The Democratic Party is on the ropes in a way unseen in decades. President Trump’s approval numbers are higher than they’ve ever been since he entered the political arena. Since he won a resounding victory last November, the Democrats have been grappling with an identity crisis that has left it fractured, directionless, and, according to a recent CNN poll, less popular than ever. With favorability ratings plummeting to a historic low of 29% – a figure not seen in CNN’s polling since 1992 – the Democrats are facing a reckoning. They need to decide if they are going to retreat to a populous middle or double down on the extreme socialist Left.
Democrats are finding themselves cowering and feckless in the corner of Congress. While Trump was triumphantly introducing the nation to several inspiring figures during his Joint Address to Congress, Democrats sat on their hands and did not applaud or clap for a teenage cancer survivor or a new West Point cadet. While Democrats were hoping that the Republicans’ extremely slim majority would prevent any legislation, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson passed several meaningful bills and Senate Majority Leader John Thune called Chuck Schumer’s bluff on filibustering a continuing resolution to keep the government open. Democrats can’t get anything done.
This is why Democratic voters are turning towards performative politicians, because those who are supposed to actually accomplish something are doing nothing. Perhaps most striking in the CNN findings is the question, “Thinking about Democratic leaders today, which one person best reflects the core values of the Democratic Party?” The highest recipient was Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) with 10%. Kamala Harris followed her with 9%, and Bernie Sanders received third with 8%. So 27% of respondents believe that the core values of the Democratic Party are ideologically to the far-left socialist side. Even the next three recipients, Hakeem Jeffries, Barack Obama, and Jasmine Crocket with 6, 4 and 4% respectively, would be unrecognizable to a Clintonian Democrat.
This ideological drift is epitomized by support for figures like Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder and pro-Palestinian activist whose arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this month sparked outrage among progressive Democrats. Khalil, who came to the US on a student visa in 2022 and quickly became a leader in Columbia University Apartheid Divest, was detained amid claims of ties to Hamas. Senate Judiciary Committee member Chris Murphy led a chorus of Democrats demanding Khalil’s release and the restoration of his residency status, framing the arrest as an assault on free speech and a harbinger of authoritarianism under the incoming Trump administration. In reality, Khalil is, at best, a terrorist sympathizer, meaning that he lied on his visa application and thus deserves to have his residency revoked.
The party’s messaging woes are compounded by a lack of coherence and a penchant for self-inflicted wounds. Gone are the days of disciplined campaigns and unifying slogans like “Hope and Change.” Today, Democrats are more likely to make headlines for profanity-laced tirades or cringe-worthy social media stumbles. Viral videos of party leaders cursing out opponents or dancing awkwardly in ill-conceived TikTok posts have become a liability, drawing mockery rather than admiration. These missteps, while entertaining to some, project an image of a party that’s lost its grip on seriousness while they also claim that Trump is Hitler and Elon Musk is a Nazi.
Even the party’s luminaries are faltering. Michelle Obama, long a Democratic icon, launched a podcast in 2024 that was meant to cement her status as a cultural and political heavyweight. Instead, it flopped spectacularly, drawing tepid reviews and failing to capture the zeitgeist. The former First Lady’s retreat from the spotlight has left a void that younger, less seasoned figures like AOC are rushing to fill – often with mixed results. Meanwhile Gavin Newsom, Governor of California and likely 2028 Presidential candidate, is only gaining ratings by hosting right-wing commentators who demolish every core belief he and the leftwing of the base holds.
On the local level, the New York City mayoral race offers a microcosm of the Democrats’ broader struggles. Zohran Mamdani, a millennial Democratic socialist and Queens assemblymember, has surged in the primary with a grassroots campaign fueled by bold policy promises and savvy social media outreach. His pledge to freeze rents and his unapologetic criticism of Israel have energized the party’s left flank, but polls suggest he’s hitting a ceiling. Meanwhile, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a centrist with a tarnished legacy, is currently leading – a sign that many Democrats still crave a familiar, pragmatic stopgap over a revolutionary newcomer. Mayor Eric Adams is seen as not seriously dealing with his re-election campaign in light of all of his scandals. A Quinnipiac Poll has these three in the lead, with Mamdani on the rise.
If Zohran Mamdani wins the Democratic primary in June, it will be a massive sea change in the broader Party. Mamdani makes Bill de Blasio look like Rudy Giuliani. He is an apologetic socialist who pushed legislation in Albany that would empower the government to shut down every synagogue in the state. He will protect criminals and he would tax citizens to death. Mamdani is what anyone of conscience would call a “worst case scenario.”
Republicans shouldn’t be too happy with the direction of the Democrats. Some would claim that given the relative popularity of Trump, the Republicans would never lose to a far-left candidate. That is simply untrue. The political pendulum always swings back. In 1988, George H.W. Bush carried 40 states in a landslide victory, leaving the Democrats reeling. Just four years later, in 1992, Bill Clinton wrested the presidency back for his party. In 2017, Republicans had a political trifecta (Governorship and majorities in both the upper and lower state houses) in 25 states (compared to the Democrats’ six states), along with Trump and a Republican Congress. Four years later, Biden was president on a centrist campaign but governed on a Bernie Sanders agenda.
Democrats seem to be taking all the wrong lessons from the recent Republican victories. Instead of retreating back to the center, they are doubling down on radical progressivism. Kamala Harris is seen as the frontrunner for 2028, while moderates like Governor Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania are dismissed. That may seem good for Republicans, but elections are far less predictable than many claim. If this Democratic Party as it is currently constituted gains power, with people like Mamdani and AOC at the helm, then America loses.
Moshe Hill is a political analyst and columnist. His work can be found at www.aHillwithaView.com and on X at @HillWithView.
