From leftist lawmakers to rowdy protesters to partisan pundits in the mainstream media, the Democratic Party’s traditional outreach strategies were clearly unconvincing to millions of Americans who decided to join the MAGA movement in 2024.
Now that President Donald Trump’s approval rating is still hovering around record highs a full month into his second term, Democrats who thought his honeymoon period would be short-lived are now scrambling for a new approach.
Some are turning to all the living ex-presidents in hopes that they will use their unique platforms to express outrage over the perceived dangers of Trump’s America-first platform.
As The Hill reported:
“No one knows more about the importance of our presidents respecting separation of powers and showing restraint than former presidents,” said Democratic strategist Joel Payne. “Given Trump’s ongoing power grab, those voices and perspectives of our ex-presidents would be critical to the public discourse at this moment.”
“I don’t know what they’re waiting for,” said one former senior aide to Obama. “The time isn’t when Trump ignores court rulings. The time is now.”
Trump’s first month in office has been a whirlwind of activity in which he has sought to dramatically reduce the federal workforce while giving the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, access to sensitive government payment systems. He has also sought to change birthright citizenship and dramatically curb federal spending.
Clinton, Biden and Obama repeatedly warned of the risks to the nation if Trump was reelected.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Democrats’ desperation might be warranted in response to the wide-ranging success Trump has had not only implementing various facets of his agenda but also convincing Americans that his policies are superior to the leftist alternatives:
CNN: Donald Trump’s approval rating among Republicans is 99 points higher than Mitch McConnell’s.
Trump +82
McConnell -17“McConnell is far, far, far more underwater than any GOP leader in the last 40 years.”
Turns out, being an anti-Trump Republican is one of the most… pic.twitter.com/gGHzGsaHdA
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) February 17, 2025
Donald Trump says, “I have high approval ratings because I’m using common sense.”
Facts. pic.twitter.com/cShCjXIsHr
— American AF 🇺🇸 (@iAnonPatriot) February 16, 2025
CBS POLL: President Trump’s approval rating is better than it has ever been.
“He’s doing, in the eyes of the public, what he said he would do … 70% of people say he’s doing what he promised.” pic.twitter.com/V2GdhiQ6G4
— D. Scott @eclipsethis2003 (@eclipsethis2003) February 12, 2025
Outspoken Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) was among those on Capitol Hill calling on the party to increase its efforts to thwart the Trump administration with far-left talking points.
According to Fox News:
“My takeaway is just like the election, we’ve got to do better at education. People don’t understand, but you will understand when those hospitals in rural America start closing down even more. You will understand when you don’t have your Social Security. You will understand when your Medicaid, your Medicare goes away. You will understand as planes continue to fall out of the sky,” she responded.
Griffin asked Crockett about what Democrats needed to do to get their “mojo back” earlier in the interview.
“Like the rest of the world, we’ve got a bit of whiplash, because for some people, even those that voted for him, they said, well, we’ve been here before, and we didn’t fall apart the last time he was here, so we won’t fall apart this time,” she said.
Crockett argued that Trump was “10 times worse.”
ADVERTISEMENT“This is literally not even partisanship, in my opinion, at this point. This is incompetence,” she said. “I know earlier y’all was talking about bring back the Bushes. I’m with you, honey.”
Here’s some additional coverage of the president’s strong job approval numbers:
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!