Princeton History Professor Says Biden Won With Unstable Democratic Coalition

Matt Karp, an associate history professor at Princeton University, told Hill.TV that President-elect Joe Biden won the election with a broad but unstable foundation of voters.

“We should treat these triumphalist claims about Joe Biden bringing back all of these Black working-class Obama voters with a lot of skepticism,” he said. “The numbers are not bearing that out right now.”

Karp, who is a contributing editor at Jacobin Magazine, also suggested that some members of the Democratic Party want a “coalition increasingly driven by reliable, enthusiastic affluent voters who are less personally invested in significant economic redistribution, but maintains an extremely partisan worldview and opposition towards Republican irresponsibility.”

He added that the coalition works for “the party of Pelosi and Schumer” -- referencing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) -- but it’s a problem for people who want to build a “populous force” in the Democratic Party.