WASHINGTON — Last week at the Capitol, Democratic lawmakers addressing protesters angered by President Donald Trump’s attempt to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development were booed and interrupted by calls to “do something” and demands to know “what’s the plan?”

The frustration expressed by those mostly Democratic protesters is broadly felt in the Democratic Party as Trump has swiftly consolidated and broadened his power.

Minnesota DFL Party chair Ken Martin, 51, who has taken the reins of the Democratic National Committee, has said Democrats got “punched in the mouth” in November’s election and must have a clear alternative when the “chaos” of the Trump administration turns off voters.

“We’re going to have to fight the extremes of Donald Trump while we make a case in both red and blue states about why they should trust us with their votes,” he said.

Voters overwhelmingly told pollsters before November’s election that the country was going in the wrong direction and Trump won by focusing more on bread-and-butter issues. Meanwhile, Democrats focused the Democratic presidential campaign and many down ballot races on warnings about Trump, which had less resonance.

More recent polls indicate the president’s approval ratings are relatively high. A recent CBS/YouGov poll found that 53% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s overall job in office so far.

So, Martin and other Democratic leaders have their work cut out for them.  

With GOP control of the House and Senate, the federal courts have become the only check on Trump’s authority and on Elon Musk’s attempts to dismantle as much of the federal bureaucracy as he can. But Trump has vowed to appeal all adverse rulings, and many will likely end up at the conservative Supreme Court.

Democratic voters are discouraged, with many saying they are angry that their party is playing by traditional political rules while Trump is not.

Democratic voters are also rudderless, with no clear leader to bring them out of the wilderness and many — especially those in the progressive wing of the party — have increasing scorn for Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who retired as speaker but still wields power. Meanwhile, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who leads House Democrats, is considered by many in his party to be too timid and conciliatory for what some consider a crisis in the Democratic Party.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., warned the protesters at the Capitol that they “cannot allow the GOP to weaken us by turning us against each other.” But the debate over what the party should do is expected to continue to rage until Democrats score a big win against Trump.

With few weapons in their political arsenal, Democratic leaders are focusing on messaging to bring back party unity and attract working-class voters who have hemorrhaged to Trump’s Republican Party.

Schumer and Jeffries are focusing on an economic message to explain exactly how Trump’s spending and tax cuts will affect the lives of voters. And, unable to stop the confirmation of controversial Trump cabinet candidates, they have taken aim at Musk, whom polls show has little popularity with the American public.

Finding the right message is partly the task of Booker as the chair of the Democratic Strategic Communications Committee and Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., who has been named vice chair.

“Now that Democrats are the minority in Congress, we lost a lot of our legislative tools to fight back and accomplish our policy priorities, but the one thing we still have is our communications power,” Smith said. 

Losing the brand

DFL Party treasurer Leah Midgarden is one of the Democratic officials whose vote helped elect Martin as DNC chairman at an event held last month at a resort on the banks of the Potomac River.

Martin’s win was a surprise to many Democratic officials who voted in that election because Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler was endorsed by the old guard — Schumer, Pelosi and Jeffries — and key Democratic donors.

“Clearly, the Democratic Party has lost its brand connection as the working people’s party,” said Midgarden, who worked for years as a party activist before becoming a DFL official.

To Midgarden, Martin should “stop being so goddamned Midwestern and brag about putting policies in place to help people.”

Martin has replaced former Rep. Jaime Harrison as the head of the DNC. Midgarden said the change in leadership has already shifted the direction of the Democratic Party and that posts on the DNC’s Facebook page are attacking Trump more aggressively and are including daily posts that list “What Democrats Did Today.”

She said Martin (who declined to be interviewed for this story) also created a “rapid response war room” with the goal of effectively attacking Trump and his policies.

Midgarden said Martin won the DNC election in part because he was the head of the Association of State Democratic Chairs and “was able to foster relationships” with state Democratic Party leaders across the country.

“He personally made it a point of traveling to other states to fundraise and door knock,” she said.

To Midgarden, who lives in Red Wing, winning back rural voters who’ve marched so steadily to the GOP is a priority.

But she said there is no agreement by Democrats on how to move forward. “If you ask 1,000 Democrats, ‘What should we do?’ you get 1,000 different ideas,” Midgarden said.

Minnesota DNC member Latonya Reeves, who is also vice chair of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, would not disclose whom she voted for as DNC chairman, citing the secret ballot nature of the election. Her union, and others, supported Wikler.

Nonetheless, Reeves said Martin “is a great man for the job.”

“He’s a grassroots guy with a great disposition,” she said.

To Reeves, the Democratic Party, which has seen its support grow in urban areas and among college-educated voters, must widen its tent door. “I would like to see people step back and say, ‘How can we make sure that everyone is protected?’” Reeves said.

Tim Lindberg, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota-Morris, said Democrats have spent too much time advocating for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies that protect LGBTQ Americans. The GOP focused on those protections — rather than the broader goal of DEI — which appeared to affect a relatively small group of people. Democratic support for DEI, although well meaning, left the larger electorate feeling ignored, he said.

“That is why rural voters felt left out of the Democratic Party,” Lindberg said. “The Democrats lose when they focus on (DEI) instead on the broader economic policies that would help a larger group of people.”

During the presidential campaign, Trump proposed simple ideas, including exempting tips and overtime pay from federal taxes, that impacted a much larger group of voters, Lindberg said.

Another danger about focusing on DEI is that it puts those policies “in the spotlight,” making it easier for Trump and his MAGA supporters to attack them, Lindberg said.

Ana Radelat

Ana Radelat is MinnPost’s Washington, D.C. correspondent. You can reach her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @radelat.

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