The Christmas edition of CNN This Morning tried to throw a wet blanket on Trump's win, saying voters chose him despite his lies, etc. A panelist cast Kamala's campaign as always having been a long shot, a "Hail Mary."
When panelists downplayed the scope of Trump's win, Republican strategist Brad Todd scored the segment's zinger, saying:
"I am all for Democrats under-reading this, and convincing themselves that this was this was really not as bad as it was. Donald Trump took the gains that he'd made in 2016 with the white working class and extended it to working-class voters of color. That is a major, major change."
Host Kasie Hunt headed the cold water brigade, beginning the segment by saying that after the 2020 election, Trump "attempted to overthrow the results of that election in ways that resulted in dozens of criminal charges, after a violent mob stormed the Capitol to try to prevent the certification of his defeat."
The results, she said, showed that Trump "paid no political price for his lies about fraud in that election, his efforts to overturn it, or the criminal charges he has faced since then. And that is the crux of it. Enough of the electorate decided that change was more important than any concerns over Trump's behavior."
CNN political analyst Alex Thompson then tried to cast Kamala's campaign as always having been a long-shot, uphill, struggle from the beginning, and "in the end, the Kamala Harris 107-day campaign was a Hail Mary pass. And I think they actually got closer than some Democrats expected."
In fact, there was Democrat optimism galore during Kamala's campaign. All the "joy" and good "vibes." A successful convention. What was seen as a triumphant debate. And headlines like these:
- A Mood of Optimism at Kamala Harris's First Campaign Stop
- Democrats head into their convention feeling optimistic
- Democrats bask in optimism of Harris surge
- Debate Victory SURGES Kamala Harris in NEW National Polls
Former Obama Justice Department appointee Elliot Williams noted Trump's relatively small margin of victory compared to Reagan's 18-point landslide in 1984. And former Biden comms director Kate Bedingfield piped up to note that Biden had won by 4.5% in 2020, compared to Trump's 1.5% victory in November.
That's when Brad Todd lowered the hammer. And all the panel could do was chuckle in rueful acknowledgment of the truth of his words.
Here's the transcript.
CNN This Morning
12/25/24
6:09 am ETKASIE HUNT: Four years after he lost the 2020 election, after he attempted to overthrow the results of that election in ways that resulted in dozens of criminal charges, after a violent mob stormed the Capitol to try to prevent the certification of his defeat, and after being injured in one of two assassination attempts against him, Donald Trump prevailed in the 2024 election, winning the Electoral College and, for the first time, the popular vote.
The former president made gains across the country in blue states, in red states, in rural areas, in cities. And in fact, my colleagues here at CNN wrote the day after the election quote, Trump made gains with nearly every demographic group compared with his 2020 loss, CNN's exit polls showed. And his apparent near mirroring of the 2016 map would indicate that he paid no political price for his lies about fraud in that election, his efforts to overturn it, or the criminal charges he has faced since then.
And that is the crux of it. Enough of the electorate decided that change was more important than any concerns over Trump's behavior.
ALEX THOMPSON: When we look back, we'll probably think of this election was over in June and July. The combination of that debate performance and then the assassination attempt, which you saw in the favorability ratings, Trump sort of had his highest favorability of his entire political career after that moment.
And then, you know, the Kamala Harris of it all, I think you could, you obviously pointed out some mistakes that she made. You could say she should have gone Joe Rogan, all these little tactical things.
But in the end, the Kamala Harris 107-day campaign was a Hail Mary pass. And I think they actually got closer than some Democrats expected. She only lost across three states by 250,000 votes. Now, he still won the popular vote, but she had a chance to pull the inside straight. I think that's how we'll look back on this election.
. . .
KATE BEDINGFIELD: I do think as we have gotten farther and farther from the election, I think Democrats are absorbing it a little bit less as a you know, to use Obama's words, a shellacking, and a little bit more of a look at where voters are dissatisfied with the status quo, and how Democrats can think about really tacking to their concerns, particularly on the economy . . . So, you know, I don't think that all hope is lost for the Democrats, and I think there were people on, you know, November 6th, 7th, and 8th who were saying all hope is lost for the Democrats. I don't think that that's true.
ELLIOT WILLIAMS: Donald Trump won by, I believe, it's 1.5% in the popular vote. By way of comparison, Reagan won '84 by 18 points. That is a shellacking. That is a national mandate. And when it comes to the business of governing a country that is still very divided and still very close, regardless of what Congress looks like, it will just be interesting.BEDINGFIELD: Biden also won 4.5% in 2020, by the way, so.
BRAD TODD: I am all for Democrats under-reading this [panel laughs] and just convincing themselves that this was this was really not as bad as it was.
I mean, the state that swung the most in the state legislature from Democrat to Republican was Vermont! Vermont! Like, the least religious, least conservative state in the country.
Democrats lost up and down the ballot. And Donald Trump took the gains that he'd made in 2016 with the white working class and extended it to working-class voters of color. That is a major, major change.
We're in the middle of a realignment, the end of the fifth political party system, as political science professors call it, is here. This is a pretty historic time.
