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Barkley argued that elections are won by swaying a very small margin of voters. He stated that parties only need to sway three to five percent of the people with something they are passionate about or against in order to win elections, rather than focusing on solving problems for the general population.

Charles Barkley identifies as an independent person, stating, "I'm an independent person. I got my own brain." He noted that he does not agree with everything both Democrats and Republicans do and rejected the idea of being forced to pick a team.

Barkley, who works for CNN and was recently trusted to lead a primetime talk show, criticized the network's partisan programming format. He described watching evening shows where two Republicans and two Democrats scream at each other for an hour without persuading or helping anyone, stating, "That's an hour of my life I can't get back." He suggested the format treats political argument as entertainment rather than providing value.

Barkley criticized the two-party system, stating that the current political culture forces Americans to pick a side—whether as a Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal, or socialist—even if it makes no sense to them. He described Americans as being "brainwashed" into defaulting to party labels rather than evaluating individual issues on their own merits. He further argued that the system is designed to benefit people at the top, creating a dynamic of "rich people against poor people" where political identities are based on race and education rather than solving problems for everyone.