New Book “Battle for the Soul” Traces the Democratic Party’s Post-2016 Recalibration
Political journalist Edward-Isaac Dovere tells the story of the Democrats’ campaign to defeat Trump and regain the White House.
“Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats’ Campaigns to Defeat Trump” is a new book that focuses on the aftermath of the defeat of the Democratic Party in the 2016 presidential election. Author Edward-Isaac Dovere tracks the recalibration of the party as they fought to supplant the Trump administration and regain the White House.
“Everything is happening at the same time and Democrats need to figure out how to get to some sort of a solution here.” –Edward-Isaac Dovere, author of “Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats’ Campaigns to Defeat Trump”
Listen: Author Edward-Isaac Dovere on the recalibration of the Democratic Party.
Guest
Edward-Isaac Dovere is a staff writer for The Atlantic and author of “Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats’ Campaigns to Defeat Trump.” Dovere, who has covered Democratic politics for 15 years, says he was compelled to write the book after Hillary Clinton’s defeat in the 2016 presidential election. He explains, “Things really took off from there. For me, it was a question of … Should people have seen it coming?”
The book traces the embattled Democratic Party from the Trump presidency to now. The Democratic Party, Dovere explains, is fraught with ideological differences. When it came time to pick a Democratic candidate, Dovere says it was a difficult decision for the coalition. “Was an older white man representative of where the Democratic Party was headed, or was Kamala Harris, a younger Black woman, more representative of where the party was headed?”
Dovere further explains that Biden was not a particularly popular candidate. His success was, in part, fueled by celebrity opposition of the Trump administration. “Joe Biden is not the pop culture icon that a lot of people in politics have been, especially when you consider Barack Obama. But by the time of the election, it really did feel that way,” he says.
The Democratic Party continues to face challenges with cohesion and collaboration. Dovere says, “There are so many things that are barreling at each other at the same time … Everything is happening at the same time and Democrats need to figure out how to get to some sort of a solution here.”
Web post written by Molly Ryan
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