Democrats will only win when they stop disdaining ordinary America
While the left in America keep supporting issues such as biological males competing in women’s sport, they’ll have a long road back to power, writes James Morrow.
Opinion
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Analysis
When it comes to politics, there really are two Americas.
Last Tuesday night (local time), US President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress.
It was fascinating to watch, not just for the contents of the speech but for the reaction of the audience. Democrats, still scarred by their November loss and seething at Trump’s return, turned it into a protest.
A 77-year-old black congressman from Texas, Al Green, had to be removed from the chamber after repeatedly screaming and waving his walking stick at Trump – a call-out to the old Simpsons headline, “Old Man Yells at Cloud”.
Others held up signs on paddles throughout the speech: “FALSE”, “MUSK KILLS’, “SAVE MEDICAID”.
And aside from Green, they were silent and sour, refusing to clap even for successes (the release of an American from a Russian prison) or heartwarming moments (the naming of a sick boy as an honorary Secret Service agent).
So much for the “party of joy” mantle.
Is this how they plan to win back Middle America?
YouGov found 76 per cent of viewers gave Trump’s speech a thumbs up, with big majorities calling it presidential, entertaining and inspiring.
The next morning, a survey of New York Times opinion writers found the vast majority hated both his plans and his delivery.
But in the comments, readers talked about Trump “taking us back” by dismantling the regulations and apparatuses Democrats had been building for 80 years.
The only way for the Left to come back, ultimately, will not be to pick apart Trump’s policies on tariffs or DOGE, but to get back to a time when they were not detached from the realities of American life.
Recently there was a report of top Democrats deciding they would only win power if they stopped disdaining ordinary America.
The next day they voted unanimously in the Senate against banning biological males from competing in female sport.
At this rate, it’ll be a long road back to power for the Left.
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