America’s Real Enemy Isn’t Just Trump… It’s Also The Democratic Party Establishment’s Cowardice

From Chaos to Collapse— Trump’s Incompetence Is Only The Beginning

Over the weekend, The Atlantic published a column by Peter Wehner and Robert Beschel, Trump’s Unforgivable Sin about the most incompetent president in living memory. They began by reminding their readers that tens of millions of Americans voted for Señor TACO “in the belief that he would be competent. They might not have been thrilled that Trump is a convicted felon, or pleased with his role in the violent attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Many worried that he posed a threat to democracy. But enough were willing to overlook all that, because they convinced themselves that Trump would be an effective chief executive, that under his stewardship their lives would get better and the country would prosper… voters prioritized perceived effectiveness rather than upholding democracy this election…  A little more than half a year into Trump’s second term, however, the public’s confidence in his skill as a chief executive is shattering.”

A recent NORC poll for the Associated Press shows that “only about one-quarter of U.S. adults said that Trump’s policies have helped them. Roughly half report that Trump’s policies have ‘done more to hurt’ them… Trump failed to earn majority approval on any of the issues in the poll, including the economy, immigration, and cutting government spending. As a result, a politically toxic impression is hardening. Trump’s approval rating in the most recent Gallup poll is 37 percent, the lowest of this term and only slightly higher than his all-time low of 34 percent, at the end of his first term. (Among independents, Trump’s approval rating is down to 29 percent.) Americans already understood Trump to be corrupt, and proved themselves willing to tolerate that. But now they are coming to believe that he is inept. In American politics, that is an unforgivable sin.”

Trump has surrounded himself with nihilists, people waving around a chain saw onstage like a madman and boasting that career civil servants should be viewed “as the villains.” Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, said in 2023: “We want to put them in trauma.”

So Democrats have a lot to work with. On an almost-daily basis, Trump is discrediting his own leadership; that gives Democrats the opportunity to highlight, with laser-like focus, his failure to deliver on his own promises. In doing so, Democrats need to present themselves not as the party of government but rather as the party of reform, as disrupters of the status quo on behalf of the common good. We believe they must tell voters that in all sorts of ways— the economy, health and health care, disaster relief— Trump is making their lives worse, not better. He and his administration are amateurs, inept and in over their head. They are entertainers and grifters, shock jocks and freaks. Whatever talents they may possess, mastery of governing is not one of them.

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote about Tom and Daisy Buchanan, the aristocratic couple who exemplify the moral corruption of the wealthy.

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy,” Fitzgerald wrote. “They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”

Trump is smashing up things on a scale that is almost unimaginable, and he seems completely untroubled by the daily hardships and widespread suffering he is leaving behind. And the president is hardly done. The pain and the body count will rise, and rise, and rise. It will be left to others to clean up the mess he has made. Some of the damage may be repaired with time; some will be irreparable. Democrats should say so. It’s their best path to defeating his movement, which is the only way for the healing to begin.

Democrats don'y even have the moral clarity to get away from this

Wehner and Beschel are conservative Republicans and don’t seem to be aware of the depth of incompetence of the party they imagine will save us. That’s why the term “anti-red wave” is more accurate than “blue wave,” even if the results are the same. Their  faith assumes the Democratic Party understands the scale of the rot and has the stomach to confront it head-on, even if the Republican Party has surrendered itself entirely to Trump’s brand of political vandalism and nihilism. Too often, Democrats campaign like timid custodians instead of relentless reformers, as if decorum will shame Trumpism into retreat. It won’t. Trump’s incompetence isn’t an isolated flaw— it’s welded to a movement that thrives on chaos, cruelty and corruption. If Democrats don’t frame themselves as the wrecking crew for that movement, they’ll miss their best— and maybe last— chance to dismantle it. The goal must be a mass rejection of everything Trumpism stands for. Anything less, and the wreckage he’s leaving behind will become the permanent landscape of American life. And by trying to sabotage progressives— from Zohar Mamdani in NYC, Saikat Chakrabarti in San Francisco, Oliver Larkin in Florida and Jordan Wood in Maine to Travis Terrell in Iowa, Eric Descheenie in Arizona, and Randy Villegas in California’s Central Valley— Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are demonstrating their utter unfitness as leaders for this moment.

Now let’s get to two more polls that were released over the weekend, one by Equis of Latino voters and the other a more general poll from YouGov. We’ll start with the poll that Dan Pfeiffer said should freak out every Republican running for office since it shows that Latino voters are starting to realize that they made a mistake last year and are already souring on Señor Trumpanzee.

The Equis pollsters wrote that “Latinos are facing significant everyday economic challenges, and are looking for relief in the places they feel the squeeze the most, from groceries to healthcare. They’re losing faith in Trump as a good businessman and in his ability to handle the economy. And they favor increasing taxes for billionaires and big corporations over cutting social programs as a way to offset spending– precisely the opposite of the Trump administration’s approach… As Trump discontent grows, a third of Latinos who supported him in November are not set on voting for a Republican in 2026. Fewer Latinos approve of Trump’s job now (35%, to 63% disapprove) than in Equis polling from May (38%, to 60% disapprove). This Trump discontent is showing up in the generic congressional ballot. A lesser share of Latino Trump voters are set on voting for Republicans in 2026 than Latino Harris voters are on supporting Democrats in the midterm (67% vs. 86%). The former is driven by some switching (8% of Trump voters say they’ll vote for a Democrat) and lots of uncertainty (20% undecided)… The economy, a former Trump/GOP strength, continues to look more like a weakness— with signs that even Trump’s businessman image may be eroding... Republicans also continue to be seen as prioritizing the wealthy, core to the narrative that has kept most Hispanics voting for Democrats despite recent shifts. A majority (63%) believe Republicans put the interests of the rich ahead of those of working Americans.”

But it’s not all good new for the Democrats. Trump disapproval hasn’t transferred altogether into support for them. “Instead, swing Latinos are increasingly cynical about both parties.” Voters who voted for Biden in 2020 and Trump in 2024 “are now significantly more likely to say they don’t trust either party to handle the economy and cost of living…  Growing dissatisfaction with Trump offers Democrats an opportunity— but only if they are willing to capitalize on it. Latinos continue to face significant everyday economic challenges, so it’s no surprise that they most want to see lower food and grocery costs, lower taxes for working people, and improved wages and benefits. Many Latinos are struggling financially, with 29% reporting ‘trouble meeting expenses’ and 32% stating they ‘are able to just meet expenses with nothing left over.’ Just 1-in-10 Latinos report ‘living comfortably.’ When asked to rank what is most important for lawmakers to address, Latinos prioritize easing those everyday burdens by lowering the cost of food and groceries, and lowering taxes for working and middle class people. They also want better pay and benefits for workers, more affordable and accessible healthcare and prescription drugs, and more good paying jobs.”

And the Democratic establishment still can’t understand why Mamdani eviscerated their candidate in NYC or why reformers like Chakrabarti, Villegas, Donavan McKinney, Emily Berge and Oliver Larkin are doing so well against the DCCC candidates. Don’t forget, “There is overwhelming bipartisan support for increased taxes on billionaires and large corporations, with many Latinos believing corporations are artificially inflating prices for profit. A vast majority of Latinos (84%) believe that ‘a small wealthy elite’ has too much power and influence in this country. Different terms yielded slightly different results (79% for ‘ultra wealthy,’ 80% for ‘billionaires,’ 74% for ‘oligarchy’), but the sentiment itself is clearly resonant for Latino voters, regardless of the particular term that’s used.”

Voters realize Republicans and the Democratic establishment are full of shit. Chakrabarti is gaining on Pelosi because she stands with the billionaires and he stands with the people. Same in the Central Valley, where the DCCC candidate, conservative Democrat Jasmeet Bains, is also on the wrong side of that divide and the populist, Randy Villegas, is exactly onboard with the overwhelming Latino majority in his district. Same with McKinney vs the clownish Sri Thanedar in Detroit. Establishment Democrats do not understand that “There is overwhelming support for increasing taxes on billionaires (81% support), big corporations (78% support), and the ultra wealthy (78% support). This support crosses partisan lines, with 73% of Republicans supporting increased taxes on billionaires, 72% on big corporations, and 70% for the ultra wealthy. Among Biden defectors, 88% support increasing taxes for billionaires, 75% for big corporations, and 84% for the ultra wealthy. There is also widespread rejection of tax breaks for big corporations, with 70% of Latinos supporting ‘ending loopholes and tax write-offs for big corporations,’ including 75% of Biden defectors.” And yet the tone-deaf DCCC keeps recruiting conservative and sabotaging progressives.”

The YouGov poll found that Trump’s approval rating is further underwater— 39%. Approve and 56% disapprove. Asked who they would vote for in a congressional election today, 46% said the Democrat and just 39% said the Republican. Among these groups,Democrats are blowing away the GOP:

• Independent voters- 45 to 25%

• Black voters- 76 to 10%

• Latino voters- 47 to 28%

• Voters under 30- 48 to 27%

• Voters over 65 (the most likely demographic to vote in a midterm)- 51% to 42% 

The GOP’s Big Ugly Bill is faring very badly among voters as well. 57% of voters disapprove and just 33% approve. And these polls aren’t just numbers. They’re a glaring warning Democrats can’t afford to ignore. Trump’s grip is slipping, but there’s a real fight inside the party that’s supposed to stop him. Instead of backing the bold progressives ready to tear down the system and build something better, the Democratic establishment keeps throwing up roadblocks, protecting corporate-friendly hacks and selling out the very voters desperate for a government that actually works. If Democrats don’t get their act together— if they keep chasing some fantasy “centrist” Republicans and pandering to billionaires— they’ll hand the GOP a victory no one saw coming, despite all signs pointing to a massive Republican loss. This isn’t just about winning elections; it’s about whether we can claw our country back from the wreckage or watch it rot away for good. If Schumer, Jeffries, Hochul and Gillibrand keep undermining Mamdani… well, that’s not a good indicator for the future.