Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez on Thursday tried to brush off criticism from Hillary Clinton after CNN played comments of her slamming the organization.
Clinton said Wednesday that the DNC had little money and resources when she became the Democratic nominee in the 2016 presidential election. When asked by CNN's Erin Burnett if the DNC is why Clinton lost, Perez tried to ignore the question, instead focusing on the losses incurred by Democrats in other races.
"You know, my focus, Erin, has not simply been on 2016 and what happened there but the fact that we lost over 900 seats in the state legislative races over the last eight years," Perez said. "We lost Senate seats, governors seats, and what it reflects is that we have to up our game at the DNC."
The last eight years was also when Barack Obama was president and led the Democratic Party.
Perez added he had "great respect" for his staff but acknowledged shortcomings in fundraising.
When asked about why Democrats lost in 2016 and Clinton's inability to take full responsibility for her election defeat, Perez said they were "focused on the future."
