Democrats should just rename themselves the “Not Trump” Party and be done with it. It would be far more honest branding. After all, for the last nine years, the Democratic Party has been a squabbling mass of interest groups united only by their hatred of President Trump.
That’s no recipe for long-term success — or even short-term, considering they have lost twice against the president already.
Many Democrats recognize they have a problem, but they have diagnosed it as a mere messaging issue — the recurrent complaint of all losers in politics. They think it can be remedied by changes in language and more frequent podcast appearances. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) seems to think that out-trolling Trump is his path to the White House.
Meanwhile, the energy in the Democratic Party remains totally focused on hating and opposing Trump — and what’s left of the mainstream news media is right with them. According to TIPP Insights, media stories about Trump run 92 percent negative. While it is true that Trump has pushed controversial policies, there are undeniably positive results from the president’s actions.
Illegal border crossings have fallen precipitously — recall how former President Joe Biden said there was nothing he could do about that issue. Inflation is edging down, even with Trump’s tariffs in place. The political situation in the Middle East is improving, with Trump removing sanctions on a more cooperative Syrian government and the Iranian nuclear program suffering a significant blow from American attacks.
There is plenty to complain about — there always is — but 92 percent negative reporting is prima facie evidence of bias.
The progressive-left alternative media and podcast world in particular has been unhinged in its attacks, feeding the neuroses of its listeners. Not only has this group shifted into overdrive with the claim that Trump has dementia, it recently (if briefly) went all-in on bizarre Trump death rumors.
This campaign of anger and bile has yielded plenty of clicks and a nice payday for anyone willing to play ball. What it hasn’t done is create a working majority for Democrats or a political path forward once Trump inevitably leaves the scene.
In short, the Democratic Party is defining itself by who it opposes and not by what it stands for. And without Trump, Democrats have little to offer.
Their fundamental problem is they are out of touch with the majority. In the most recent YouGov poll, Democrats cite inflation as the top issue, at 18 percent, while independents were at 28 percent and Republicans at 26 percent. Democrats had climate change among their top issues, at 10 percent, whereas only 4 percent of independents prioritized it (not in the top half) and zero percent of Republicans. Democrats are unconcerned with taxes and spending, while more concerned about health care and civil rights.
Looking at the YouGov poll from a year ago, climate change, abortion, health care and civil rights were top issues for Democrats and liberals. Meanwhile, both independents and Republicans were significantly more concerned about pocketbook issues. Even on inflation — the top issue for Democrats — independents put it 11 points higher, and Republicans 13 points higher.
But the problem of priorities is only the start. The fact is, Democrats are unable to come to a consensus on how to address the problems independents care about, much less actually solve them.
Consider again the issue of inflation. Under Biden, inflation rose. That, combined with a more than doubling of interest rates, sent the out-of-pocket costs for mortgages and car loans to unaffordable levels. To tame inflation, presidents have two direct tools at their command: deregulation, to increase efficiency and reduce costs for businesses and consumers, or else spending cuts, to reduce fiscal stimulus. For the left, neither of these options is even open for discussion. As a result, Team Biden was left to gaslighting the public — which, of course, didn’t work.
It’s the same story with illegal immigration and crime. For both, Democrats love to prattle on about root causes — it lets them adopt a morally and intellectually superior pose while avoiding tough decisions. Too bad it doesn’t work.
The root cause of illegal immigration comes down to the miserable economic and political conditions in other nations. Good luck “fixing” Central America — that project would take a generation or two. Same goes for the tinpot dictatorship in Venezuela, which likely cannot be removed without a U.S. use of force. Given the Democrats’ severe allergy to using force, that solution is essentially off the table.
When it comes to domestic crime, Democrats have at least dropped “de-fund the police,” but they can hardly expect credit for ditching one of the dumbest political slogans ever. Attacking “root causes” sounds great in a PowerPoint presentation, but it means little to the rape or car-jacking victim today, or to anyone else who feels less safe because such crime is tolerated around them.
As long as the Democratic Party is held hostage to its out-of-touch base, it will be impossible to form a lasting majority. The party will have to rely on Trump and his successors handing them elections. So far, that has been a bad bet.
Keith Naughton, a longtime Republican political consultant, is co-founder of Silent Majority Strategies, a public and regulatory affairs consulting firm, and a former Republican political campaign consultant in Pennsylvania.
