Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego again said he's leaning against running for president in 2028 despite touring several states over the past months. However, he's has been calling out Democrats, claiming the party is not managing to connect with voters.
Speaking to WMUR, he said "at this point, I don't think so," when asked if he will run with president. "You know, I have three little kids. I love the work I'm doing. I also love being able to spend time with my kids."
However, Gallego is rising his national profile by also criticizing the party and saying he has a "message that I want the Democrats to listen to." "We can start moving our country back in the right direction, but we have to kind of get out of our comfort zones, and I'm trying to help us get to that point," he said.
Gallego has also said the party has a "national brand problem," adding that people "really need us to step up" as many have "buyers remorse" after voting for President Donald Trump.
In another interview with the Washington Post, Gallego said Democrats kept losing the trust of working-class people because they failed to "acknowledge concerns about high costs" and alienated voters by not being more tough on immigration matters.
Gallego also slammed Trump, calling him a bully whose policies have left Americans "sicker and poorer" even though he managed to do well with the working class due to discontent over inflation and the economy leading up to the election.
"Do you think that Latino men wouldn't [choose] somebody that's going to give them security, even if they know how bad this guy is going to be in some areas?" he said. However, he added, voters are now facing "buyer's remorse" over immigration policies and because they feel worse off economically.
Gallego has routinely called out fellow members of his party, recently defending New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani and urging Democrats who have not supported him to refrain from sidelining candidates who bring new ideas into the party.
When asked what he thought about Mamdani being criticized by members of the party and whether he believes the candidate can resonate with people, Gallego said he considered the criticism to be "stupid."
"Maybe we're not a 100% in agreement. But he has some ideas that are attracting people. It's okay to say 'I disagree with this, this, and this, but I agree with that.' But the idea that we're just gonna throw out people that are really bringing in new ideas to the fold, exciting people, just because they're slightly to the right or to the left of us is dumb," he added.
© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
