CNN contributor Lulu Garcia-Navarro said Wednesday evening that voters are seeking “authenticity” from political leaders, highlighting how President-elect Trump has been successful in relating to voters.
During Trump’s campaign, the former president strayed from traditional political routes to reach voters, appearing on podcasts such as “The Joe Rogan Experience” and “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von,” as well as teaming up with online streamers like Adin Ross.
On “Erin Burnett OutFront,” Burnett questioned Garcia-Navarro on whether she believes voters will now stray from “polished” politicians, pointing to how podcaster Joe Rogan praised Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman on his show for “not being too polished.”
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“I think the word that everyone is searching for is authenticity. I interviewed Senator Fetterman as well. I’ve spoken to Ro Khanna. Sherrod Brown is also someone who, even though he didn’t win his Senate race, is someone who is incredibly relatable. I think what people want to see in their political leaders is that they stand for something, and that they’re able to articulate what that is and that they’re able to buck conventional wisdom when they need to,” Garcia-Navarro said.
“Because what ends up happening is that then people internalize that and think, ‘Oh, that person will then stand up for me.’ If they’re standing on their principles, they’re going to stand up for me, too. That is something that I think Donald Trump has very successfully managed. Even though he changes his positions often, people do feel that he is authentic and that he speaks for them,” Garcia-Navarro said.
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Vice President Kamala Harris faced backlash during her campaign against Trump, with critics citing her lack of appeal to everyday voters, especially as polls consistently showed the economy, inflation, and immigration as top concerns. Despite some pundits noting in September that voters “really didn’t know” who Harris was, the vice president was heavily criticized for reportedly avoiding in-depth interviews with corporate media to address her flip-flopping on left-wing policies she had previously supported before 2020.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.