Progressive Democrats, struggling to figure out how to navigate President Donald Trump’s second term, are settling on a new approach. That means taking his populist, working-class proposals at his word, or at least pretending to do so.
If he’s successful, they can take some credit for bringing him to the table. Otherwise they might bash him for it.
It’s a change in strategy that emerged in private conversations among some liberal lawmakers and operatives after years of resistance to Trump ended and Trump returned to the White House. It was brought about.
Member of Parliament Pramila Jayapal The chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, D-Wash., said in an interview that he is likely to work with Trump if he pursues the antitrust promises he made during his campaign. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said he believes he will partner with President Trump to address “massive corporate consolidation.” Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) posted on X that it “looks forward to fulfilling President Trump’s promise” to cap credit card interest rates.
Even Sen. elizabeth warren The Democratic Party of Massachusetts, a symbol of the resistance movement that popularized the motto “And yet she persevered” while skewering President Trump’s Cabinet nominations in 2017, is finding common cause with the president-elect. be.
“President Trump announced during the campaign that he intended to put a 10% interest rate cap on consumer loans,” Warren told POLITICO. “bring it on.”
But she added: “If he refuses to fulfill his campaign promise to help workers, he should be held accountable.”
An aide to a progressive lawmaker granted anonymity to discuss internal strategy said the obvious: Liberal Democrats will continue to oppose most of the things President Trump does “to the hilt.”
However, the person said, “As for some policy proposals that we think will help the working class, including capping credit card interest rates, we’re going to say ‘put up or shut up.”’ Ta. Because if he does, it will be a huge victory for millions of people across this country. Otherwise, he will be exposed as a fraud. ”
Progressives are not suddenly buying MAGA hats, and since President Trump is not yet in office, different ways to engage with or oppose him are still being considered. They remain appalled by President Trump’s actions and policies, including creating the largest deportation program in history, cutting taxes for the wealthy, and revoking transgender rights. And many of them fear that Mr. Trump is an aspiring dictator who threatens democracy itself (though Mr. Trump’s allies say this is unfounded).
But some of President Trump’s populist campaign promises dovetail with the aspirations of progressives themselves. These include making IVF treatments free of charge, abolishing taxes on chips and capping credit card interest rates. He has also long promised to protect the popular programs of Social Security and Medicare. He sometimes pushed to direct Medicare to negotiate drug prices.
Asked for comment, President Trump’s press secretary, Stephen Chan, said: “President Trump’s America First policy will help to energize all Americans and address the failures and fatigue that have ravaged this country over the past four years. “In contrast to his failed policies, Democrats know that voters now firmly support President Trump.” ”
Some of President Trump’s allies also support several other ideas supported by progressives, from dismantling the Pentagon to stricter enforcement of antitrust laws.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who has been accused by President Trump of shrinking the federal government, appears to agree with progressive members of Congress. Ro Khanna in Recent threads about X The Pentagon is spending too much money on contractors.
President Trump’s ally Matt Gaetz was nominated by the president-elect to be attorney general, but later declined the position. I admired Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan; Mr. Khan is revered on the left for enraging Wall Street and aggressively crushing monopolies. Khan is not expected to remain under the Trump administration, but Mr. Musk said. Although she would be “fired immediately,” Vice President-elect J.D. Vance also spoke positively about her and advocated for breaking up Big Tech.
Last week, Khan Returned the favor at the FTC meetingHe said he is “very appreciative and appreciative of the bipartisan support” for his work, “including Vice President-elect Vance and former Congressman Gaetz.”
Progressives are clear that most or many of President Trump’s populist campaign promises will not materialize in the Republican-controlled House and Senate. But they believe his voters want him to carry on. They also have no power in Congress and even crave outside opportunities to influence policy.
Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Institute, said his group conducted polls in key battleground states Pennsylvania and Michigan in the final weeks of the election. He said a survey conducted in conjunction with the liberal firm Data for Progress found that a majority of Trump voters want him to crack down on price gouging, raise taxes on billionaires and strengthen antitrust laws. He said it was found that there was.
“President Trump has actually promised people things like helping Social Security recipients, eliminating the tax on tips, and capping credit card interest rates at 10%.” “His own voters believe he has a responsibility to do that, in addition to raising taxes on billionaires and big corporations. So let’s hold a mirror up to him and ask him, you become a hypocrite. Are you planning on doing so?
Not all progressives agree with that strategy. Member of Parliament summer lee A member of the so-called Squad, D-Pennsylvania, said of President Trump, “I never got the impression that he was responsible for anything in his life.” But she said: “I don’t blame anyone’s efforts.”
Sen. peter welch (D-Vermont) said holding President Trump’s feet to the fire in Congress is “a little unrealistic. We don’t have the votes.” But he said there is room to advocate for liberal policies.
“If there are areas we can agree on, such as credit card fees, interest rate caps, and reference prices for prescription drugs, let’s work together to make it happen,” he said. “I’m committed to helping working-class people.”
In any case, it’s not 2017 anymore. And Resistance 2.0 doesn’t look exactly like the first era.
“There may be places where resistance is appropriate,” Warren said. “For example, if President Trump were to follow in the footsteps of Vice President J.D. Vance and ban abortion access nationwide through the FDA, there would be massive resistance. If we follow through on our promise of further tax cuts for the United States, we will be in that fight all the way.”
At the same time, she said, “If President Trump is going to lower interest rates on all consumer loans to 10%, I want him to be on board.”
