The Democrats' fight against Trump is in uncharted territory

When Donald Trump made his historic comeback to serve a second term as US president, he seemed to be met with a Democratic Party numb from resisting his first term.

Protests were meek, political leaders were cautious in their statements, and pundits across the political spectrum were already declaring a defeated opposition.

Now, around four months after inauguration day, protests are growing, elected officials are speaking out more frequently, and Trump himself increasingly appears to be his own impediment to maintaining popularity.

“The perception is that there aren’t significant protests this time, but that’s not true,” David Frank, a professor of rhetoric and political communication at the University of Oregon, tells The New Arab.

He points to research showing that protests have increased significantly - 2,085 in February 2025 compared with 937 in 2017 at the beginning of Trump’s first term, though it might not be as obvious due to the decentralised nature of these latest protests.

“What’s important is that protests continue to bubble up all over the country. Democrats are doing a better job of presenting their arguments,” he says.

The Democratic Party are essentially in uncharted territory, as they struggle to find ways to resist a president who has openly expressed a desire to be a dictator, has already teased a third term, and breaks taboos on a daily basis.

Moreover, the Democrats are contending with conservative majorities in both chambers of Congress and in the Supreme Court, preventing most legislative or legal dissent for the next two years.

“Honestly, there’s really not much the Democrats can do,” Richard Groper, a lecturer in political science at California State University in Los Angeles, tells TNA.   

“I think they’re using a kind of ‘wait and see’ approach to let the president blow himself up. It seems to be working if you look at the polls. The president’s first hundred days in office were pretty disastrous. There’s so much blatant corruption. Even people who love him see it,” he said, referring to recent fallout over Trump’s acceptance of a gift from Qatar of a luxury jumbo jet.

Democrats audition for party leader, with no clear breakthroughs

As the post-mortem of the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz campaign continues, the recurring question is: should Democrats now move further to the right or to the left?

Unsurprisingly, centrists are suggesting that Harris and Walz campaigned too far to the left, while many in the left wing of the party are arguing that the Democratic candidates rarely brought up identity politics. They point to polls showing that many Democrats want leaders who will fight harder against Trump and would have preferred that Harris distance herself from Biden, particularly when it came to Israel’s war in Gaza.

A nearly daily question in the news is: who is the next Democratic leader? Several Democratic politicians already seem to be positioning themselves for that role.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has been hosting a podcast in which some of his most prominent guests have been right-wing leaders. He has, however, faced scrutiny for being too chummy with his guests. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a real estate billionaire, has been making impassioned speeches attacking Trump, though it’s unclear if he could break out of his blue-state bubble.

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanel has also been making the news rounds, hinting at a 2028 run, but he doesn’t seem to have much of a following outside mainstream news. Similarly, former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg recently stopped by New Hampshire, hinting at a possible 2028 run, though it’s unclear how far he could go, given his lacklustre performance in the 2020 Democratic primary.

As for those who have stepped out of the box to speak out against Trump, Cory Booker’s 25-hour speech on the Senate floor made headlines for a couple of days and was well received at the time, particularly given the historical significance of breaking the speaking record of segregationist Strom Thurman. However, with the speed of the news cycle, it was quickly overtaken by other stories.

Surprisingly, those in official leadership positions do not seem to be rising to the occasion. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who voted for a Republican spending bill that most of his party opposed, has quickly become one of the most unpopular Democrats. Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has not spoken out much since Trump’s election, only briefly to disagree with Schumer’s vote on the spending bill.

One Democratic leader who has managed to differentiate himself from much of the pack is Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who travelled to El Salvador to advocate for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported and imprisoned despite his legal status in the US.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a key contender for Secretary of State under the Democratic president because of that,” J. Miles Coleman, associate editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Centre for Politics, told TNA.

Fighting the oligarchy, one red district at a time

By far, the most prominent example of Democratic resistance has been from the Fighting Oligarchy tour. Led by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats, along with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, the tour has packed stadiums in deep-red districts. This is in contrast to the current low approval ratings of the Democratic Party.

It might seem counterintuitive for Democrats to target red districts. However, many areas that are currently red were previously competitive for Democrats, a shift that has been taking place over the last several decades with America’s transition away from manufacturing. This was seen in Trump’s last two election wins, as he swept the Rust Belt states, which had voted consistently voted Democrat up through Barack Obama’s two presidential terms.

“If we remember the 2016 campaign, there were people who were attracted to both Trump and Sanders, believing both parties were corrupt. Sanders is sounding many of the same themes Trump did in 2016,” says Frank.

“They’re following Trump and holding rallies in places where people have felt ignored in the neoliberal economic system,” he says, noting that 90,000 factories have shut down since the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. “This could be the answer to Democrats who have embraced wealthy donors, while people in red states believe NAFTA has destroyed their way of life.”

So far, the Fighting Oligarchy tour has made dozens of stops, attracting crowds that far surpass those of campaign season rallies. Many of the attendees are white working-class seniors, demographics Trump was able to capture in his two election wins. Moreover, many

Grassroots movements - the future of American democracy?

Behind the mainstream headlines, multiple grassroots movements are brewing - from organised groups to individual activists.

In March, The Hill reported a 200 percent increase in Democratic interest in running for political office following Schumer’s support for the Republican spending bill.

Justice Democrats, the group that helped bring about the victories of the Squad in the blue wave of 2018, has already made their first endorsement for the 2026 election cycle. They are backing Donavan McKinney in the US House race in the Detroit area against incumbent Shri Thanedar.

David Hogg, a newly elected vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, has said he wants to put $20 million towards unseating ineffective incumbents from the party. As one of the youngest leaders of the DNC, Hogg has provoked controversy last month with his plan, leading to Republican strategist James Carville referring to him as “contemptible little twerp” and suggesting he might sue him.

Since then, Carville and others critical of Hogg’s appear to have reconciled, possibly a sign of the inevitable growing pains of an unpopular party trying to become more modern and appealing.

One of the latest contenders to put her hat in the ring is Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old Palestinian American social media influencer who rose to prominence with her critiques of right-wing media, mainly Fox News.

At the local level, Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan has been involved in the Local Democracy Project, an initiative to support progressives in down-ballot races. In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on the importance of local politics.

The question leading up to the 2026 midterms remains. Will the party go further to the right or to the left to meet the moment, as many progressives are saying? Or will they return to their economic populism roots in an attempt to draw in a broader cross-section of constituents?

So far, the crowds are flocking to the progressives with their economic populism messaging. However, in a system based on big-money campaign donations, it will be challenging for the party to meet the demand of their base.

Brooke Anderson is The New Arab's correspondent in Washington DC, covering US and international politics, business, and culture.

Follow her on Twitter: @Brookethenews