Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., warned that the Republican Party is gaining support among core constituents who the Democratic Party has alienated by moving left.
Following Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, many Democrats and commentators have been perplexed by his victories across all ages, genders, and ethnicities, particularly among city dwellers, who are traditionally regarded as the party’s stronghold.
MSNBC’s Ari Melber cited a recent piece calling this watershed moment “the end of the Obama coalition” and spoke with Torres about how it happened.
“The far-left is a gift to Donald Trump, and it is a gift that will keep on giving until there is a serious reckoning with the results of the election and a serious recalibration,” according to Torres.
The congressman stated that “when you zoom in,” on the specific populations that Trump made headway with in this election, “there is cause for concern.”
“Not only did Donald Trump crack the blue wall in the industrial Midwest, but he is beginning to crack the blue wall, the ultimate blue wall, in urban America,” said Mr. Trump. “He was within five points of winning New Jersey. He was within 12 points of winning New York. In New York City, one-third of voters supported Donald Trump. In 2012, Barack Obama received 96% of the vote in the South Bronx. In 2024, Donald Trump won roughly 30%, representing a more than 20-point swing. So we can no longer take the Latino vote for granted.”
He also noted how Trump won 97% Latino Stark County by a significant margin, which had previously been Democratic since the nineteenth century. “If that is not cause for alarm, I am not sure what would be.”
Melber inquired whether the Obama coalition’s counter-cultural spirit has been overshadowed by the Republican Party to some extent. Torres stated that, while Democrats continue to perform well in Congress, Harris made a “unwise” tactical error in neglecting to appeal to the young males who are joining the Republican Party instead.
“I am concerned that an increasing number of males are drifting toward the Republican Party, and we need to reach out to those individuals. “I thought it was unwise for Vice President Harris not to appear on Joe Rogan, because he has a huge following among young men,” he remarked.
“If we have confidence in our messaging as Democrats, we have to take our messaging everywhere,” Torres went on: “We have to take our message to every corner of the media ecosystem, including alternative media, which has ushered in a brave new world.”
Torres further stated: “I feel like as a party, we have to look inward, we have to be careful not to scold, or scapegoat, or shame anyone, you know, condescension is not only bad morals, it is bad politics.”
He went on to use an analogy about the Democratic presidential candidate who was famously defeated twice in landslides to caution against contempt for big segments of America.
“There is a story of a fan of Adlai Stevenson who said to Adlai Stevenson, ‘Mr. Stevenson, you’re gonna have the support of every thinking American,’ and he said, ‘Madam, I need a majority of the American people,'” according to Torres. “And I believe that such contempt is wrong not just morally, but also politically. Not only will you lose goodwill, but you will also lose elections. So, we must listen, learn, and avoid blaming or scapegoating.
