As we wrap up the first month of Donald Trump’s second presidency, one word comes to mind when describing it: chaotic.
From the quick shuttering of agencies like the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to mass firings of federal workers, airline disasters left and right, Elon Musk’s role in the administration, and taunting our European and North American allies – it cannot be denied that it has been turbulent.
Yet, the opposition party is nowhere to be found – or heard from.
Despite having two months to prepare for Trump’s presidency (and perhaps even more if Biden’s internal polling was true), the Democrats seem to have no cohesive game plan to prevent many of his executive orders or the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) mass firings.
Leading up to Trump’s second presidency, Democrats clearly showed they had no desire to pass the torch or stop going right.
Democrats needed a new leader for the House Oversight Committee, and the two options were 35-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and 74-year-old Gerry Connolly.
Ocasio-Cortez has moved up the ranks quickly among Democrats and is closely associated with Bernie Sanders, whose proposed policies like universal healthcare are widely supported by Americans.
Connolly has been in office longer than Ocasio-Cortez and is strikingly less popular. He is also currently battling esophagus cancer, which certainly has to take a toll on him physically.
Ultimately, Democratic leadership went with Connolly.
Post-election, it has been even worse – which shows the lack of a plan from Democratic leadership.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has seemingly waved the white flag already.
In a Feb. 7 press conference, Jeffries openly said the Democrats “have no leverage.”
Four days later, a report from Axios came out that said top Democrats (mainly Jeffries) were “pissed” at liberal organizations MoveOn and Indivisible. These organizations had people flooding Democrats’ phones and demanding “a more confrontational opposition to Trump.”
While it may be true Democrats have no control in any of the three branches, that is certainly no reason to essentially roll over and die.
On Dec. 3, 2024, South Korea saw a constitutional crisis when their president declared martial law in an attempt to overthrow the Democratic Party (DPK) and regain control of the National Assembly (South Korea’s legislative body).
South Korean lawmakers proceeded to scale the National Assembly Proceeding Hall and fought against soldiers and police in riot gear to prevent the president. They succeeded, and the president was impeached.
Meanwhile, here in the United States, Democrats stand idly by while DOGE staffers rummage through buildings like the Department of Education.
There is just simply no fight from Democrats, and if there is, there is no energy.
Trump’s current crusade against the transgender community is a perfect example. For a party that prides itself on supporting LGBTQ+ rights and being the party to legalize gay marriage, the silence has been deafening.
Between South Carolina’s own Rep. Nancy Mace shouting anti-trans slurs in the House of Chambers, to Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth outright banning transgender people from the U.S. Army – there has been virtually no pushback.
This election made it clear that people want a true opposition party. Kamala Harris’ attempts to appeal to the right were widely criticized – particularly for buddying up with Liz Cheney.
Democrats have seemingly learned nothing from it. When discussing the mass firings, Democrats mainly focused on USAID and the FBI.
While the layoffs in those departments certainly don’t benefit America, most of the population simply does not care about them.
DOGE is currently eyeing cuts to Medicare and Social Security, which are more effective issues to focus on.
Still, Democrats are stuck in their ways. That’s just speaking on the national level, too, as South Carolina Democratic leadership is just as bad.
Therefore, it is time to do what Republicans did after 2008: primary the top party leadership.
Leaders like Jeffries and Connolly have shown they have no backbone, and the time to pass the torch to younger, more energized members is now.
It is also time to focus more on populist issues. While Biden was shilling to Israel at a time when the American population was voicing their concerns over inflation, Trump was telling people he heard them.
Whether that is true or not, people like to know you hear their struggles. That’s why Bernie Sanders is more popular among conservatives and libertarians than Biden or Harris were, despite having more left-leaning policies.
Democrats have to get their messaging together – and fast. The longer they take to form an outspoken opposition party, the easier it will be to enforce the court-blocked orders from Trump.
