Wasserman Schultz rejects NY Times report on voters seeing Democrats as 'slow' and 'passive'

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., rejected a New York Times report that included research comparing the Democratic Party to "slow" and "passive" animals, telling CNN on Tuesday that she was worried about "human beings." 

"'Republicans are seen as apex predators like lions, tigers and sharks, beasts that take what they want when they want it. Democrats are typically tagged as tortoises, slugs, or sloths: slow, plodding, passive,'" CNN host John Berman said, quoting a New York Times report that highlighted Democratic researcher Anat Shenker-Osorio's findings on how people view the Democratic and Republican parties. 

"And then a little bit later there was a respondee who said the Democrats are like deer in headlights. How is it that you think that the Democratic Party has earned these descriptions?" 

"I‘m not focused on the animals that some New York Times reporter compares the political parties to. My constituents are human beings, and the human beings that I represent are facing devastating health care cuts, the most significant health care cuts that have been ever handed down by any administration," Schultz responded.

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Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz rejected animal comparisons in an NYT report that cited research describing the Democratic Party as passive. (NYT/Screenshot, Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The New York Times reported on Sunday that the party was still struggling with its image after former Vice President Kamala Harris' loss.

A Democratic man from Georgia who participated in the focus group and was the one who described the Democratic Party as a "deer in headlights" went further to describe the state of the party. 

"You stand there and you see the car coming, but you’re going to stand there and get hit with it anyway," he said, according to the Times.

Schultz continued to dismiss the report, reiterating, "I'm focused on the humans I represent, not, you know, animal comparisons."

Berman pushed back and said it was voters who likened the party to tortoises, sloths and slugs.

"John, you said they were asked to compare the parties, so they were prompted to compare the parties to animals. That is ridiculous. I‘ve watched a lot of focus groups, and I know that the people that I represent want me fighting for the humans, the families that I represent," Schultz responded.

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Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz unloads on New York Times report citing research that compares political parties to animals. (Left: (Photo by Jason Koerner/Getty Images for Concordia Summit), Right: (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images))

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The Democratic Party's favorability remains low after President Donald Trump's win. The party's rating stood underwater in an April Fox News national poll at 41% favorable and 56% unfavorable, which is an all-time low for Democrats in Fox News polling.

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Another poll in March found that just 27% had a positive view of the Democratic Party.