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Democratic New York Rep. Ritchie Torres challenged his party’s leftward shift during a recent podcast appearance, arguing that embracing far-left policies contributed to their defeat in the November 2024 election.
While prominent progressive figures like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez launched their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour to rally support following Trump’s victory, Torres offered a different perspective on the “Politics War Room” podcast. He pinpointed inflation and immigration as the primary factors behind the Democratic loss, particularly emphasizing their mishandling of the border crisis.
“I felt the main reasons we lost were inflation and immigration … when it comes to inflation, we as Democrats were victims of circumstance. Where we do, I think, bear more responsibility is on immigration,” Torres said. “Since 2022, there was an overwhelming flow of migration at the border, whose impact was felt in cities like New York, where the shelter system, the social safety net and our finances were completely overwhelmed.”
The Socialist Democrat Party (SDP) is still in complete meltdown mode!
New York Rep. Ritchie Torres spoke to James Carville about problems within the Democratic Party.
He called out his colleagues for pushing far-left absurdities!
Just no common sense ideas are being… pic.twitter.com/5MEEQsfVHc
— igotvideoTBS (@igotvideo) March 28, 2025
The congressman highlighted the widespread concern among New Yorkers regarding the migrant situation, citing polling data. “There was a poll in December of 2023 showing that 85% of New Yorkers, in a blue city, were concerned about the impact of the migrant crisis on New York City,” he continued. “And the Biden administration waited two and a half years before taking action against the migrant crisis, and by then, it was too late. The damage was done. Republicans had successfully weaponized the issue against us.”
Biden’s delayed response to the border crisis, which culminated in a June 2024 executive order limiting asylum requests, proved costly for Democrats. Torres attributed this tardiness to the administration’s attempts to appease progressive elements within the party.
Addressing the current push for more progressive policies, Torres expressed skepticism. “Why did he wait so long before acting? And the answer is simple: He was pandering to the far left, like the far left has outsized power over the messaging and policymaking of the Democratic Party,” Torres said. “And that has made us less viable in general elections.”
🚨 The Left's evolving talking points — "threat to democracy," "constitutional crisis," and "chaos" — have been rejected by Americans.
Polls show President @realDonaldTrump with…
✅ Majority support.
✅ Policies with support ranging from 60-80%.
✅ And Democrat… pic.twitter.com/XLW0fwArh9
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) February 25, 2025
The immigration crisis reached unprecedented levels during Biden’s tenure, with CBP data showing over 300,000 migrant encounters at the southern border in December 2023 alone. Recent polling indicates limited support for progressive leadership within the Democratic Party, with Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders receiving 10% and 8% respectively when Democrats were asked about who best represents their party’s values.
Former Democratic megadonor John Morgan suggested that the progressive politicians’ anti-oligarchy tour might actually benefit their opponents. “See, AOC and Bernie [galvanize] MAGA because MAGA hates them and the thing MAGA loves the most other than what they love, they love watching them twisting and turning,” Morgan said.
