millions he has raised in a group of PACs since he won the November election. Should Trump choose to donate to Republican candidates and get out the vote efforts next year, the RNC could again find itself under less pressure to shell out cash than the DNC. But Trump's financial support has traditionally not been geared towards helping the party at large. Rather, Trump has contributed relatively small amounts to help elect his closest allies. He has also played a significant role in Republican primary races, endorsing MAGA candidates who, in some cases, have struggled to win the backing of moderate Republicans and independent voters.
