Obama Says Democrats Lost By Not Showing Up

President Obama told NPR that Democrats suffered stinging electoral losses in last month’s vote because they failed to campaign in hard-hit rural areas.

Said Obama: “You’ve got a situation where they’re not only entire states but also big chunks of states where, if we’re not showing up, if we’re not in there making an argument, then we’re going to lose. And we can lose badly, and that’s what happened in this election.”

He added: “There are clearly failures on our part to give people in rural areas or in exurban areas a sense day-to-day that we’re fighting for them or connected to them. Part of the reason it’s important to show up…is because it then builds trust and it gives you a better sense of how should you talk about issues in a way that feel salient and feel meaningful to people.”