A disjointed response to a joint session
Democrats’ struggle for a coherent message after President Trump’s address is normal — finding oxygen, and unity, will take time.
After every election in my lifetime newly elected Presidents have behaved — regardless of electoral results — like they have an overwhelming mandate.
A President’s first address to a joint session of Congress carries the swagger of a victor, a knowledge that they’ve won a nationwide contest and there is, almost always, a lack of oxygen for the opposition party, which is still struggling to make sense of why they lost and how to move forward.
In 2008, Barack Obama swept in on a motto of “Change We Believe In” and “Change We Need” as he took office in 2009, he told Congress he was leading during a “crossroads in history.” Last week, President Trump compared himself to George Washington and reminded anyone who would listen that he won a comfortable electoral margin.
Finding an appropriate or effective response to this type of bravado can be hard for an opposition party — until suddenly it’s not.
I’ve learned working for more than 20 years in politics, that the swagger rarely lasts, and that results not rhetoric is what will be judged.
President Trump addressed a most divided session of Congress last week. And neither side seemed ready to extend much empathy to each other. Trump accused Democrats of destroying the country by allowing “criminals, killers, traffickers and child predators” to cross the border. As the stock market continued to slide, he blamed President Biden for killing the economy by enacting environmental protections.
He also blamed Biden for, among other things, the price of eggs, the fact that China didn’t buy the number of crops they had pledged in his trade negotiation, and claimed Biden was the worst President in America’s history.
Democrats in the Chamber meanwhile had a disjointed response: Some color-coordinated their resistance. Some held placards about Elon Musk. And another, Rep. Al Green of Texas, held his cane and refused to sit, saying after he was kicked out of the chamber that President Trump doesn’t have a mandate to cut Medicaid. (The way in which he showed his frustrations echoed a moment during President Obama’s joint address to Congress — when South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson shouted “you lie” at President Obama.)
The Democratic Party did have an organized response, from newly elected Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who expressed concern over rapid cuts, particularly with Elon Musk’s DOGE efforts, for safety net programs like Social Security and Medicare, and for America’s standing on the global stage. She said “And I promise that I, and my fellow Democrats, will do everything in our power to be the principled leaders that you deserve.”
As a whole, though, the Democratic message was washed out by the Trump show and perhaps even overshadowed by their own partisanship. Few Democrats in the Chamber stood as President Trump honored a 13-year-old cancer survivor, DJ Daniel. Daniel, who had battled brain cancer since he was six, was told he might only have five months to live. President Trump honored DJ, who outlived every prediction, and made him an honorary Secret Service Agent.
It was a warm moment, one more Democrats should have stood for, say those who did, including Congressman Ro Khanna (D-California). The lack of unity for a child and his battle, amongst the politics in Washington, seems to speak volumes about this moment.
Peak Partisanship
It’s a weird moment in America’s history, and on some level those of us who want Democrats to have a unified or even effective voice in opposition to Trump need to understand that.
It’s unusual both because the incoming President has been there before, and because the American electorate seems to have become immune to the brash statements of one party to another. Harsh rhetoric seems to wash over us.
I remember how shocked I was when Rep. Wilson shouted at President Obama during his address. He was quickly condemned by his own party, and even apologized to the White House.
Since then it seems the treatment of the Executive Branch from the other party in Congress has been one of constant resistance. In President Biden’s first State of the Union address he said: Tonight, we meet as Democrats, Republicans and Independents. But most importantly as Americans.” During that speech GOP Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene both tried to shout over the President.
In 2025, President Donald Trump didn’t have a lot of words for bipartisanship: "Speaker Johnson, Vice President Vance, the First Lady of the United States — members of the United States Congress, thank you very much. And to my fellow citizens, America is back."
The belief that America is “back” certainly exists — I heard it traveling in Texas this week and a lot of President Trump supporters truly believe that his election has changed the direction of the country forever. His election, according to his voters, is a clear mandate.
But there are also the numbers: 77 million Americans voted for President Donald Trump, less than voted for Biden in 2020. 75 million Americans voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, and neither candidate got more than 50% of the total voters.
As overwhelming as one might view their mandate, there are millions of Americans who remain skeptical, and for them actions will speak louder than words.
Pendulum Swings
In general, I’m against color-coordinating our politics — or the outfits members wear to Joint Sessions of Congress. So a smattering of pink didn’t really make me feel stronger as a Democrat.
But I’m less concerned than the media seems to be that there’s no one figurehead of the Democratic Party right now, because I’m thinking about it in historical terms, and this is just the reality of these moments.
While it can seem dire in one moment, the pendulum swings quickly. Karl Rove mused about a permanent Republican majority after President Bush’s reelection in 2004; four years later President Obama won in an electoral landslide. As his administration began, President Obama projected a mandate of his own — and by early 2010 had lost a key Senate race in Massachusetts of all places.
It’s almost hard to remember but John Boehner was the literal face of Republican resistance to Obama — by 2021 he wrote a book blasting some of his colleagues on the right and by 2023, he suggested his party should move on from President Trump.
Opposition Without Oxygen
One other phenomenon in moments like this: Quietly would-be Presidential Candidates test the waters and try to find a viable political message.
This past week we saw California Gov. Gavin Newsom invite Charlie Kirk to film a joint podcast, evidently Newsom, in addition to being Governor, has now taken on the role of podcaster.
Newsom and Kirk’s conversation would seemingly only be interesting if you’re into the game of politics instead of the outcome of policy. Newsom asks Kirk for advice, says a lot of “Totally get it,” or “totally agree,” when they’re talking about which issues are motivating for voters.
But there was less talk of the policy proposals that address issues facing the overwhelming majority of Americans: a brief discussion of the high cost of housing aside, the high cost of healthcare wasn’t discussed, and while Newsom acknowledged Republicans had won more labor voters, there wasn’t a plan articulated to protect Americans’ wages, benefits or future opportunities.
That will take a brave leader. There’s room for one, and history suggests one will come around. (Whether it’s Newsom, who is first out of the gate, I’m skeptical.)
So often pundits are prisoners of the moment, and predict one party will hold control forever — I don’t see it. There is every chance for a new leader to emerge. And in my experience it starts in quiet places. In states and cities. With small meetings, organizing people around shared principles, leaders standing up for their community.
I’ve never seen it come from the immediate response to a Joint Session or from a cozy podcast with the opposition party. Sometimes these things take time.
And despite the desire by some to see it right now, sometimes the best things are worth the wait.