U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) speaks during a rally on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images)
Trump and the GOP’s agenda of corruption, chaos and cruelty should be burnished in the public’s mind. May 22, 2025 at 11:55 a.m. EDT, Yesterday at 11:55 a.m. EDT, 6 m
Democrats need to have a frank conversation — with themselves.
We must acknowledge where we are and appreciate what we can realistically accomplish. Yes, we should oppose the MAGA agenda at every turn. But given that we control neither the bully pulpit nor any congressional gavel, we need to focus foremost on what’s winnable: next year’s midterm elections. At core, the 2026 campaign will be a referendum on President Donald Trump and his rubber-stamp Republicans in Congress. Our task is to help the public understand what the Republicans are doing and how it affects them. That job begins with Trump’s audaciously named One Big Beautiful Bill.
This will likely be the most significant piece of legislation to pass during Trump’s term and should be understood by the public in one phrase: “tax cuts for the wealthy, health-care cuts for the many.” The simplicity of that binary is its virtue. Trump is a chaos machine — a disciple of professional wrestling who will try to distract from the underlying reality. (See his comment that he’s “not going to touch [Medicaid].”) We can’t chase every shiny bauble — we need to laser focus on points that will deliver strategic value. This is our opportunity to define Trump and his congressional enablers.
