Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday dismissed Democratic worrying about this year’s midterm elections, saying “hand wringing is part of the Democratic DNA.”
NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd asked Clinton if she saw any similarities between the state of the Democratic Party now and how it was in early 90’s, noting that the party was grappling with what Democrats stood for ahead of the midterm elections in which they risk losing control over the House and Senate.
Clinton answered that “hand wringing is part of the Democratic DNA. That seems to be in style whether we’re in or out of power.”
“We’re in power and there still is hand wringing going on. From my perspective, President Biden is doing a very good job,” she added.
Democrats have small majorities in the House and Senate that they are at risk of losing this fall amid Biden’s anemic poll numbers. The president has been hurt in particular by inflation and high gas prices.
Democrats lost the House and Senate majorities in the 1994 midterms when President Bill Clinton was in office. Presidents typically see their party lose seats in their initial midterm election.
Clinton said there seemed to be a disconnect between what the Biden administration has accomplished and the public reaction and perception.
“There’s a lot that Democrats can talk about in this upcoming midterms. I’m well aware that midterms are obviously always difficult for the party in power,” she said. “But we’ve got a great story to tell. And we need to get out there and do a better job of telling it.”
Clinton further argued that there was an “event greater disconnect” in the Republican Party.
“Unfortunately, most of that party has now gone to the extreme and are saying and doing things that have no basis in reality. So we’ve got a good case to make if we get our focus in the right place to do it,” she said.