Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang zeroed in on a major problem the Democratic Party is having among working class voters.
Speaking on a CNN panel Thursday evening, Yang recalled experiences he had on the campaign trail when he would encounter working class Americans and they would ask which party he was from.
“And they would flinch like I said something really negative or I just turned another color or something like that," he said. "And there’s something deeply wrong when working class Americans have that response to a major party that theoretically is supposed to be fighting for them."
He said the Democratic Party has to reflect on why that is.
"What has the Democratic Party been standing for in their minds? And in their minds the Democratic Party unfortunately has taken on this role of the coastal urban elites who are more concerned about policing various cultural issues than improving their way of life," he continued. "That has been declining for years so you're in that situation. This, to me, is a fundamental problem for the Democratic Party. If they don’t figure this out then this polarization and division will get worse not better."
Andrew Yang says Democrats need to improve their appeal to the working class: "In there minds the Democratic party unfortunately has taken on this role of the coastal urban elites who are more concerned about policing various cultural issues than improving their way of life." pic.twitter.com/UljmEH0sEn
— The Matt Skidmore Show (@ZachandMattShow) November 6, 2020
Watch @AndrewYang's full comments on CNN last night: https://t.co/V0DtMMyGef
— The Matt Skidmore Show (@ZachandMattShow) November 6, 2020
"We can talk about a unifying message from Joe Biden, he’s a naturally very unifying figure, but then there’s the reality on the ground that their way of life is disintegrating," he added. "If we don’t address that then you're going to see a continued acceleration toward the institutional mistrust that animated the Trump vote and will continue to do so."