A retiring Democratic politician recently sounded off on outgoing President Joe Biden and her congressional colleagues who seemingly stay in Congress “forever.” With no reputation to maintain with her colleagues going forward, Rep. Annie Kuster (D-NH) did not mince any words in an exit interview she gave to The Boston Globe.
Kuster explained that her decision to retire is multifaceted while also suggesting that Biden should have exited politics before his current term. “I’m trying to set a better example,” the New Hampshire Democrat said. “I think there are colleagues — and some of whom are still very successful and very productive — but others who just stay forever.”
“I’ve said somewhat facetiously, he tried to kill me once, I’m not available for that again,” she added, taking a shot at President-elect Donald Trump over J6. “What we went through on Jan. 6 and his attempt to overthrow the government took a toll. That was that was really hard, and not just personally, but on my ability to work across the aisle.”
Kuster also claimed that when she watched Biden struggle during an appearance with her on the campaign trail this year. “Just in my heart, [I] reached the conclusion that this would be a very challenging campaign for him, and to put himself out there for another four-year term was going to be a struggle,” she said, noting her belief that Biden’s team would have to cover up his decline.
Echoing similar sentiment about “forever” politicians, The American Tribune reported on comments from the Teamsters International President Sean O’Brien, who called for longtime Democratic leaders, such as Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). “I think that they lost — they lost touch with the working class people. It was clearly evident in the election results,” O’Brien told Cavuto.
He continued, “And look, this was an economic election. I mean, we still have a lot of our members, we still have a lot of working class Americans that are hurt, and they felt the struggle at the pump, they felt the struggle at the grocery store. And instead of embracing and trying to find a solution to the problem, the Democrats took a position that their opinion mattered. And that’s all that mattered. And they wanted to talk down to a lot of working class people.”
O’Brien explained there is substantial “soul searching” to be done in the party, where perhaps it is time for fresh politicians to step in. “So they’ve got a lot of — they’ve got a lot of soul searching to do. And look, I said this earlier today in another interview that, you know, the Democrat Party needs to take a look in the mirror and say, ‘You know, maybe Chuck Schumer’s time is over. Maybe Pelosi’s time is over,” he said.
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“Let’s figure out who’s going to be the best for the party.’ And look, as an organization, we’re always looking at how do we lead this organization better than we found it. I think that needs to be the focus,” O’Brien said, before concluding, “Look, we all have pensions for a reason. That’s to use them and retire and enjoy your life. Maybe they should take a page out of Joe Biden’s book and step aside.”
Watch O’Brien below: