Dem Strategist: Dems Are Looking for a Muscular, Masculine-Based Answer for Trump

WITT: “But, Don, it is not all good news for Democrats, we have to point this out, because The Washington Post poll shows Americans still trust Trump over congressional Democrats when it comes to dealing with the country’s major problems, and they see Democrats as being a bit more out of touch. How do Democrats convince voters they can and will fight for them?”
CALLOWAY: “Well, Democrats are looking for a champion, and I continue to suggest here and other places that that champion is likely going to come from somewhere outside of politics. I don’t know if Stephen A. Smith is the answer, but I can tell you that the American people are looking for that muscular, kind of masculine-based answer. And, you know, we honestly have nobody right now on the left with the individual magnitude to match the bully pulpit of the presidency. So I think the search is going to go on for some time. What does that look like in terms of manifesting itself in 2028 candidates? I’m not exactly sure. But I do know there’s no individual member of the House or individual member of the Senate right now who would fit the bill, because we simply don’t have the significance of platform to match the White House. Glad to see Hakeem and Cory Booker out there doing their thing right now, but it’s hard to suggest that that will match even the magnitude of a basic White House press conference. So Democrats, I think that the bench is open and broadly we’re looking for leadership, and it should be extremely, extremely inclusive and provide a broad opportunity for a lot of people to step up, even if that means they’re coming from outside of the traditional realms of political discourse.”
WITT: “You know, Matthew, we’re looking at this live picture being provided to us. What do you think of these two lawmakers and the efficacy of what they’re doing? Is this going to sync up with people? Are they going to say, ‘Oh, yeah, we see the Democrats doing what we want them to do?’”
DOWD: “Well, that’s a good question. And I don’t know. I think what Cory Booker did in his, you know, 24-hour long filibuster, I think it motivated people, especially the base in this, and made people pay attention. I think these kind of things are much better than speeches on the House floor or the Senate floor. I think those things are so distant from where Americans are, but these kind of things relate more to the American public in the course of this. And I would say one thing about those poll numbers about Trump versus the Democrats. This isn’t going to be Trump versus the Democrats. This is going to be Democrats versus the Republicans. And if somebody is unhappy with two people, they’re going to vote the people that hold the office out before they take it out on the people that don’t hold the office. And so, Donald Trump has always been successful in his own reelects and, no matter what he says, he’s not going to have another one. It’s the Republicans, as Susan said, it’s the Republicans in the House and the Senate who are going to take the brunt of this, what Donald Trump has done.”
WITT: “There’s another faction here to discuss, Susan, with Trump losing support with some key groups. He has only 33% approval among independents. So talk about that and the role they may play.”
DEL PERCIO: “Well, I think that those independents are critical for the Democrats to take the midterm elections, especially in the House. However, going to your question to Don, what are the Democrats going to offer? And that is something we’re seeing a little bit of pushback or give-and-take within the Democratic Party. You have Bernie Sanders talking about oligarchy and Senator Slotkin from Michigan saying we need to move off of that message. So, the Democrats definitely need to — I like what Don said — be a bigger tent. It can’t be extreme left or moderate, one or the other. It has to somehow weave something into both.”