It really does not matter how many Executive Orders US President Donald Trump has signed since January 20.
From Day One his agenda has been clear and something that has been laid out since the time of the 2024 election campaign.
And there has been no wavering in moving forward either on the immigration front; gutting the federal government in the name of trimming the fat or ridding anything and everything in the name of “woke”.
Perhaps the only outlandish proposal that has come out in the last four weeks has been the real estate pitch for Gaza that is still very much there for Trump is not the one to walk back even on an outrageous idea that has been rejected by many in the Middle East.
Suddenly Gaza is more green than Greenland!
The rank and file Democrats are no doubt in shock and awe. And angry at the leadership for not standing up to what is perceived to be orders that strike at the roots of what America is all about.
The bigger thought is that the rank and file are struggling to find a place to direct their concerns: who are the lead messengers of a Party that has been trying to digest the results of the November elections, that Trump won fair and square, at the popular and electoral college levels?
Until such time Ken Martin of Minnesota became the Chair of the Democratic National Committee recently, Democrats were not even sure who to look up to: Barack Obama or Bill Clinton of yesteryears; Kamala Harris or Tim Waltz who had seemingly dropped out of sight; Hakeem Jeffries of the House or Chuck Schumer of the Senate; or the clutch of folks who were part of the Biden administration or Governors at one time thought of potential Democratic Presidential candidates?
Blame game
In the immediate aftermath of the November electoral defeat the Democrats went on a blame game hunt.
Some were quick to blame the Harris-Waltz campaign strategy; and others making the point that Harris had barely three months to put together a challenge.
There were those stressing that Biden had no business being in the fray after supposedly promising that he was only a “transitional” candidate in 2020. All said and done, there was also a quick realization that Harris was more focused on Trump per se than hammering away at his policies.
The 47th President won on Immigration and Economy, not on his alleged fascist credentials.
Choose targets carefully
There is some truth to what House leader Jeffries said — that it is not possible to swing at every pitch or that targets would have to be carefully chosen.
But the larger question is if the Democrats realise that they would have to be in the ballpark to make a game out of it.
Except for a small handful of candidates, the President’s nominees have coasted along in the Senate; and very soon the test will come in the “Big, Beautiful” bill that could come in one or two parts.
And with this will come taxes, social security, medicare, to mention a few.
Suddenly it appears that Democrats are not just looking for an urgent need of a message but also a messenger.
Harping at what went wrong with Biden is as wrong as it is irrelevant.
For that matter staying confident that November 2026 Mid Term elections are around the corner and that the Grand Old Party will be shown its place in the House and Senate could turn to be another lesson in wishful thinking.
Trump and his MAGA cohorts will make the point that in less than two years America has been made great, richer by way of trade and tariffs and given the boot to all illegal criminals and lunatics, even if the numbers don’t add up.
The writer is a senior journalist who has reported from Washington DC on North America and United Nations
