Democratic leaders: Either step up and take the fight to Trump or Step Aside

These are the options!

“Dear Democratic leaders: We need you to take the FIGHT to Donald Trump and the oligarchy he is ushering in to power. Stop being silent--or worse--looking for "common ground" with a convicted felon, adjudicated rapist who attempted a coup and incited the Jan. 6 terrorist attack. If you can’t do that, then step aside because we need fighters, not doormats for the MAGA agenda.”

The above is my best effort to sum up the growing anger and frustration I have heard from fellow Democrats since the election—especially now that we are just days from Trump being sworn in. It’s also exactly how I feel.

When Presidents Obama and Biden were about to be sworn in, we didn’t hear Republican leaders declare a desire to find common ground with them. Instead with Biden, GOP leaders of Congress joined with Trump to literally attempt to overturn the 2020 election—and even after the Jan. 6 attack, nearly 150 voted against certifying the results. And with Obama, we heard people like then GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell infamously pledge, “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”

Making the Democrats silence now even more jarring is that leading up to the 2024 election, Democratic leaders literally called Trump a “fascist” and warned he was a “threat to our freedoms and democracy.” So where are the Democratic leaders now about how they will protect our freedoms and democracy from this fascist? Where is the passionate message about the Democratic strategy to stand up to Trump in his second term?!

We are not alone in sensing something is deeply wrong with the Democratic leadership. We are seeing a growing number of articles calling out the Democrats silence. Rolling Stone recently featured an article titled, “Democrats are already rolling over Trump,” noting that, “The resistance is over” as many “Democrats signal a new era of enhanced Democratic subservience.”

In Axios, the co-founders of the publication penned an column focusing on, “Trump's ever-expansive power,” noting that “Democratic opposition is weak and largely powerless.” And just a few days ago, former Republican Mona Charen wrote an article for The Bulwark slamming Democratic leaders that began with these two words in all caps: “ENOUGH CAPITULATION!” She continued that Democrats have “responded to the election with acquiescence bordering on servility.”

Yes, there are some Democratic fighters in Congress but what is lacking is a unified strategy! We, Democrats are so desperate for someone to resist that we are overjoyed that Michelle Obama announced this week she refuses to attend Trump’s inauguration.

Democrats in Congress shockingly appear to be acting like Trump actually “won in a landslide” and has a “mandate” –a lie Trump and his allies keep peddling. In reality, Trump won less than 50% of the vote (33% of all registered voters to be accurate.) And instead of the GOP gaining seats in the House—which happens in real landslide elections--they had a net loss of one seat meaning they have a three seat margin, which is the smallest majority in nearly 100 years.

One of the worst Democrats in this regard is Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman who over the weekend travelled down to Mar-A-Lago to kiss Trump’s ring. It’s one thing for a Senator to meet with Trump in Washington, D.C, but Fetterman made a spectacle of visiting Trump because it helps him politically. (I wish Trump would put Fetterman in his administration, enabling Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro-who is a fighter--to appoint a real Democrat to this Senate seat.)

Some of these “let’s give MAGA a chance” Democrats are supporting Trump—or the MAGA agenda on issues like immigration—because they believe it helps them politically. They have put their re-election efforts over protecting us. Please never forget who they are.

But there might be something else at play. I spoke last week to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison—a progressive fighter--and I asked him why the silence from so many Democrats. Ellison shared the brutal truth of what he’s hearing from some Democratic officials and that is they are truly afraid of Trump. Ellison summed up some conversations about Trump as follows: “We think he's a fascist, and now that he has power we're scared.”

Yep, Ellison made it clear Democratic leaders still think Trump is a threat but they fear he will seek “retribution” against them as he vowed. Ellison shared their philosophy is, “I'm gonna keep my head down and hope I don't get any attention by the bad guy.”

Ellison, though, rejects this approach. Instead, he urged that, “the best thing to do now is object from the beginning.”

I couldn’t agree more. The question is how do we get Democratic officials to do the same?! Calling the offices of your members of Congress will make a difference as former Capitol Hill staffer and co-founder of Indivisible Ezra Levin recently explained to me. Each week these elected officials get updates on what people are calling about and the volume of those calls.

Bluntly, though, certain Democrats in office need to be primaried in 2026. We need to send a message that we want fighters, not people who put their own political concerns over the communities that are most at risk in Trump’s second term.

But right now, we can each play a role in taking the fight to Trump from getting more involved in grassroots organizations, volunteering on campaigns and even running for office. And for those who want to do something this Saturday, there is the People’s March in Washington, D.C. and in locations across the nation sponsored by a host of groups from The Women’s March to Planned Parenthood to The Sierra Club. Will we see any national Democratic officials speak at these events?!

Keith Ellison said something else in our interview that stayed with me about the next few years under Trump: “We're all gonna get tested a little bit.” He’s right. The question is how do each of us respond?! The answer must be: We stand up and fight!

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Below is my full interview of Minn AG Keith Ellison:

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