--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem is that we didn't fight the…" description: "\"The problem is that we didn't fight the way we should've fought. We made it be about [Donald Trump] and [Hillary Clinton] as opposed to making it be ab..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/van-jones-984_attitude_the-problem-is-that-we-didn-t-fight-the_1742335.png" --- # The problem is that we didn't fight the way we should've… ![“The problem is that we didn't fight the way we should've fought. We made it be about [Donald Trump] and [Hillary Clinton] as opposed to making it be about us. If we had said this was a fight, not about "I'm with Her" but "I'm with Us" then maybe we would've had a different attitude toward her.” quote by Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/van-jones-984_attitude_the-problem-is-that-we-didn-t-fight-the_1742335.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/van-jones-984_attitude_the-problem-is-that-we-didn-t-fight-the_1742335.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/van-jones-984_attitude_the-problem-is-that-we-didn-t-fight-the_1742335.png) > “The problem is that we didn't fight the way we should've fought. We made it be about \[Donald Trump\] and \[Hillary Clinton\] as opposed to making it be about us. If we had said this was a fight, not about "I'm with Her" but "I'm with Us" then maybe we would've had a different attitude toward her.” [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker laments that political battles became personality-focused rather than issue-focused, suggesting a collective stance could have changed outcomes. **In simple terms:** Politics shifted to personalities, losing focus on shared goals. Key Takeaway Prioritize shared values over partisan figures. Themes politics media polarization Mood reflective concerned Type analytical motivational When to use this quote - elections - campaigns - grassroots movements - media analysis Key Concepts collective identity public discourse Questions to Reflect On - What strategies can reframe political debates around common goals? - How can leaders foster a “us” mindset? A Different Perspective Focusing on unity may not overcome deep ideological divides. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) [Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clinton/) [Clinton Opposed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clinton-opposed-1529821/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-attitude/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Fought Donald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fought-donald-1529822/) [Hillary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hillary/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Made it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made-it/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Trump Hillary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump-hillary-257585/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [I think people have made their minds up about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. 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Does anyone even… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/going-forward-which-story-will-the-media-find-more-interesting-donald/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [ I think, again, neither of these candidates \[Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton\] is blowing me away. Actually, I would like both of them to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/i-think-again-neither-of-these-candidates-donald-trump-and-hillary/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [The Russians wanted Donald Trump, not Hillary Clinton. Their entire intervention in the American president election - from the news bots, to allies like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-felt/the-russians-wanted-donald-trump-not-hillary-clinton-their-entire/) [Mark Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-felt/) > [I don't think Hillary Clinton is going to support any of the things that you stand for if you're a Republican. I'm going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/i-don-t-think-hillary-clinton-is-going-to-support-any-of-the-things/) [Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/) > [I won't be voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton either, both are too flawed in my opinion to be allowed near the Oval…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-michael-cillizza/i-won-t-be-voting-for-donald-trump-or-hillary-clinton-either-both-are/) [Christopher Michael Cillizza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-michael-cillizza/) > [ Against these two \[Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton\] I would \[vote\], but I never voted for \[Barack Obama\]. I always voted third party -… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burr/against-these-two-donald-trump-and-hillary-clinton-i-would-vote-but-i/) [Bill Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burr/) > [Hillary Clinton doesn't know how to counterprogram Trump, if you will. Hillary doesn't know how to go out and write her own narrative of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/hillary-clinton-doesn-t-know-how-to-counterprogram-trump-if-you-will/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The president is the president. And every American, regardless of who you voted for, if you voted for Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Donald Duck,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-e-sasse/the-president-is-the-president-and-every-american-regardless-of-who/) [Benjamin E. Sasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-e-sasse/) > [Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are not themselves members of the middle class, not by a long shot, which means they've searched for other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-keith/donald-trump-and-hillary-clinton-are-not-themselves-members-of-the/) [Tamara Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-keith/) > [ I've heard - when I first started, people were saying, "You know if it ends up being Trump against \[Hillary\] Clinton, it's going to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-ve-heard-when-i-first-started-people-were-saying-you-know-if-it/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [ New record majority of Americans dislike the two corporate front-runners \[ Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton\] . This is what Lesser Evil leads to. Enough. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/new-record-majority-of-americans-dislike-the-two-corporate-front/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [ Both \[Donald\] Trump and Hillary \[Clinton\] want bigger military budgets and Hillary supports President Obama's one trillion dollar expenditure to so-called upgrade nuclear weapons.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/both-donald-trump-and-hillary-clinton-want-bigger-military-budgets/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [I can't quite remember who I voted for president. It wasn't Trump or Hillary, though. I didn't like either one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burr/i-can-t-quite-remember-who-i-voted-for-president-it-wasn-t-trump-or/) [Bill Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burr/) ## More by Van Jones > [Right now, the government is spending billions of dollars supporting the problem-makers in the U.S. economy - the polluters, despoilers, incarcerators, and warmongers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/right-now-the-government-is-spending-billions-of-dollars-supporting/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [ If \[Donald\] Trump throws 20 million off of health care, that's going to be - if he handles this badly - and it's very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/if-donald-trump-throws-20-million-off-of-health-care-that-s-going-to/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [America should be leading the world in green and clean solutions, and human rights. We shouldn't be leading the world in wars and incarceration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/america-should-be-leading-the-world-in-green-and-clean-solutions-and/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [ I learned more in those six months \[ in the White House\] than in the prior six years. I don't think that anybody who… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/i-learned-more-in-those-six-months-in-the-white-house-than-in-the/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Most green-collar jobs are middle-skill jobs. That means they require more education that a high-school diploma, but less than a four-year degree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/most-green-collar-jobs-are-middle-skill-jobs-that-means-they-require/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [The problem that we have is that most Americans don't even study American history, let alone Pinochet, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin and all these guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-problem-that-we-have-is-that-most-americans-don-t-even-study/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [ \[Donald Trump\] is a horrible human being, but he ain't worse than Bull Connor. Fannie Lou loved Bull Connor and beat Bull Connor because… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/donald-trump-is-a-horrible-human-being-but-he-ain-t-worse-than-bull/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [The government built the grid to favor one industry over others. But I don't hear any conservatives screaming about that. Folks don't understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-government-built-the-grid-to-favor-one-industry-over-others-but-i/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Keith Ellison is an organizer's organizer.He's one of the only Muslims in Congress, so you have a big statement there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/keith-ellison-is-an-organizer-s-organizer-he-s-one-of-the-only/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Everybody should be mad but anger only takes you so far. At some point, you'll have outrage fatigue and burn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/everybody-should-be-mad-but-anger-only-takes-you-so-far-at-some-point/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [We have to accept that some very toxic stuff was marbled into the Trump phenomenon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/we-have-to-accept-that-some-very-toxic-stuff-was-marbled-into-the/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [All the big ideas for getting us onto a lower carbon trajectory involve a lot of people doing a lot of work, and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/all-the-big-ideas-for-getting-us-onto-a-lower-carbon-trajectory/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [I'm the guy that's trying to break up that monopoly to introduce free enterprise and competition to the energy sector.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/i-m-the-guy-that-s-trying-to-break-up-that-monopoly-to-introduce-free/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [I think that America could not become America until it dealt with the disenfranchisement of women and African Americans in the last century. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/i-think-that-america-could-not-become-america-until-it-dealt-with-the/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [I'm learning and changing all the time, and I expect to continue doing so my entire life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/i-m-learning-and-changing-all-the-time-and-i-expect-to-continue-doing/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) [Explore all 314 Van Jones quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) ## More Attitude quotes > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/) [Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [Vow to be valiant. Resolve to be radiant. Determine to be dynamic. Strive to be sincere. Aspire to be attuned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/vow-to-be-valiant-resolve-to-be-radiant-determine-to-be-dynamic/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [Don't judge me because I'm stupid. Don't judge me because I'm, mean. Don't judge me because I'm weird. Don't judge me for mistakes. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-harden-me/don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-stupid-don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-mean-don/) [Isaiah Harden (Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-harden-me/) > [Your feelings (mood) dictate your thought, your thought determines your attitude (reactions) and your attitude describes your lifestyle, so: be careful how you feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheye-hassan/your-feelings-mood-dictate-your-thought-your-thought-determines-your/) [Sheye Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheye-hassan/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“Good Seeds! Gratitude is the Greatest Attitude that has no Substitute.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kelvin-clive/good-seeds-gratitude-is-the-greatest-attitude-that-has-no-substitute/) [Bernard Kelvin Clive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-kelvin-clive/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [One genuine reason to feel jealous of my parents:-) I will never ever have a kid as awesome as their's...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-genuine-reason-to-feel-jealous-of-my-parents-i-will-never-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm optimistic Hong Kong will achieve universal suffrage - no matter the attitude of Beijing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/i-m-optimistic-hong-kong-will-achieve-universal-suffrage-no-matter/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [My attitude it that you don't give in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-taylor/my-attitude-it-that-you-don-t-give-in/) [Phil Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-taylor/) > [Transparency pertains to impartial behavior, implies openness, communication, and accountability. Inculcate transparency in attitude and experience a life free of controversy and blame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-anil-kr-sinha/transparency-pertains-to-impartial-behavior-implies-openness/) [Dr Anil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-anil-kr-sinha/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) [Browse all 9,543 Attitude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The problem is that we didn't fight the way we should've fought. We made it be about [Donald Trump] and [Hillary Clinton] as opposed to making it be about us. 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