Senator Bernie Sanders, the independent who has represented Vermont since 2007 and twice ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, on Tuesday made a frank diagnosis of the Democrats’ electoral failure.

“A Democratic Party that has failed the working class would find that the working class has failed them,” Sanders said in a statement. “First it was the white working class, now it’s also Latino and black workers. While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they are right.”

Exit polls showed a historic number of black and Latino men voting for the Republican candidate, newly elected President Donald Trump.

While 74% of black male voters voted for Harris on Tuesday, Trump won an estimated 24% of the population, according to estimates. AP voice broadcast. For comparison: data published by Pew research after the 2020 election, it emerged that Trump won only about 8% of black male voters in the last election.

A CNN exit poll indicated that Trump won a whopping 42% of Latino voters — the most successful Republican performance within the demographic group since George W. Bush won about 44% of Hispanic voters in 2004, according to Pew research facts.

Sanders noted that key economic factors likely influenced working-class sentiment Tuesday, including stagnant wages due to inflation, the threat of automation through AI and robotics, and high health care and prescription drug costs. He also called out the party leadership for not listening to voters concerned about Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza costs Harris votes in crucial swing states like Michigan.

“While the very wealthy are doing phenomenally well today, 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck,” Sanders said. According to one CNBC poll published earlier this year, more than 65% of respondents said they would be living paycheck to paycheck by 2023. Research published by the Bank of America Institute Last month, at least a quarter of U.S. households reported spending the majority of their paychecks each month.

The Vermont senator surmised that the Democratic Party would “probably not” learn from lessons about regaining the support of working-class voters, but also seemed to hint at his own plans for the future.

“In the weeks and months ahead, those of us concerned about basic democracy and economic justice need to have some very serious political discussions,” he wrote. “Stay informed.”