Political analyst Mark Halperin and former White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on Thursday that the Democratic Party is in a state of disarray.
Democrats, including Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and strategist James Carville, have made returning deported alleged MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia a major issue. Spicer and Halperin, on “The Morning Meeting,” suggested that the Democratic Party embracing unpopular causes like this is severely damaging its standing.
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“They’re missing the mark, right? This gets back to this whole conversation we’re having now, which is part of the election was understanding the concerns that drive where Americans are right now,” Spicer said. “And the focus is out here somewhere, and it baffles my mind … at some point you would think that somebody would say, ‘Okay guys, this is what moves people, this is what doesn’t.’”
“Data doesn’t lie. So you can think what you want,” he continued. “It’s kind of like when I put Waze on and I go, ‘God, it’s always quicker to go right.’ If Waze tells you go left … it’s not fighting with you — it’s data — and it says, ‘This is how to get there.’ And right now Waze is telling the Democratic Party, ‘Hey, here’s where voters are.’ And they’re like, ‘No no no no no, we’re going the other way.’”
Halperin said he believes the Democratic Party may be in its worst ever state.
“I have toggled back and forth since Election Day about: Is the Democratic Party in really as bad a shape as it appears? Donald Trump can screw this up. The Democrats could take the House in the midterms. They could win a surprising number of Senate seats,” he said. “All that could happen. But I will say today: The party is in horrible shape … The lack of leadership, the lack of focus, the lack of direction and the capacity to continue to pick losing fights — full-throated, aggressive, racing into the exploding volcano as if they’re going to beat the volcano.”
Spicer and Halperin also criticized Van Hollen specifically following his visit to El Salvador Wednesday to advocate for Garcia’s return.
“Yesterday was a checkmate moment. That they get out there, Chris Van Hollen does, and goes in, and I think probably thought, ‘I’m going to go down there, I’m going to be this hero.’ And they go, ‘Oh really? Meet Patty Morin,” Spicer said. “She’s a woman whose daughter was killed and you didn’t call her. These are your priorities.’ Boom. Number two, they release the Prince George’s County criminal records. And it’s like, okay, boom. Then the wife comes out. Boom.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) published documents Wednesday indicating Garcia’s membership in MS-13 after Van Hollen had already made the journey to El Salvador. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) similarly released court records showing Garcia’s wife requested a domestic violence restraining order against him.
“When Chris Van Hollen got on that plane, did he know that his own state had records saying the guy was accused of spousal abuse?” Halperin asked. “Probably not, right? It’s like amateur hour. You don’t go all-in betting on this guy without the data.”
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Spicer also noted what he considered other recent issues for the Democratic Party, including DNC Vice Chair David Hogg seeking to unseat certain incumbent Democratic members of Congress in the 2026 primaries and former President Joe Biden giving a public speech.
Halperin added that he does not believe recently-elected DNC chairman Ken Martin will take Democrats “to the promised land.”
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
