{"id":23528,"date":"2025-04-03T23:24:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T20:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/?p=23528"},"modified":"2025-04-03T23:24:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T20:24:09","slug":"where-have-the-democrats-gone-with-his-opponents-in-a-civil-war-donald-trump-is-the-master-of-the-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/?p=23528","title":{"rendered":"“Where have the Democrats gone?” – With his opponents in a “civil war”, Donald Trump is the master of the game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Although the spring recess of Congress is an opportunity for the two dominant political parties in the US to get close to their electoral base, the Democrats remain in a post-election \u201cvertigo\u201d. And not only that\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With its opening almost a day away and in a dramatic intra-party rift, ten Democratic senators – including their minority leader in the body, Chuck Schumer – joined Republicans in passing a bill to fund the federal government for six months, preventing a \u201clockdown\u201d at the beginning of the Trump 2.0 era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They defied Democrats in the House of Representatives, who almost unanimously opposed the measure, in a move that underscores deep disagreements over how to deal with President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And at a time when tech oligarch and the world\u2019s richest man, Elon Musk, is \u201cimpoverishing\u201d the federal government through spending cuts and mass layoffs, under the command of the \u201cshady\u201d Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which he directs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, the \u201cfriendly fire\u201d is mainly directed against Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His political nod in favor of paving the way to avoid a shutdown – that is, to continue funding the federal government – has caused a storm of reactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democratic grassroots political groups are now openly demanding Schumer\u2019s resignation and replacement as Senate minority leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They accuse him of raising the party\u2019s \u201cwhite flag of surrender\u201d to Donald Trump\u2019s omnipotence.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Chuck Schumer, leader of the Democratic minority in the Senate and now a “red flag” in the divided party<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democratic \u201chair tangles\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI knew there would be a lot of protests, but I had to do it for the future of not only the Democratic Party, but the country,\u201d counters 74-year-old Chuck Schumer, who, amid a congressional recess, is undauntedly touring to promote his book \u201cAnti-Semitism in America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A \u201clockdown\u201d of the federal government would be \u201cten times worse,\u201d giving the Trump presidency and the DOGE free rein to determine what would remain open and what would be closed, he argues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWithin two weeks, everyone would be screaming,\u201d he told CBS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although \u201cwe have a lot of good people, I am the best,\u201d he insisted, \u201cat winning Senate seats\u201d in the 2026 midterm elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that time horizon seems very distant, after just two months of the tumultuous second presidential term of \u201croad roller\u201d Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI still support Schumer,\u201d said Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, one of many who rushed to defend their leader in the legislature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut I think the only way we can be effective as a caucus is to change our tactics,\u201d he stressed on NBC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to talk about it within the party and make sure we do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly five months after the November election, Democrats still seem to be moving as if they have no compass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have not yet recovered from the onslaught of the Trump 2.0 era, where Republicans – and especially Trump’s MAGA (*) – control the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as the US Supreme Court, which is dominated by an ultraconservative majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To reinforce this, a Quinnipiac University poll showed that only 21% of Americans approve of the work of the Democratic opposition in Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another, by CNN, shows that only 29% of the public views the Democrats positively. Another historic low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bernie Sanders Factor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In meetings with their base, Democratic lawmakers traveling through their constituencies took a line from the headquarters of the divided party to emphasize the Trump administration’s attack on the welfare state in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the fact that the cuts to social programs were made with the “blessings” of Chuck Schumer and the vote of nine other Democratic senators did not leave much room for philistines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the contrary, where there was pan-journalism in terms of participation and momentum was at the stops of the tour of the -independent, but essentially the leader of the left wing of the Democrats- senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a central slogan of \u201cFighting Oligarchy,\u201d the 83-year-old Bernie is magnetizing crowds of disillusioned Democratic voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His rallies are reminiscent of the campaign season, with the increased attendance catching even his close associates by surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not just his fiery rhetoric against Trump and Musk that\u2019s drawing in the crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sanders is a reflection of the frustration of the Democratic base and their anxiety about the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s also paving the way for members of the Democratic left, who are now looking for direction and leadership. The timing is a critical juncture for the party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Especially when aspiring Democratic candidates for the next presidential election, in 2028, are making relentless political swings to the right, aiming to win votes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A typical example is the Democratic governor of California, Gavin Newsom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Burnt” by the recent devastating fires in Los Angeles, he is now attempting a political relaunch, starting his own podcast. However, he is not only addressing the younger generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was very surprising that in one of the last episodes he had the well-known and not exceptional Steve Bannon, former Trump advisor and well-known far-right conspiracy theorist, as a guest\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Snapshot of Democratic protests during Republican President Trump’s recent speech to Congress<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump Against Everything<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deviations like Newsom’s are characterized by many voters and analysts as a “prescription for subservience” for Democrats in the Trump 2.0 era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is already happening a lot in the ranks of Republicans – even those who do not belong to the Trump MAGA movement – and in traditional media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like in the historic newspaper The Washington Post, which is now owned by the technology tycoon – and late Trump supporter – Jeff Bezos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only institutional pillar that seems to be maintaining a stance of resistance to the Trump onslaught for now is the judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a series of decisions, district and federal judges have already put the brakes on decisions by the current US government, following many appeals from citizens and organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They range from spending cuts and mass layoffs of federal employees to a freeze on U.S. foreign civilian and development aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Trump\u2019s surprise, even the ultraconservative-controlled Supreme Court has sided with his decisions, shattering the 47th president\u2019s illusion that he can act as a quasi-emperor in a modern democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He and his close associates are responding with attacks on judges, even calling for their removal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTwo months into his second term, Trump is trying to consolidate control of the courts, Congress and, in some ways, American society and culture,\u201d the New York Times comments bitterly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe expansive interpretation of presidential power has become the defining feature of his second term,\u201d the American newspaper comments, \u201can aggressive effort on multiple fronts to claim executive power to reshape government, steer politics in new directions and uproot what he and his supporters see as a deep-rooted liberal bias.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the rest, Democrats are still searching for direction\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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