Fox News host Harris Faulkner confronted former Democratic Rep. Pat Murphy on The Faulkner Focus Thursday after he attempted to downplay the Democratic Party’s heavy electoral losses during Barack Obama’s presidency. Murphy was responding to former Bush official Marc Thiessen, who highlighted that Democrats lost 1,027 elected positions under Obama, including 12 Senate seats, 63 House seats, 12 governorships, and 939 state legislative seats. Thiessen argued that Obama’s shift away from Clinton-era centrism toward more left-wing policies severely hurt the party, ultimately contributing to Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, which included support from over 8 million former Obama voters.

When Faulkner turned to Murphy for a rebuttal, he praised Obama as “one of the most successful presidents,” citing the killing of Osama bin Laden and the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Faulkner interrupted, stating, “Wait! So he’s talking about actual politics of winning, and you want to talk about the man’s personality?” Later in the segment, Murphy criticized Trump’s tariff plan, prompting Faulkner to point out rising inflation and record-high credit card debt under President Biden. Although Murphy claimed inflation had decreased from 9% to 2.6%, Faulkner emphasized that economic strain remains high and that Americans continue to struggle. She called for policies that bring greater balance between income levels and living costs, underscoring the real-world impact of economic policy decisions on everyday Americans.