By John McCormick, Catherine Lucey and Siobhan Hughes
Emotional breakdowns in private meetings over the election results. Hand-wringing over whether to attend the inauguration. Clashing over next steps. And a fatigued and frustrated base.
These are challenging days for Democrats ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House. Their party has yet to land on a clear message or a leading messenger, leaving the president-elect mostly unchallenged, even as Republicans exposed their own vulnerabilities and divisions when Trump nearly derailed a stopgap funding deal with last-minute demands.
The GOP-triggered crisis, resolved just in time to avert a government shutdown Saturday, created an opportunity for Democrats, with some in the party closely watching House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.), an emerging voice who isn't yet well known nationally.
"House Democrats are prepared to stop far-right Republicans in their tracks and deliver for the people," Jeffries wrote in a Saturday fundraising email.
A largely muddled response to Trump stands in contrast with eight years ago when his surprise victory mobilized Democrats to march and fueled massive fundraising, as lawmakers and governors jockeyed to be his most vocal critic. Many in the party now are taking a more cautious approach, acknowledging they will have to work with Trump in some areas.
"There is no leadership now at the highest level," said Tad Devine, a Democratic strategist who has worked on numerous presidential campaigns.
Pete Giangreco, a Democratic strategist who worked on both of Barack Obama's presidential campaigns, said Jeffries will need to shoulder much of the party's 2025 messaging and that the extremely slim GOP control of the House will likely yield fodder for Democratic attacks.
"This is the place where Republicans eat their own," he said of the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson's job security is in question.
Giangreco said the party should await Trump's actions in office, which could sour more Americans on him , and then "pick its spots" to challenge him in his administration's opening days.
With a mostly sidelined President Biden and no strong Democratic messenger, the president-elect has been filling the void. He is holding meetings with world leaders and top business executives, while feeding the media a steady stream of news and drama.
Vice President Kamala Harris has kept a low profile since losing to Trump. She recently spoke to young people, encouraging them to "stay in the fight" without detailing her own future plans.
Trump's victory has triggered anxiety and second-guessing among Democrats, including whether their party has become too elite and fixated on identity politics to still appeal to the working-class voters long at the center of their voter coalition.
"If you ask 10 Democrats, you're going to get 12 different opinions," said longtime Democratic operative Donna Brazile, a former interim chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. "I don't think this is about countering Donald Trump and the Republicans; it's about rebuilding a brand that is durable and reaches people."
Democrats, Devine said, need to find a simplified message centered on economics, while avoiding being drawn into culture wars with Republicans. He cited Trump campaign ads showing 2019 footage of Harris during her 2020 presidential campaign saying she supported taxpayer-funded surgery for transgender inmates and detained migrants.
Devine said he doesn't see the situation improving much for his party until the 2026 election. The lack of a robust 2024 presidential nominating contest, he said, stunted development of future leaders.
"The midterms will help the Democratic Party start to figure out where it needs to go," he said.
Democratic governors, who gathered earlier this month in Beverly Hills, Calif., also view themselves as empowered to help rebuild the party. During a private discussion at the meeting, some governors said they want more say in the party's direction, given that they have often won tough races in their states.
One blue state Democratic governor recently conducted a poll asking if residents wanted the state government to work with Trump or oppose him. It came back two to one in favor of working with Trump.
"It's definitely not resistance 2.0," said a senior aide to a Democratic governor.
On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are discussing next steps in private meetings and group chats, with some still processing grief over the election results. One Democrat said there has been a lot of emotion privately with some people breaking down in tears over Harris's loss.
People close to Jeffries said he is willing to negotiate and make deals with Republicans -- including Trump -- but will blame the GOP if things go awry, as he did this past week.
"Leader Jeffries is always looking for ways to work with Republicans to get stuff done for the American people. That's the way he thinks," said Michael Hardaway, a former Jeffries adviser. "The issue here is, how do you negotiate with a divergent, disagreeing side?"
Some of Jeffries's colleagues are openly weighing whether to attend Trump's inauguration. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D., N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he attended Trump's 2017 inauguration, but the decision now feels harder.
"I've got to determine for myself whether or not, quite honestly and frankly, whether I will feel comfortable there," he said.
Other Democrats pledged to work with Trump in at least limited ways. Rep. Ro Khanna (D., Calif.) has said he would engage with the future cost-and-regulation cutting effort dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency, and Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) has promised an open mind to Trump's cabinet nominees.
"There is a vacuum, but that is an opportunity for reform and renewal," Khanna said.
Some of the muted Democratic response may simply be a reflection of the politics of the moment, with Trump enjoying a honeymoon period before actually governing. A Quinnipiac University national poll released Dec. 18 showed voters are more optimistic than pessimistic about the next four years with him as president, 53% to 42%.
The Democratic Party's debate over its future will be more heated in January as candidates jockey ahead of a Feb. 1 election for the next Democratic National Committee leader. The DNC has typically been more about fundraising and party infrastructure, but the winner may need to play a larger role in messaging until more dominant voices in the party emerge.
Ken Martin, a longtime chairman of Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and a front-runner for the DNC chairmanship, said the next party leader will have a "major role" in pushing back against Trump. He said the party already has a bench of talent, pointing to governors such as Minnesota's Tim Walz, Harris's running mate in the election; Pennsylvania's Josh Shapiro; and Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer.
"While we resist, we also have to rebrand," he said.
--Jimmy Vielkind and Ken Thomas contributed to this article.
Write to John McCormick at mccormick.john@wsj.com, Catherine Lucey at catherine_lucey@wsj.com and Siobhan Hughes at Siobhan.hughes@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 22, 2024 21:00 ET (02:00 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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