ANALYSIS.
Trump splits the Democratic Party in two: 'resistance' vs. 'collaborationists'
The defeat in the November elections has left Democratic leaders divided, with some advocating for strong opposition to the president-elect, while others are focused on pursuing bipartisan agreements.
Kamala Harris gives a speech during the Democratic Convention.
Prominent figures within the Democratic Party are still grappling with Kamala Harris's defeat to Donald Trump last November. Lacking a clear leader and without a chairperson at the National Committee, the party is struggling to formulate a unified strategy for facing the Republican tycoon's second term. The division within the party has once again become apparent, with some pushing for unwavering resistance to any measure proposed by the president-elect, while others advocate for bipartisan agreements to benefit the American people and restore core Democratic values in the face of the woke shift.
It is precisely the party's most radical wing that has shown the strongest resolve to make Trump's second term as difficult as possible. Governors like Gavin Newsom of California—one of the leading contenders for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination—J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan have all pledged to do everything in their power to protect their state policies from the new directives coming from the federal government.
The Democratic coalition Governors Safeguarding Democracy is born
Pritzker joined his Colorado counterpart, Jared Polis, in launching the Governors Safeguarding Democracy coalition to "protect state institutions against the threat of authoritarianism, as the nation prepares for a president who has vowed to seek retaliation against his political enemies and rule as a dictator from 'day one.' We need to work together, especially at the state level, to protect and strengthen it."
In addition, Trump's arch-nemesis and speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi has also come out in favor of confronting the White House, as has future Senate Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer. Members of the “Squad,” who survived the November elections, with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez leading the way, will likewise serve as a spearhead against the new administration.
Fetterman among Democrats who will seek agreements with the new administration
Several elected politicians and strategists are choosing to collaborate with the president-elect for the benefit of the American people. This collaboration is not a blank check—far from it. Instead, it involves carefully listening to and analyzing the proposals, and offering support only if they are deemed appropriate and beneficial for the citizens.
Leading this group is Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman. The congressman, critical of the woke drift the party was sliding into even before the elections, has shown himself open to reach bipartisan agreements and has even met with controversial candidates for key positions in the new administration such as Pete Hegseth.
"We're going to try something different in how we deal with Trump"
In New York, one of the blue states where support for Donald Trump has surged the most, calls for collaboration have emerged from several prominent voices. The first is Mayor Eric Adams of New York City, who has expressed support for Trump’s changes to immigration policy and has signaled openness to working with the president-elect. Also from the Empire State, Rep. Tom Suozzi has publicly advocated for collaboration in a column published in The New York Times.
Under the headline "Let's try something different in how we deal with Trump," Suozzi says it a mistake to give in to the temptation to "stand firm against Mr. Trump at every turn: rallying against his bills, blocking his nominees and paralyzing the House and Senate machinery." The lawmaker believes that "only if we work together to compromise on parts of the president-elect's agenda can we make progress for Americans, who clearly demand changes on the economy, immigration, crime and other top issues."
DOGE, rallying point for bipartisan agreements
He has also been willing to listen to his colleague in Congress. Rep. Ro Khanna expressed interest in hearing proposals from Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to cut government spending. In fact, DOGE is one of the points that is attracting the most attention from the Democrats to try to reach agreements on where and how much to cut.
Socialist Sanders, willing to work with Trump
Sanders has also been very critical of the Democrats after the November defeat, whom he accused of abandoning the working class, which ended up supporting the Republican Party.
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