The panel on MSNBC’s Morning Joe said Thursday morning that Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton has had problems getting her message across to voters on the campaign trail, revealing some of her weaknesses as a candidate.
Columnist Mike Barnicle explained how Clinton has a messaging problem with young and working class voters, who are flocking instead to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), her primary opponent and a self-declared socialist.
"There are two maps, two electoral maps, that are instructive as to ... the difficulty [Clinton’s] campaign is now in the middle of coping with," Barnicle said. "One is from Massachusetts, and the other is from Michigan--Democrat strongholds both. Bernie Sanders carries across the board working class people, young people on all the issues that he is talking about. He garners a huge majority of their votes while Mrs. Clinton, despite being in politics for 30 years, has trouble addressing her message to that group of people. "
Barnicle also said that Clinton is losing these important groups of voters, which he believes "does not bode well for her in the fall" for the general election.
"What this is doing is exposing exactly the weaknesses that could hurt her in the general election, or she could deal with it immediately ... by bringing some people on board that represent this message," co-host Mika Brzezinski added.
Sanders has enjoyed far more support among younger voters than Clinton throughout the entire campaign and has gotten much larger crowds to attend his events, which commentators have said is indicative of the enthusiasm he has sparked among the Democratic electorate.
Clinton has struggled to articulate a clear message to voters like Sanders has, according to some political analysts, causing her to face difficulty in pulling away with the Democratic Party’s nomination.
The Clinton campaign has touted her widespread support among black voters and other minority groups, arguing that Sanders cannot win the primary without such key constituencies of the Democratic base.