Here’s how Democrats should fight back against Trump | Margaret Sullivan

It’s easy to be disgusted with the Democratic party right now. Donald Trump is running roughshod over the rule of law, treating the US constitution like toilet paper. His trusty pal Elon Musk is the arsonist in chief, burning down worthy democratic institutions and installing his minions in the heart of government where they have gained access to citizens’ private information. Much of what’s happening is illegal and unconstitutional.

And the Democrats, mostly, look less like an opposition party and more like stunned bystanders. As my Guardian colleague Moira Donegan put it, they are “out of touch, opportunistic and cowardly”.

But not all. Some Democrats in a new generation are punching back hard, and in so doing, showing their colleagues how to overcome their reputation for spineless dithering.

Take Jasmine Crockett, for example, a 43-year-old congresswoman from Texas, who is defiantly feisty. You’ll find her everywhere – on social media, on cable TV and leading citizen protests in front of government office buildings.

“We have a thug in charge of the White House,” she thundered in a TV appearance this week. And she didn’t spare her fellow citizens who elected Trump or who stayed home instead of voting in November. “Americans thought that it was OK to take a full-fledged criminal and make him the president of the United States, and then they want to act aghast when he does criminal things.”

I’ve been talking with Sawyer Hackett, a strategist who worked in the Obama administration, about how Democrats can meet this terrifying moment. He praised Crockett as “an authentic source of righteous indignation when Democrats desperately need it”.

The millions of anti-Trump Americans, he told me, aren’t interested in curated talking points or polished press conferences.

“They want to see us fight and speak clearly about the threats we face,” Hackett said, and she has been delivering. As a Black woman, Crockett is particularly incensed about TrumpWorld’s racist attacks on diversity and has no hesitation in blasting the “mediocre white men” who benefit.

Connecticut senator Chris Murphy is at least as impressive. He has been relentless in calling out exactly what’s happening and why, especially in the shocking weeks since Trump took office.

“We have days to stop the destruction of our democracy,” Murphy raged at a protest Tuesday in front of the US treasury building in Washington. “It’s the people who rule, not the billionaires. We are taking this country back from Elon Musk.”

Murphy calls what’s happening a constitutional crisis. It is one that the public must play a role in fixing by putting pressure not only on Democrats but on the cowardly Republicans who hold a majority in both houses of Congress. Talk about spineless!

“There’s been no better messenger in the first two weeks of Trump 2.0 than Chris Murphy,” in Hackett’s view. “At a time when too many Democrats are afraid of their shadow, Murphy is showing how to fight back with a compelling populist message that should be a blueprint for the Democrats moving forward.”

As outraged and frightened Americans urge Democrats to “do something”, it’s not clear whether voices like Crockett’s and Murphy’s can really make a difference. What can be done? Lawsuits are cropping up all over, and a federal judge on Wednesday barred the enforcement of Trump’s executive order that would restrict birthright citizenship.

And some in Congress are refusing to vote for anything Trump wants until the illegality ends and Musk is sent home. Their notion is simple: gum up the works.

“Democrats need to throw every possible wrench into the plans of Trump, Musk and their Republican cultists in Congress,” argued scholar Norm Ornstein in the Contrarian newsletter. “Doing so will also underscore how serious the threat is to our system, thereby forcing media to cover it.” As Virginia congressman Don Beyer suggested on Greg Sargent’s Daily Blast podcast from the New Republic: “Put those things that used to be routine and make them not routine until Trump stops breaking the law.”

skip past newsletter promotion

after newsletter promotion

In other words, attack on multiple fronts, including through leveraging the power of Democratic state governments. Most of all, prepare for the midterms elections next year by honing a strong, populist message.

And lead with convincing voices that can motivate the public. Crockett and Murphy surely are two of those. Though far from alone – Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland, for example, is irreplaceable – they are notable because they are younger and savvy about how to communicate forcefully in today’s media environment. (Here’s Murphy’s clarity on the billionaire bonanza: “Why is Donald Trump engaged in this relentless campaign to try to silence journalists, media companies, and his political opposition? It’s because he’s trying to steal from you.”)

They know how to put up their dukes.

That’s important because one thing is certain: if the public believes there is no determination to fight back, Trump’s destruction will continue unabated.

What’s giving me hope now

What’s giving me hope now is knowing so many talented young journalists, not only my students at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, but others whose careers I have followed in recent years. Many of them are determined, honest, idealistic, energetic and unwilling to give up on their chosen craft despite all the headwinds and challenges that face them. Democracy demands journalism, so this is extremely important now and in the future.