Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) admitted the Democratic Party has myriad problems it must address, suggesting that the focus needs to go beyond criticizing former President Joe Biden.
A soon-to-be-released book, Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson has renewed questions of Biden’s mental fitness and put multiple high-profile Democrats under scrutiny over their opinion of the former president’s abilities. Smith acknowledged that Biden’s inabilities were a “big part” of the Democratic Party’s 2024 election losses, but he contended that the party’s problems go “way beyond” the predicament of how the former president’s mental acuity was handled.
“He never should have tried to run for a second term, but we have issues on economics, issues on inflation, issues on border security, issues on identity politics, and education,” Smith stated on Fox News’s The Story with Martha MacCallum. “I think this is a healthy debate right now, it can’t primarily be about Joe Biden. That’s the past, it has to be about how we fix the Democratic Party brand and the Democratic Party coalition because that is what is going to matter moving forward.”
The lawmaker continued by spotlighting three major factors that hindered the Democratic Party, stating that it needed a better “economic message that includes more people.” He said other factors that pushed voters away from the party include “left-wing identity politics” and having no plan to secure the southern border.
As such, Smith added that Democrats need to discuss policies that matter to voters, saying, “Just criticizing Trump isn’t enough.”
The House Democrat also said the party needs to reckon with how it allowed Biden to be its presidential nominee and how it can prevent getting into the same situation again.
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The party has seemingly sought to distance itself from Biden after the 2024 election, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) both saying they are looking “forward.”
Tapper and Thompson’s book is set to release on Tuesday. One part of the book reveals that Biden’s physician reportedly suggested he use a wheelchair if his condition worsened.