Liberal commentator Juan Williams recently appeared on Fox News Channel’s coverage of the 2024 presidential election, in which he seemingly refused to accept the notion that President-elect Donald Trump had run an effective campaign that focused on improving the lives situation of millions of Americans. Instead, Williams maintained that Trump had a “bro strategy” that appealed to white men.
Speaking about the results of the election, Williams said, “I think that there are even recriminations now among Democrats as to Biden, and whether Biden should have dropped that earlier, or Biden should have stayed with a white male. Have done better? Obviously, Trump has defeated two women and now a black woman.”
He then leaned into the “insurrection” narrative that Trump attempted to thwart Democracy. “So there’s all these questions, but to my mind, it seems to me incredible that a guy who led a resurrection insurrection against the United States government is going essentially now, you know, like … going back into the Oval Office. It’s unbelievable,” he said.However, Williams received pushback from his co-panelists, who challenged his assertion. “You have to, you have to consider the fact Juan that a lot of people didn’t think that was an insurrection. They thought it was a riot, but not an insurrection. And had they thought there was a really as an insurrection, I don’t think he could have won,” Brit Hume said.
Unfazed, Williams continued, “What I saw was not only a right in terms of the violence, but a direct action intended to stop certification of a presidential election.” Host Bret Baier then weighed in, stating, “The campaign ran a lot of ads about it, talked a lot about it, and more. You know, half the country now, Juan is going to say that is not what I care about.” He added, “I care about my economy. I care about immigration.”
Rebutting this, Williams dismissed the idea that voters bought into these issues. “I’m not sold on this idea that, Oh, it was the cost of x. I worry that it was, well, I’m not voting for this woman, or I’m not voting for this black,” he said, before Baier fired back, “That’s not what we see in our data.”
Williams continued, “Here’s the thing, where do you see that? Because a moment ago, Darren was out here and he said, in fact, not only did the bro strategy work, and the bro strategy largely worked along the lines of white men, but the bro strategy also had some impact in terms of Latino and Black men who came along and gave higher percentage.
Karl Rove then pushed back on Williams’ talking points, claiming, “I just think it is extremely odd to suggest that black men are somehow prejudice because they vote for a White candidate who says, I want to make certain that everybody has an opportunity to succeed in our great economy.”
“I want you to be more prosperous, and I will do things that will make it possible for you to make a better life. That is, that is an appeal to their best instincts. He did not go out and say, vote for me because I’m not a woman,” Rove continued. “Don’t go to vote for me because I’m a white man that would not have attracted those votes. They got attracted to him by because they thought he was a strong, effective leader, and they thought he would do something about the issues they care the most about, which is an economy in which they think they get the short stick, inflation, which is decimated their purchasing power, and illegal immigration, which has affected their communities deeply, and to suggest that somehow black men are racist because they supported a white man, it’s just too far Juan.”
