Democrats have too many troubles to cheer Trump’s failures

Two weeks ago, I wrote that the Trump presidency is over. Nothing has changed my mind.

President Trump’s approval ratings have fallen to 36 percent. According to various polls, only 25 percent approve of his handling of the cost of living, and 65 percent believe his policies have made the economy worse. Thirty-five percent approve of U.S. strikes on Iran and 74 percent oppose sending U.S. troops there. Since Trump’s reelection, Democrats have flipped 30 state legislative seats. Today, according to one survey, more than one in five Trump voters say they will not cast a vote for a Republican presidential candidate.

Democratic strategist Doug Farrar says these numbers provide a “huge opportunity for Democrats to make major strides.”

But these dismal ratings should offer little comfort to Democrats. Of the 20 percent who are disillusioned Trump voters, only 3.4 percent plan to vote Democratic in the next presidential election.

Public disillusionment with the Democrats is widespread. A March poll found 52 percent expressed negative feelings toward the Democratic Party, more than those who felt negatively toward Trump, the Republican Party or Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Only Iran aroused more hostile emotions, with 61 percent holding negative views toward that country. 

During her successful campaign for the U.S. Senate, Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) described herself as a member of “Team Normal.” Slotkin emphasized the need to, in Harry Truman’s words, “speak plainly,” and not engage in esoteric discussions about gender identity, responding to every tweet on X or listening to the coastal elites.

Longtime Democratic strategist Steve Schale says the message delivered is clear: While Trump has hurt voters economically, Democrats are “woke,” “weak,” out of touch and focused on stuff they don’t care about. Until Democrats join “Team Normal,” Americans are reluctant to give them a hearing.

Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg writes that in 2026 the successful Democrat “must run against his own party.” Several are following his advice. In Texas, Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico (D) says he is not “taking instructions or orders from the national Democratic Party.” In Alaska, Mary Peltola is running on a platform of “fish, family, and freedom.” Nebraska Democrats have gone so far as to coalesce around independent candidate Dan Osborn instead of a Democrat, knowing that their party brand is toxic in that state. 

Although winning the next election matters, what a party does afterward is even more important. In 2005, Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean created a “50-State Strategy” to rebuild withering Democratic state parties. But Dean’s plans ran afoul of Rahm Emmanuel, then-head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, who saw a chance for victory in the 2006 midterm elections. Dean’s ambitious project was eventually cast aside.

Today, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin has revived Dean’s 50-state strategy. But Martin’s ambitious plans are hampered by money woes. The national committee has just $10.3 million on hand and an outstanding debt of $17.4 million. In sharp contrast, the Republican National Committee has $109 million in the bank.

For decades, Republicans have understood that winning elections is only the beginning. Beginning in the 1970s, Republicans developed plans designed to give legislators and executives an agenda from which to govern.

The American Legislative Exchange Council was formed in 1973 and became a warehouse for Republican state legislators to back Republican-sponsored measures in multiple states. That same year, the Heritage Foundation was established. It spent years advocating proposals that found their way into the more recent Project 2025, a blueprint for Trump’s second term.

The Federalist Society was founded in 1982 and became the go-to organization that Republican presidents consulted in selecting nominees for the federal bench. Today, five of the nine justices on the Supreme Court are either current or former members of the Federalist Society.

Midterm elections are all about opposing the party in power, but presidential elections are about what a party stands for. In 2027, it will not be enough for Democrats to oppose Trump and check his excesses, as important as that is. A Democratic victory in 2026 is a starting point, not an end point. 

To effectively compete nationally, Democrats must begin the hard work of appealing to voters previously unwilling to listen. That work is urgent. After the next census, it’s likely that eight to 12 congressional seats and electoral votes will shift from Democratic-leaning states to Republican-leaning states. 

It may take years before Democrats overcome decades of trouble. But the party is running out of time. Until Democrats stop thinking in the short term and start thinking further ahead, an existential crisis awaits. Democrats must learn to be effective, nimble national players.  

John Kenneth White is a professor emeritus at The Catholic University of America. His latest book is titled “Grand Old Unraveling: The Republican Party, Donald Trump, and the Rise of Authoritarianism,” and he can be found on Substack.

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