Henry Cuellar: Democrats should focus on border security, cost of living rather than 'talk of joy’

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) said Democrats failed to connect with voters due to unrelatable talking points during a Tuesday appearance on “NewsNation Now” with Connell McShane.

He also highlighted the areas the party needs to address to regain the attention of working-class Americans.

“Democrats need to focus on strong border security, number one. And we got to look at what’s the cost of living for individuals,” Cuellar said in the NewsNation interview.

“You know, people don’t want to talk about the ‘talk of joy’ like the Democrats did at the national level when they’re hurting and paying prices for the eggs and the milk and the bread every day,” he added.

“So, this is what Democrats need to focus on.”

Exit polls show that President-elect Trump made gains with voters whose top issues were immigration and the economy, in addition to Black and Latino voters.

Some of his gains were in historically Democratic counties like Starr County, which Cuellar represents. Trump flipped the Texas border county, which hadn’t voted for a Republican presidential candidate in over a century.

NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group that also owns The Hill.