Trump is squandering his moment. Here’s a path forward for Democrats.
(Washington Post illustration; iStock)
March 27, 202515 min
For a moment, it seemed like anything was possible. With Donald Trump’s popular-vote victory in November, the old order had been dealt a devastating blow. Democrats were mostly despondent. The resistance had petered out. Where to go from here? No one really knew.
Many observers of American politics, me included, thought that a new era had begun — one of Trumpian hegemony. Republicans, emboldened, would reshape American culture, ushering in a period of conservative dominance for years, if not decades. This was the “vibe.”
In theory, cutting waste and making the federal government more accountable were popular ideas. For a majority of Americans, progressive policies on issues such as immigration and transgender rights had run their course.
