Flawed strategy is the most-quoted theme in the study. It holds 436 quotes from 57 voices across 86 videos that drew 48M views. Pod Save America, MSNBC and The Ezra Klein Show supplied the most. Among quotes with a known political leaning, 58% came from Far Left and Left voices and 23% from Right and Far Right voices, where BlazeTV, Fox News and Megyn Kelly were among the most quoted.

The most common complaint is about what the campaign chose to talk about. The Daily Show’s post-election analysis said Democrats “wildly overestimated the power of the abortion issue” and “spent too little time talking about the economy.” Democrats of Greater Tucson made the same point with local results: Arizona’s abortion-rights measure passed easily, and Democratic candidates further down the ballot did not benefit.

Money is the second complaint. On Brian Tyler Cohen’s livestream of the DNC chair race, one speaker said the party raised more than $2 billion and was still outworked by Republicans who spent less. Others said the field operation had thinned out, and guests on BIG Media and Politically Speaking argued for a return to knocking on doors.

Where the campaign went wrong

The largest sub-theme, misguided messaging and vision, holds 153 quotes. It is followed by complacency and failure to adapt (116), tactical execution and resource allocation (100), and coalition outreach (67).

The left and right reach these complaints from different places. Left-leaning voices such as The Young Turks argue the campaign centered Trump instead of saying what Democrats would do for voters. Right-leaning hosts like Megyn Kelly focus on tone, from the “joy” message to a campaign that kept its candidate “mostly under wraps.” Both describe a closing argument that, in MSNBC’s words, “didn’t connect with enough people.”