Jen Psaki Lays Out How Dems Can ‘Rethink’ Strategy In Blunt Post-Election Analysis

MSNBC host Jen Psaki on Sunday called on Democrats to go back to the drawing board and “learn a lot” more about their base after Kamala Harris’ election loss to President-elect Donald Trump.

Psaki, a former White House press secretary under President Joe Biden, described Trump as a “major threat to our democracy” but noted that it might’ve been the “wrong closing message to choose with the wrong people.”

She cautioned that Harris’ message didn’t necessarily fail to connect because “fascism doesn’t matter,” or because “everyone who didn’t vote for Harris is to blame for not hearing or understanding the threat” of Trump.

“It’s for candidates to rethink how they prioritize what they talk about moving forward. It’s to rethink how they engage moving forward. Do that Joe Rogan podcast, by the way,” said Psaki, referring to Harris not appearing on Rogan’s show.

“Part of the answer is to stop diagnosing and to start listening.”

The MSNBC host, who has argued that the focus on “Never Trumpers” was not a winning strategy for the Democrats last week, also recalled working on John Kerry’s failed 2004 presidential bid and his loss leaving the party with a “huge leadership vacuum.”

But vacuums, she argued, could be a “good thing,” as Democrats later won back the House in 2006 and the party chose Barack Obama over its “establishment candidate” to be its 2008 nominee for president.

She then praised Obama for throwing out the playbook on the campaign trail and being “fearless” in an election he won by “listening to the country.”

“As painful as it is right now, even in the midst of that exhaustion and anger that you’re feeling — again, understandable — it’s important that we don’t fall into the trap of believing that things can’t get better,” Psaki said.

“That we can’t get to the other side of this, because they can get better and we can, so let’s listen carefully, let’s be curious, let’s learn a lot and let’s get back to work.”