Democrats are completely failing at messaging, and it’s costing them and the American people big time. Whether they shut down the government or not, they’ve proven they can’t communicate effectively.
They had months to lay out their stance on government funding, but here they are, still scrambling to figure it out. This should’ve been settled by January 3, when the new Congress session began. But it’s not. And that’s a huge problem. Democrats need to get their act together and deliver a clear, consistent message that’s easy to understand.
It’s not rocket science. They’ve been handed the perfect opportunity with the Trump administration—probably the biggest political target in history. But they’ve been fumbling it, missing the chance to reach people on issues that matter most to them.
Now, I’m not usually one for populism, but right now, it might be the only way forward for the Democrats. However, there’s a catch: it has to be a populism that actually resonates with the average American. Old-school leftist populism often doesn’t cut it, especially if the goal is to win over Trump’s supporters. So let’s try something different—centrist populism.
The message should start simple: Trump is lying to us. He ran on promises to make prices go down and fight for everyday people. Instead, prices are rising, and he’s making life harder for regular Americans.
Trump loves to talk about tariffs and slashing the government, but the only thing he’s doing about rising prices is shrugging it off and saying he’s “OK” with it. He claims he’s going to make America richer, but it’s not our America he’s talking about—it’s the America of billionaires and the ultra-rich.
Under Trump, billionaires have gotten richer while ordinary Americans struggle. He’s willing to roll out the red carpet for Russian oligarchs and other corrupt elites, but when it comes to helping hard-working Ukrainians who are fleeing war, he’s turning them away. Trump has appointed 13 billionaires to key positions, and that doesn’t even include Elon Musk, who’s essentially a walking, talking example of everything that’s wrong with this country’s wealth gap.
This is not a government for the little guy. This is a government built to serve the rich. And it’s time people knew that. These aren’t people who care about rising grocery prices. They own private islands, not grocery stores. Trump’s own Cabinet is worth $11 billion, and that’s not counting Musk’s fortune.
It’s time to remind people that the American dream isn’t about cheap goods, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week. It’s about a fair shot at a better life. It’s about good jobs, a safe environment, and not being controlled by billionaires.
Trump and his Cabinet want to roll back progress and take us back to the Gilded Age, a time of extreme wealth inequality, child labor, and robber barons running everything. High tariffs don’t help the average person. They help the rich. Sure, Trump talks about aluminum tariffs, but how does that help the guy down the street? All it’s doing is making beer more expensive and hurting local businesses.
And don’t let Trump fool you. Cutting government jobs isn’t really about saving money. Even if he fired every single federal employee—air-traffic controllers, park rangers, FBI agents—it would only reduce the federal deficit by about 6%. No, firing federal workers is about one thing: dismantling the government that actually looks out for regular people. Agencies like the EPA and OSHA make sure the rich play by the rules. Trump and his billionaire friends hate that.
Clean air and workplace safety aren’t “woke” ideas—they’re American ideals. But Trump’s billionaires want to tear it all down. They want to control what you say, what you read, and what you buy. They want Musk and Bezos to call the shots, not you.
That’s not what anyone voted for.
The key to making this message work is not pointing fingers at Trump’s supporters. It’s not about telling them they were wrong. It’s about showing them the truth—Trump sold them a lie. Most Trump voters don’t want billionaires running everything. They voted for change, not for an elite few to take over the country.
This is about the issues that matter to real people: rising prices, unfair policies, and a government that serves the rich. It’s a message that can’t be twisted. If inflation keeps rising, even FOX News can’t spin it as anything else.
The Democrats need to keep hammering this message. Repetition works. Trump knows it. He’s a master at convincing people of things that aren’t true. Democrats need to be just as relentless. Everyone in America knows about Hunter Biden’s laptop, but everyone should also know that Trump lets Musk break the rules.
The truth is, Trump’s economy is unsustainable. It’s only a matter of time before the wheels come off. And when they do, Trump will blame the Democrats. If the Democrats don’t get their messaging right, he’ll probably succeed in shifting the blame.
It’s time for the Democrats to get serious. They need to stop wasting time and start messaging like they mean it. Because right now, they’re failing.
