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2025 is not 2017. The response to Trump should be different, but that response should not be silence. It is smart for Democrats not to get caught up in the distraction cycle that Trump and his allies thrive on. Whether it be lies and silly statements or Elon Musk’s circus, these things should be reported on, but they shouldn’t be at the center of Democratic focus.
However, the Democratic consultant class has decided that Trump won in a landslide and they must treat him like he has a mandate.
Consider this reporting from Politico:
In interviews with more than a dozen Democratic elected officials and strategists, they explained the shift as evidence of a party reorienting itself after sweeping losses and biding its time until public sentiment potentially turns against Trump. That’s because they are in less friendly territory than in 2017. Trump won the popular vote and all 50 states shifted right in 2024. Thirteen House Democrats are now sitting in districts Trump won last November, but another 50 represent seats that Kamala Harris won by 9 points or less. Just a few thousand showed up to protest Trump’s inauguration.
…
“Joe Biden is leaving as a very unpopular Democratic president, we lost the popular vote and people are pissed at us over inflation, culture and the border,” Mike Nellis said, a Democratic strategist who worked on Harris’ 2020 presidential primary. “We have to change our tact because we have to earn people’s trust back.”
As someone who is both academically trained and informally advised candidates, I feel that this is the wrong advice.
The Democratic consultant class is reacting to what has happened instead of what is happening.
A great way to win back the trust of your voters is to not cause chaos by dumping your nominee in the middle of a presidential election.
Another great way to win back the trust of voters is to stand up for what they believe in. Democrats didn’t just lose the election because of inflation. Democrats lost because the consultant class had Democrats talking about other things besides inflation and prices. The border and the culture war issues dwarf the importance of the economy in the minds of voters.
Democrats will not be rewarded for staying silent while Trump carries out his agenda. Democrats also won’t be rewarded for cynically waiting until the polls tell them that it is popular to oppose Trump.
The consultant class is leading Democrats down the wrong path again.
The nation has seen this before. Democrats spent much of the 1970s and the entire 1980s unable to get out of their own way at the presidential level.
Democratic voters want voices that stand up and say no. The opposition should revolve around the economy, which is the issue that Republicans are ignoring and that voters care about the most.
Potential Democratic voters don’t need to see protests in the streets as much as they need to see someone fighting for them.
In the first month that Republicans had complete control of the federal government, House Democrats and Senators like Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) did a much better job with their fingers on the pulse of where voters were than other Democrats.
If Democrats want to discourage their voters, listen to the consultants. When Democrats decide that they want to win elections, they need to stand up and fight.
What do you think about how Democrats are responding to Trump? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
