Our party being tone-deaf helped Trump win: Kerry

The Democratic Party failed to connect with American voters on fundamental issues while Donald Trump successfully whipped up fear and misinformation to win the presidential elections, former US secretary of state John Kerry said during a wide-ranging discussion in which he also stressed the need for the world to unite to face the existential threat of the climate crisis.

In conversation with former ambassador of India to the US Navtej Sarna at the 22nd Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Kerry offered a candid assessment as an insider on three of the most pressing issues today: Trump's return to power, the struggles to combat the climate crisis, and the geopolitical challenges in West Asia and Europe.

The career Democrat was the presidential nominee in 2004, when he lost to incumbent George Bush; he was the secretary of state between 2013 and 2017 and spearheaded the Obama administration's foreign policy; and until early 2024 served as the special presidential envoy on climate change.

On Trump's victory, Kerry cited what he said was the Democratic Party's failure to connect with voters on fundamental issues, despite strong economic indicators. "My party, the Democratic Party, I regret to say, was somewhat tone-deaf to some of the cultural issues," Kerry said, pointing to a crucial disconnect with voters.

He identified immigration and inflation as the two primary factors that drove Trump's success, even though economic indicators were positive. "Despite inflation coming down, despite significant strength in the American economy-I think we're the strongest economy on the planet today--and despite that getting better, people didn't feel it," Kerry explained.