Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) deferred blame to the media, rather than Democrats’ messaging, for the Democratic Party‘s poor polling figures.
Democrats have faced poor polling figures since the 2024 election, when they decisively lost in several key races, and have yet to fall behind a clear party leader. The party has also received criticism over not having a clear message to counter President Donald Trump and Republicans. Clyburn pushed back on assertions that Democrats have not had a “cohesive message” on MSNBC’s The Last Word on Friday.
“Well, I think the message coming from the Democratic Party is a good message,” Clyburn said on MSNBC. “The problem we’ve got, I’ll say, is that we have to depend upon the media to deliver it.”
He took aim at media outlets for not presenting the party’s message the way they would like, but did praise MSNBC for their coverage, adding that they “do a great job with this.”
“If we have the Washington Post, for instance, caving to this wannabe dictator and we’ve got other media entities that seem to rather push a narrative that will bring eyes to their newspapers or to their television sets and not really give a fair hearing or reporting to what we’re doing,” Clyburn said.
CLYBURN BLAMES HARRIS CAMPAIGN FOR ‘TREMENDOUS’ CANDIDATE’S 2024 ELECTION LOSS
Several polls have indicated voters’ confidence in the Democratic Party has collapsed in recent years, as no clear leader has emerged to lead the party and there is uncertainty about leaders in the House and Senate.
A Gallup poll released on Thursday showed that only 25% have confidence in Democratic congressional leadership. Republican congressional leadership had a 39% confidence rating, which is largely in line with recent years. The low confidence rating for Democratic leadership is in steep contrast to 2021, when 49% had confidence in Democratic congressional leadership, and last year, when 38% had confidence in them.