President-elect Donald Trump's victory in November dealt a blow to the mainstream media's obsession with identity politics, podcast host and former California Republican gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder told Newsmax on Tuesday.
"[Identity politics is] one of the reasons why they lost," Elder told "Rob Schmitt Tonight" guest host David Harris Jr. "People like Roland Martin, people like Joy Reid, people like Don Lemon playing the race card. When you walk into a store and you're paying 21% more for the same stuff that you paid for three-and-a-half years ago, whether you're Black, white, Asian or Hispanic, you're ticked off. And the bottom line is the average family of four was spending $1,200 a month more for the same goods and services as that same family of four spent three-and-a-half, four years ago, paying 50% more for gas prices. And people have had it.
"The media, these are a bunch of people making six figures, sometimes seven figures. So, [to them] what difference does it make?"
Elder recalled a segment on he saw on MSNBC'S "Morning Joe" where host Joe Scarborough thought a stick of butter cost $3, and his wife and co-host Mika Brzezinski informed him it was $7.
"He was shocked," Elder said. "I guess he doesn't do any shopping at the Scarborough household. Again, these people are clueless. They're out of touch. They don't know that people are upset about the borders. They don't know people are upset about gas prices, upset about the way Joe Biden pulled out of Afghanistan, and very likely provoked [Russian President Vladimir] Putin into going into Ukraine. The aggressiveness on the part of China, the aggressiveness on the part of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, all of this stuff.
"They've completely ignored it because why they wanted to see what they believe rather than believe what they see."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
- Find Newsmax channel in your home via cable and satellite systems – More Info Here
- Watch Newsmax+ on your home TV app or smartphone and watch it anywhere! Try it for FREE – See More Here: NewsmaxPlus.com
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.