Jill Stein argues 'Democrats betrayed their base'

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein argued that Democrats “betrayed their base” and that the leaders of the party need to step aside to “allow a proper opposition” to fill in. 

“The Democrats have really lost credibility. They are seen as bought and paid for … Their primaries are rigged, power is top down,” Stein told Newsweek on Wednesday. “The Democrats betrayed their base. I don’t see them coming back. The economic disparities are real. People are tired of the Democrats. They need to move over and allow a proper opposition.”

Stein’s comments came following Vice resident Harris’s loss in the 2024 presidential election, where President-elect Trump defeated her in all seven swing states. 

The third-party candidate shut down the criticism that her presence helped Trump take Michigan, one of the battleground states with a large population of Arab and Muslim Americans. 

“Harris lost those votes to start with. In many ways, we were the competitor to Trump,” she told the magazine on Wednesday. 

Democrats have expressed concerns about Stein’s presence on the ballot earlier in the election, particularly since she took heat from the party in 2016 when she was accused of being a spoiler in battleground states. That year, Trump beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the general election. 

Stein touted her party’s showing in Dearborn, Mich. and other areas of the swing state. Israel’s conflicts in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon were one of Stein’s top campaign issues. Dearborn is the nation’s largest Arab-majority city.

Trump won 42 percent of the votes cast in Dearborn, according to unofficial results released by the city. Harris was at 36 percent while Stein was at 18 percent. Overall, Trump won Michigan. 

“We won 22 percent of the vote in Dearborn, and that feels great,” Stein said. “There is a real movement here in Dearborn. It feels like a real alliance with the Muslim American community, and we will continue to build on that.” 

Stein said that Trump is “likely to disappoint his supporters” when it comes to approaching the developments in the Middle East. 

“Donald Trump has no clue as to the drivers of the conflict here. This conflict is not settling down. Trump has shown no understanding of engaging in diplomacy,” she said. “It’s terrifying.”