The chaos inflicted by the Trump administration is real. But the strategy and response from some Democrats to what we’re experiencing is not the best way forward for my party.
On Feb. 25, The New York Times published an opinion piece in which I urged Democrats to employ caution in dealing with the new incumbent administration. More specifically, I called for a “tactical pause” that would allow Democrats to “regroup, look forward and make decisions about where we want to get to over the next two years.” The reaction to that piece was as depressing as it was predictable—a bicoastal condemnation.
Molly Jong-Fast, the estimable commentator, took to Vanity Fair, calling me out and calling for the Democratic Party to mount a full-court press, “making noise on TV and social media” in response to the chaos inflicted by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, on the Pacific Coast, California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom shared with Charlie Kirk on his new podcast, “This Is Gavin Newsom” just how much he disagrees with me.
We saw the Newsom/Jong-Fast/Green strategy in play last Tuesday night during the president’s address to Congress —pink suits, paddles and dry-erase boards aplenty.
Contrast that with the Carvillian approach taken by Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and the responses they both solicited.
I think it’s evident to anyone and everyone that Democrats’ response needs to be deliberate, determined and dignified—not “The Charge of the Light Brigade.”
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I understand that Democrats are anxious and demanding more, but there’s a thing called a calendar, and there are opportunities abound.
As I think of what’s to come, I’m reminded of former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan: “Events, my dear boy, events.”