Under pressure from supporters to “do something” to take on Donald Trump, Democrats sent a series of mixed messages this week around the president’s address to a joint session of Congress.
It was emblematic of the party’s current political predicament, which features many ideas but no cohesive strategy.
Some, like U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia, boycotted Trump’s speech.
Some, like U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, walked out on Trump.
Some, like U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, watched quietly as Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Green of Texas interrupted the president’s speech and then was ushered off the House floor.
Green may be best known for his calls to strip the name of Georgia’s Richard Russell off a U.S. Senate office building — calling it a “symbol of national shame.” After he was ejected, Green said he wanted to show the country that Democrats would “stand up” to Trump.
But while Green spoke to reporters in the Capitol, most Democrats who left the Trump speech didn’t walk to a nearby room where dozens of reporters were camped out.
One Democrat, U.S. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier of California, did come through — but he had nothing to say.
“I’m not ready to comment,” DeSaulnier said to puzzled reporters.
More than anything right now, the Democratic strategy — if you can call it that — is to watch and hope Trump makes unforced policy errors.
We saw that again this week as veterans blasted the firing of employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs, accusing the Trump administration of making dangerous cuts.
“It’s going to kill us,” the head of the Veterans of Foreign Wars said, as veterans cheered in a packed hearing room.
But the cuts being engineered by Elon Musk are clearly popular. You could sense that as Trump rattled off examples of questionable spending during his speech.
It’s left Democrats in the weak position of being the defenders of bureaucracy and the status quo instead of being champions of government reform and efficiency.
Georgia Republicans emerged from the speech excited about what’s next for the Trump agenda.
“His enthusiasm and his optimism, I think, are contagious,” U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island told me. “Finally, we’ve got a president who’s putting America first.”
But let’s be honest. Tough work lies ahead for the GOP.
The speech was the easy part for Trump. Cobbling together the details of a tax and budget plan — as Democrats attack possible cuts in Medicaid and more — is a tougher assignment.
Could the political dynamic change in the months ahead? Of course it could. But right now, Democrats seem a tad disjointed as they take on Trump’s second term.
Jamie Dupree has covered national politics and Congress from Washington, D.C., since the Reagan administration. His column appears weekly in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For more, check out his Capitol Hill newsletter at http://jamiedupree.substack.com
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