“Democrats! Wake The Hell Up!” “Trump is eating us for lunch.” “I’m tired of Democrats doing nothing!” The drumbeat of people calling for a more vigorous response to the Trump/Musk assault is hard to ignore.
The frustration and anger are palpable and I totally share them. But it’s time to ask: Are we playing into Trump’s hands?
We’re involved in a high stakes battle of narratives.
The Trump narrative is that the whole country’s a mess and only wholesale change can shake things up – the deeper we cut, the better. And even if you don’t agree, I have all the power and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.
We can’t let ‘Democrats are too weak, feeble and lacking in courage’ be the other main storyline the country hears.
You win political messaging battles by doing two things – advancing your own compelling narrative and undermining that of your opponent. Constant yelling at Democrats for failing to meet the moment does neither of those things.
So, let’s talk about what each of us can do to shape the narrative contest in a more favorable direction. We need to:
I’m not suggesting for a minute that we should “go easy” on Democrats who aren’t rising to the moment. But I do think we need to be intentional about what forum we choose. Send your elected leaders emails and phone calls. Corral them at town hall meetings. But think twice before feeding the weak Dems narrative on social media.
Senator Chris Murphy, AOC, Bernie Sanders, Jasmine Crockett, Pete Buttigieg. There are some forceful Democratic voices out there. There’s so much more to be gained from amplifying language like this from AOC than from bemoaning weak-kneed Democrats:
“We have an obligation to resist kings. We have an obligation to resist oligarchs. We will work in the streets, in the courts. We can overwhelm them. We outnumber them. Understand our power in this moment. Don’t give up our power. Don’t shy away from our power. Every small action matters.
“There’s not one act that is going to save all of us. It is going to be the constant pressure and commitment to saving our democracy. They cannot withstand the constant, consistent pressure. They will crumble under it . . . They cannot sustain. And we cannot give up.”
We need to call attention and honor to people who are standing up to Trump and Musk. One powerful example: USAID deputy administrator Nick Enrich who issued two memos detailing how Trump/Musk cuts “will no doubt result in preventable death, destabilization, and threats to national security on a massive scale.” He acted knowing he would face retaliation and was, in fact, immediately put on administrative leave.
It’s fine to call out Democrats not acting with the courage the time demands. But we have to recognize that there is a messaging and political premium in putting pressure on purple state GOP politicians whose votes, in a closely divided House, spell the difference between success and failure for Trump legislative initiatives.
Robert Reich has been one of the loudest voices calling for stronger Democratic resistance. But he also puts out a weekly list of “ten reasons for modest optimism.” We need more of that kind of balance.
The human impact of what Trump and Musk are doing is devastating. We can weaken their narrative not by fighting over government programs and budget numbers but by sharing individual stories – a farmer left stranded by the USAID cuts, an older American worried to death about Social Security, a mother broken hearted that NIH cuts may jeopardize her child’s fight to overcome pediatric cancer.
These are just some of the steps we can take to strengthen our messaging. The key is being smart and strategic, always striving to make sure how we communicate is either advancing our narrative or weakening Trump’s.
