The Progressive Moment In The Trump Era:
How Democrats pivot from majority governance to being an effective opposition party & building the progressive bench.
Feel free to check the past archives and follow the editions to come in the Trump Era (First Come, First Serve!).
Well, Trump 2.0 has officially begun, and it’s been quite a stretch already. 4 more years to go (so long as he honors the 22nd Amendment more than he honors the 14th Amendment and the rest of the Constitution).
Sweeping pardons for violent, barbaric savages on January 6. Attempted crowd size touting. Unrealistic fantasies about the Panama Canal and the Gulf of Mexico. A Big Tech ally poised to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Refugee resettlement and parole for legal Haitian, Cuban, and Venezuelan immigrants gone. More Trump Bibles and Trump Coins. Plans in the works right now to purge political opponents. A ripoff Martin Luther King Jr. imitator. It’s going to be a very long stretch.
So how should Democrats approach the moment?
First, remember the results. Trump did not get a majority in the popular vote. His Electoral College margin win is only marginally bigger than what Biden 2020 and Trump 2016 had. Trump has smaller congressional majorities on hand than George W. Bush ever did in 2005. Democrats have 47 Senate seats and 215 House seats (making the House’s majority the slimmest in nearly 100 years). In other words, Trump’s mandate is greatly exaggerated, and maybe not even there at all.
An email from berniesanders.com on January 19 was quite on point. It is effectively what should shape the opposition party strategy, which I will practically paraphrase or quote almost verbatim from now:
It is not enough to merely criticize Trump’s fear mongering, xenophobia, bigotry, and stream of disinformation. Democrats have to stand for something. They need a vision of their own that realizes how many Americans live paycheck to paycheck, how the gap between the rich and the poor has never been larger, and that addresses all the issues relevant to those large trends.
Sure, if Trump is aligned with our values and with the working class, fine. But remember Trump makes a lot of promises and does not keep many of them. If his pledges on credit card rates and reigning in food corporations, etc. are real, let’s dare him to do it. If they aren’t, that is the perfect time to call out his bluff. He can fool us once with the anti-establishment populism. Democrats shouldn’t let him fool us twice; or else, the shame will be on them.
Trump will inevitably have to choose who to please most as President: the Republican Party corporate-tech establishment, or the working class coalition he constructed from 2016? And it will take more than just marketing on both ends.
Otherwise, whatever Trump does that has nothing to do with working class interests, Democrats should not give an inch. More Trump Tax Cuts? Hell No! Deregulation? Not worth repeating again. Working Class Austerity & Corporate Welfare? Come on! A President Trump who governs more like Reagan and George W. Bush than the economic populist “wrecking ball” he pretends to be should not get bipartisan support for policies that have not worked for 40 years and will not work still.
As for the pro-Trump crypto swindlers, Big Tech gurus, and the entire special interests oligarchy, Democrats should let them know early in advance that they are now on their own in their next pursuits of scam and profiteering.
Much like Barry Speck would say, Democrats may run to the center “no more.” Democrats may embrace the Republicans’ tax-cutting, deregulating, consolidating, privatizing, corporate welfare, working class austerity agenda “no more.” Democrats may become Republican-lite economically “no more.” Sorry Dick Morris, or not so sorry since you became a Republican anyways.
Related to that, the progressive movement, if it wants to revamp the Democratic Party the way Trump remade the Republican Party, has to think big picture and long term. I remember the attention on Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaigns in 2020, and also noticed how congressional races and state offices were vastly overlooked.
Progressives need to forge and sustain a governing bench of its own in Congress and across the States to have true long term success and redirect the Democratic Party to model the likes of Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Sherrod Brown, and not so much Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema, and Josh Gottheimer, with allies long devoted to such causes mentioned here previously.
Furthermore, younger leadership is a necessity in our party, no ifs, ands, or buts. Alas, let me introduce you to some rising stars and figures you might want to keep tabs on (whether to be Senators or Representatives, or Governors, etc.):
Roy Cooper: I mention Governor Roy Cooper more as an odds-on favorite to be the party nominee to unseat NC Senator Thom Tillis in 2026. Tillis has proven to be resilient in the past, but Governor Cooper has shown his own electoral credentials as well.
Not to mention, Cooper has been a true leader in his state and even nationally on issues like criminal justice reform, voting rights, public records, healthcare, consumer safety, and labor advocacy as Governor and State Attorney General.
Chloe Maxmin: Former ME State Senator Chloe Maxmin may be the type of Democrat the party should run against Susan Collins in 2026, having unseated the state’s GOP Senate Minority Leader in 2020 on tough, rural turf. She is a lifelong rural organizer which continues to today, and worked as a state lawmaker to address local school budget shortfalls, enact green and blue economy climate action, allocate universal broadband funding, and pursue universal healthcare in office. High-quality public servant indeed.
Antonio Delgado: NY Lt. Governor Delgado is a rising star taken for granted for too long. He had a post-election mortem on the struggles of the working class in regards to farm consolidation, the fracturing of organized labor, and bad trade deals in why so many traditional bases of the party flocked to Trump further. Furthermore, he won election to an Upstate NY congressional district running to expand Medicaid coverage, provide support for family farmers, fund public education fully, and support our environment-friendly green economy.
Considering Governor Kathy Hochul’s widely known political struggles and electoral baggage shown in 2022 and 2024 statewide, a fresh leader in Lt. Governor Delgado (or Attorney General Letitia James) would offer a meaningful chance to rebuild the party there in 2026 and address agricultural mechanization and urban deindustrialization upstate, and offer a platform for a meaningful voice sidelined for way too long. Especially if Congressman Mike Lawler runs on the Republican side in 2026.
Rob Sand: IA State Auditor Rob Sand should be the candidate Democrats recruit to run against GOP establishment figure Joni Ernst for US Senate in 2026.
It’s true. He won statewide office twice in 2018 and 2022, both in underdog circumstances and close races. But he is also a national leader as Iowa’s taxpayer watchdog, especially around private school voucher programs, coronavirus relief fraud, nursing home oversight, veterans’ safety, government corruption, and legislature power grabs.
Ruben Gallego: AZ Senator Ruben Gallego has been someone I have looked up to for several years as a favorite of progressives and as a strong campaigner. No one can question his experience on border security and veterans affairs, or his pro-labor, pro-consumer, pro-small business, and pro-worker bonafides. Could very well be presidential material and someone to watch even beyond that.
Joe Neguse: CO Congressman Joe Neguse was one of the impeachment managers for the January 6th trial (terrifically strategic and well spoken there). He is now a member of House leadership and an active leader in the Congressional Progressive Caucus on matters of universal healthcare, environmental protection, energy policy, education issues, stock trading bans, civil rights, voting rights, and campaign finance reform. With calls amidst for Hickenlooper to retire, Congressman Neguse would be a terrific Senator for Colorado to have.
Andy Kim: Senator Andy Kim is coming out of the gate strong for New Jersey as an anti-corruption warrior, immigration reform advocate, reproductive rights champion, gun safety leader, and supporter of foreign allies like Ukraine and Taiwan. Tough questioner in oversight hearings too. Looking forward to hearing more about him down the road. And thank you Congressman Kim for literally cleaning our US Capitol grounds on 1/6/21.
Lauren Underwood: Some are saying IL Congresswoman, and registered nurse, Lauren Underwood may run for US Senate if Democratic Whip Dick Durbin retires in 2026. She would be a fantastic addition to the bench as a nationally renowned expert and leader in the field of healthcare and maternal mortality, abortion care, the opioid epidemic, racial equality, and tax policy, having served in both the executive and legislative branches of government.
Ayanna Pressley: MA Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley is a vastly underappreciated leader in the progressive movement. While not necessarily outspoken, she gets a lot of work done behind the scenes on private prisons, racial justice, criminal justice and drug policy reforms, housing affordability, and transportation access. Her advocacy goes back a long way to City Council politics, and she worked for Rep. Joe Kennedy II and Senator John Kerry. She would be an incredible and influential successor for Massachusetts in the Senate should Ed Markey or Elizabeth Warren retire in the years ahead.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: As a more old school fellow looking up to Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, I was sometimes mystified, yet curious, by the social media approach the Squad had early on (even when it backfired in a small handful of controversies).
Nonetheless, it is easy to credit them for having strong convictions and values. NY Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez represents the evolution of this younger, social media-oriented progressive presence, having formed a deep policy construct for issues like single-payer healthcare, a Green New Deal, a federal jobs guarantee, housing justice, corporate accountability, a fair wage and safe working conditions, humane foreign policy, and more. Not to mention raising money for several climate disasters like the deadly 2021 Texas winter storm. Whenever a seat opens up (most likely when Schumer eventually decides to retire), Ocasio-Cortez may bring that same policy inspiration and oversight zeal to the Senate, in addition to a needed wage worker perspective.
Juliana Stratton: You will see a trend in which I highlight a lot of Lt. Governors, which I do because many (like PA’s Austin Davis and WI’s Sara Rodriguez) have incredibly strong partnerships with their Governor running mates-unlike in Rhode Island. Lt. Governor Stratton has in office worked on issues such as rural affairs, economic development, women’s issues, military support, conflict resolution, and watershed protection. She may likely become Illinois’s next Governor…or perhaps a Senator.
Peggy Flanagan: MN Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan is a leader I am waiting to see in the future, whether as a future US Senator or their future Governor. Her partnership with Governor Tim Walz has been impressive during the past legislative session, while also being an active voice on Native American tribal sovereignty issues, environmental advocacy, child welfare, job opportunities, and women’s rights in the community and as a former state lawmaker (like LG Stratton). Her future is also very bright, and an inspiration to Native Americans all across our country.
Garlin Gilchrist: MI Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist is another senatorial, or gubernatorial, hopeful I am looking forward to seeing in our politics more. He was Governor Whitmer’s point person on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic for African Americans and other racial minority groups. He is a leader in addressing mass incarceration, and an advisor on issues around technology, while presiding over a productive legislative session in Michigan around clean energy jobs, union protections, caregiver support, and more. Another example of fine leadership from a fresh face and true change maker.
Mandela Barnes: Former WI Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes is still making a difference even out of office. After very narrowly losing a close Senate race to Ron Johnson despite dwindling national support in the final stretch of 2022, my good friend is still at work organizing voters and strengthening our democracy through Power to the Polls WI and Forward Together Wisconsin. As Lt. Governor, it was Barnes who worked with the Governor on issues around the climate crisis, BadgerCare, rural broadband efforts, farm investments, and incarceration policy reforms. As a state lawmaker, he spoke out against private school vouchers and unlawful payday lending.
His story coming from one of the most impoverished and incarcerated zip codes in the country as the son of a factory worker is one we all should look up to. Frankly, I hope he proves the naysayers wrong and offers us a rematch in 2028.
And last, but not least, a discussion on PA Senator John Fetterman. I do not intend to speak on his behalf in regards to visiting Mar-a-Lago or expressing an openness to Trump’s Greenland acquisition.
However, I will bring some context to the Senator as to why I still have a deep faith in him and his potential and why I see this differently from the Manchinema fraudsters. If I’m wrong, I will proudly eat my words up and admit so.
John Fetterman is someone whose career caught my attention as early as 2019. He was the Mayor of Braddock, a small town outside Pittsburgh before rising quickly to be elected Lt. Governor in 2018 and US Senator in 2022. While a maverick on some issues, like his staunch pro-fracking support, pro-Israel bonafides, and tough-on-immigration positions, he is just as consistent in his advocacy for second chances for those wrongfully convicted and incarcerated, for stronger environmental standards in frontline communities, for universal, affordable healthcare, for “the Union Way of Life,” for LGBTQ+ equality, for weed, and for a $15 minimum wage.
In fact, as the Trump comments went around, it was Fetterman and his team that kept the focus for his supporters on Manchin and Sinema tanking Biden’s NLRB nominee, touted tuition-free community college, and spoke out in opposition to cuts to essential lifelines Americans need, such as Medicaid, Social Security, and SNAP.
Which in other words translates to not being totally worried about Fetterman becoming the new Manchin & Sinema, or becoming a Republican, contrary to online commentary. As Commonwealth observers have noted, it is only a part of consistency in Fetterman’s approach throughout his entire career, one that is admittedly effective up to now.
It also is worth saying Fetterman has been through a lot, which is far unlike the Manchin-Sinema situation. He had a stroke in 2022, which he is surely recovering from bit by bit. He also had a mental health check up back in 2023, which is also worth saying as someone who I hope will be an advocate for mental health parity and addressing chronic health issues during his time in office.
Finally, maybe most important actually, even though it very well may be an overreaction, it is true Pennsylvania had a red wave in 2024 from top to bottom. In fact, many statewide candidates lost by as many as 5 points.
Thus, I remain hopeful in John Fetterman as a leader in our party who has a lot to offer from his career, and I hope I may be proven right on that point, regardless of my particular policy differences.
There will be more of these profiles to cover, but stay tuned for the coming round of posts in the Trump era.
Very good, Mike!