Gov. Maura Healey is making it clear that she needs to be on the forefront of remaking the Democratic Celebration after a crushing defeat in November handed President Donald Trump a second time period within the White Home.
In two nationwide interviews this month, Healey threw not-so-subtle jabs at prime Democrats in Washington, criticized her personal social gathering for having a “brand problem,” and once more threw shade at President Joe Biden for not stepping out of the presidential race early sufficient to provide Kamala Harris a shot at profitable.
Throughout an interview Wednesday with late night time comedy host Seth Meyers, Healey argued Democratic messaging didn’t resonate with voters through the 2024 election.
“The reason the Democrats lost is because the feeling, I think, was we weren’t with people, we weren’t empathizing with people, we weren’t recognizing everyday needs. Now is the time to run headlong into that, talk about these things, educate and show them to how we are going to actually deliver,” she mentioned.
The one-on-one sit downs with outstanding media shops come as Trump tries to drastically slash the dimensions of the federal authorities, reduce federal funding that states like Massachusetts depend on, and finish variety, fairness, and inclusion initiatives.
The primary-term Arlington Democrat seems to be positioning herself as one of many important voices on what the Democratic Celebration must do to counter Trump and construct itself again up after November’s defeat.
Healey has spent a lot of her first time period within the Beacon Hill’s govt workplace constructing her nationwide profile — some assume as a result of she needs to run for nationwide workplace in 2028.
No matter any ambitions for larger workplace, Healey shouldn’t be hiding her want to be on the entrance of any efforts to rebuild the Democratic Celebration within the new political panorama Trump has solid over the previous a number of months.
In an interview with The New York Occasions final weekend, Healey mentioned Democrats want to remodel their picture into one which convinces voters that they’re delivering for on a regular basis People.
“There’s definitely a brand problem. There’s a big brand problem,” she instructed the Occasions. “I don’t pretend to speak for the party, but I can tell you, as a Democratic leader, what I’m going to do. I’m going to focus on driving what I believe is a Democratic message. Let’s take this moment and redefine the brand.”
Healey’s critique of the social gathering’s profile strains up with frustrations she has aired about Congressional Democratic management’s dealing with of Trump.
Within the sitdown with Meyers, Healey mentioned Democratic leaders in Congress are usually not taking an aggressive sufficient method to coping with Trump, a state of affairs that’s “frustrating … because I think it’s important for people to speak up.”
“People in leadership, members of Congress, get out to your districts, stand alongside folks in your districts and listen to them about what they’re experiencing, and also educate them about, like, what these cuts mean, what this guy (Elon) Musk is doing with DOGE,” she mentioned, referring to the billionaire’s Division of Authorities Effectivity.
It’s a level she additionally floated to the Occasions, telling the outlet that “we need leadership that is aggressive, that is proactive, that is speaking to everyday Americans.”
“I think part of what got the Democratic Party in trouble this last election is the fact that there was a perception that leaders within the Democratic Party were not actually seeing and feeling people’s pain,” she mentioned. “I think it lived out to a certain extent among Democratic leadership, that they just didn’t have their finger on the pulse. They’re talking about issues that weren’t bread and butter, core economic issues that resonate.”
Healey’s remarks weren’t the primary time she has taken photographs at Democratic leaders in Congress.
In a non-public name earlier this yr with different governors and Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer, Healey pressed the New York lawmaker to gradual stroll votes on Trump’s nominees and create extra public opposition to the president, the Occasions reported in January.
However the two nationwide interviews have been notable due to the platform they gave Healey to air to a broad viewers her views on a celebration that’s floundering to mount a unified and efficient protection to Trump’s initiatives.
Again at house, Healey is operating for reelection as governor of Massachusetts and she or he instructed reporters Thursday that she would “of course” serve out a full time period if reelected.
So what was the technique behind the 2 nationwide interviews this month?
“I was just asked to do an interview, and … when reporters ask, I try to accommodate. So I was happy to do the interview and talk about what’s really happening and real world impact on people in Massachusetts,” she mentioned on the State Home.
