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While President Trump has pushed aggressively to overhaul the federal government, Democrats have retreated into a political frenzy that reflects their incompetence in Washington.
Far from igniting anger, lawmakers in the opposition party have taken a quiet wait-and-see approach as Mr. Trump tries to end birthright citizenship, suspend the federal government’s diversity program, cancel foreign policy cooperation and seek revenge for their political views. enemy.
In some cases, Democrats even make a show of working with Republicans.
Many of them voted for the Laken Riley Act, which allows for the deportation of undocumented immigrants who have been accused but not yet convicted of a crime. Others have pledged to work with Republicans on a border security bill. And as Democrats battle to nominate Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense and Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence, members appear on a slippery slope toward confirmation without vocal opposition. others in Mr. Trump’s cabinet.
It is said that on the opening day of the new Trump administration, the strongest pressure on the president’s policies came not from elected Democrats but from the bishop of the Washington National Cathedral, who asked Mr. Trump directly during a service to pardon Trump. immigrants and LGBTQ children.
“We’re not trying to win a news cycle anymore,” said Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, a Democrat who has become an outspoken spokesman for his party on social media. “We’re trying to win an argument, and that takes time and patience and discipline.”
A group of 70 progressive House Democrats and six Senate Democrats gathered at the Capitol on Thursday to try to put together a unified message against Mr. Trump as he targets several liberal constituencies and priorities. The assembled Democrats concluded that their best course of action was to focus on economic issues, which they believe led to the party’s defeat in November.
Representative Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat who is the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called the meeting. He said Mr. Trump’s control of the federal government, along with his allies’ ownership of major social media networks, meant Democrats had to be in lockstep, with a focused message. in opposition to voters.
“It would be critical of the Democrats to point out that Trump’s real intention is to confuse people with their pocketbook issues in the service of the super rich,” Mr Casar said.
The Democrats’ stance is a stark change from the last time Mr. Trump was in office. That period, in 2017, was defined by public protests, the rise of new liberal groups and outright anger over election results that many saw as illegitimate.
This time, Mr. Trump won the popular vote and there were no murmurs of major foreign interference in the election. And he has issued so many new policies and executive orders that it has left Democrats baffled.
“It’s like we’re fighting the LA fire, and the winds are 100 miles an hour, and it’s zero percent,” said Matt Bennett, founder of Third Way, a center-left think tank. “We just have to wait for the wind to drop a bit. Democrats have a minute to come up with an effective response. “
Some Democrats believe that Mr. Trump that will cause political damage to him and the Republicans.
His far-reaching amnesty for people convicted of assaulting police officers at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, has already led to an unsatisfactory response from Republicans. Democrats were also quick to point out that few of Mr. Trump’s primary actions addressed inflation or commodity prices — key issues for voters that he has promised to prioritize during the presidential campaign. propaganda.
And in a sign that the main pressure on Mr. Trump’s policies may come from state capitals rather than Washington, 22 state attorneys general sued the federal government to block Mr. Trump’s executive order. which ordered the government not to accept children born in the United States. undocumented immigrants. (However, not all of these left-leaning attorneys general want to talk about their legal challenges — in Washington, DC, the top attorney general has typically not released information and declined to discuss it.)
In Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, devoted 11 paragraphs of his annual State of the State address Wednesday night to defending the contributions of immigrants to Wisconsin — though he did not mention Mr. He is even Trump in his name.
“Wisconsin, we cannot allow reckless decisions in Washington to hinder economic growth,” Mr. Evers said. “I will not compromise our Wisconsin values of treating people with kindness, dignity, compassion and respect.”
And in Newark, Mayor Ras J. Baraka on Thursday denounced an immigration raid in which he said a US soldier had been detained.
“Newark will not sit idly by if people are terrorized illegally,” said Mr. Baraka.
Democratic officials whose voters are directly affected by Mr. Trump’s actions are not willing to give the party time to think about how to respond.
Cristóbal Alex, a former Biden administration official who is now president of the Latino Victory Fund, echoed Mr. Trump’s original move: hooking up with billionaire tech executives, concluding the insulin price cap offered by Biden, allowing the January 6 riots and seeking to end citizenship.
“This is a great time for Democrats to get it right,” said Mr. Alex.
And yet many Democrats want to make it known that they are trying to work with the new Trump administration. Thirteen Democratic senators have signed a letter to Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the Republican majority leader, asking him to participate in Mr. Trump’s proposed bill to attack the immigration system. – living in the country.
“We are ready to work with you,” the senators wrote.
Some Democratic officials attributed the party’s hesitancy and confusion in part to a lack of clarity from its constituents.
While anger — and money — drove the so-called Backlash in 2017, Mr. Trump’s second coming has been met with liberal resignation. No one in the world of politics or culture has come out with a coherent and consistent anti-Trump message since he defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris, and the mainstream media. social that hosted many of the activists eight years ago belongs to Mr. .
Patrick Gaspard, president of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, said the lack of Democratic mobilization was not surprising, as few in the party were surprised by a Trump victory in 2024. Democrats, he said, must take time to decide how best to counter him and the Republicans.
“This guy is throwing a lot of chum in the water, and we can’t keep up with it all,” Mr. Gaspard said.
One person’s introspection is another’s doubt. Rahna Epting, executive director of MoveOn, a liberal advocacy group, said elected Democrats are trying to determine what voters want them to do.
“I see Democrats still trying to figure out where to put their feet on the spectrum of pure opposition and bipartisanship,” Ms. Epting said. “It’s up to constituents and outside groups like MoveOn and others to hold their feet to the fire.”
