NEW YORK (AP) — Democrats knew this was coming.
Immediately after taking office, President Donald Trump promised a shock and awe campaign to score major policy victories. Much of this was laid out in the Project 2025 document that Democrats predicted he would take over.
But in the hours since Trump’s inauguration, Democrats are grappling with the sheer volume of executive orders, pardons, personnel changes and contentious relationships emerging in the recent administration.
In less than two days, the Republican president has ended diversity and inclusion programs across the federal government, withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris climate accords, blocked a federal law banning TikTok and sought to end the constitutional birthright guarantee of citizenship. He also pardoned the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and granted unprecedented access to some of the world’s richest men, raising questions about his commitment to the working-class voters who made his election possible.
Each of these actions enrages part of the democratic base. Taken together, they make it tough for an already divided party to formulate a response.
“Right now it’s a fire hose. That’s what he does. He’s causing a lot of chaos, so it’s hard to keep up with it,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, who directed her staff to track Trump’s orders so her constituents could keep up. “Everything is overload.”
Democrats warn of Trump’s ‘plans to screw over America’
The Democratic National Committee, led by outgoing Chairman Jaime Harrison, conducted an lively rapid response this week, issuing press releases and social media posts to push back against Trump’s actions. This contrasts with the party’s approach after Trump’s inauguration in 2017, which was largely dismal as a far more lively protest movement became the focus of Democratic resistance.
Currently, the Democratic establishment is largely focused on the prominent role of billionaires in Trump’s upcoming presidency, which follows Biden’s parting warning about the rise of the oligarchs.
The DNC shared talking points with its allies on Tuesday, encouraging them to focus on “Trump’s plans to screw over America.” The talking points are particularly focused on the recent president’s move to rescind a Biden executive order aimed at capping the cost of prescription drugs.
The DNC guidelines also affect ultra-wealthy technology executives such as Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and Space Musk, who has been accused by interviewees of repeatedly making Nazi salutes during Trump’s inauguration parade.
Right-wing extremists celebrated Musk’s outstretched arm gesture during a speech on Monday, although his intention was not entirely clear and some hate watchers say not to read too much into it.
The inauguration seats for some of the world’s richest men – with major state governors and key allies relegated to an overflow area – initially gave Democrats an issue to rally around. In addition to the tech leaders unveiled at the inauguration, the Republican president has tapped more than a dozen billionaires for prominent roles.
Democratic strategist Andrew Bates, who left his job as White House spokesman on Friday, attacked Trump’s Republicans for “partying with right-wing billionaires” in Washington on the first day of their rule and “planning tax breaks for the super-rich” on the second day. would have.
“The Republicans have shown their establishment-bought true colors and are selling out every American except their well-connected donors,” Bates said.
The party remains fragmented
Crockett, who has become one of her party’s most noticeable ambassadors on Capitol Hill, worries that the focus on billionaires may not resonate with average voters who likely didn’t recognize Bezos or other tech executives at the inauguration.
“I’m not sure the average person knows that this isn’t normal,” Crockett said of the seating arrangement. “The brilliance of Trump, if I had to give him credit, is that he understands how much people don’t understand.”
Even under normal circumstances, a transition to a recent presidential administration would involve a flurry of orders and personnel changes that would be tough to track. But there is little normal about the second incarnation of President Trump, a 78-year-old term-limited outsider at the height of his political power with no regard for political norms or legal consequences.
“Everyone is reeling and trying to process the information coming to them,” said Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of the progressive advocacy group Our Revolution. “People aren’t sure the Democratic Party knows what to do at this moment.”
Some prominent Democratic Party allies aren’t particularly committed either.
Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban, who was among Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ most noticeable surrogates last fall, downplayed the impact of Trump’s early moves when asked for comment.
“He hasn’t really done anything yet,” Cuban told The Associated Press. “I will pay attention to what he does. But I’m more focused on finding out about healthcare than getting upset about what he’s doing.”
“Just getting angry,” Cuban continued, “is not the way to go.”
Faiz Shakir, a candidate for the DNC chairmanship and a longtime ally of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, said he was shocked by the billionaires’ prominent placement at the nationally televised event, which he said boosted Trump’s popularity among working-class voters threatened to be undermined.
“He gave people a glimpse of how he will govern,” Shakir said.
Still, he acknowledged that Democrats must grapple with the “fatigue and exhaustion” within their own ranks that continues two months after Trump’s victory: “There is a creeping hopelessness that must be combated.”
Crockett encouraged her party to mount a much more organized campaign to educate the public about Trump’s three most egregious moves. What are they? She’s not sure yet.
“But in my opinion we can’t fight everything,” she said.
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