Some Democrats are concerned that after a decade of fighting President Donald Trump they are now held captive by anti-Trump resentment with little chance of escape.
That’s the conclusion of a report published in the Hill Saturday, which pointed out that the long-awaited post-2024 election autopsy of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) reinforced that point.
Democrats leaned too heavily on negative partisanship, the nearly 200-page autopsy concluded, and focused too much on attacks on Donald J. Trump in messages to Americans who would ultimately cast the votes.
That autopsy was not without its controversy as members of Congress and some pundits are calling for DNC chair Ken Martin, who ordered it, to resign, Breitbart News reported Friday.
Some lawmakers and observers, including Democrat mega donor John Morgan, told Fox News that the party — and candidate Kamala Harris — failed because they ignored issues. And, he said, they backed policies like open borders and transgender sports that alienated voters — something the autopsy completely ignored.
Ironically, the autopsy itself appeared to have fallen into what the Hill called the Trump “anger trap,” or what Republicans commonly refer to as Trump Derangement Syndrome, or TDS.
As Breitbart reported, the autopsy also stated that Democrats failed to make a strong case against the former president in the 2024 campaign.
But “anti-Trump sentiment” can only go so far in achieving success at the polls, the Hill concluded, saying that what was missing was a vision that could win voters over or a case as to what Democrats would do with power if they achieved it.
The outlet reported the anger only continues, writing:
This week at the 2026 IDEAS Conference hosted by the Center for American Progress, anger was also displayed by a series of Democratic speakers, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is a front-runner in the 2028 presidential race.
He and others spoke mostly about fighting the president and his party, a message that Democrats caution will fire up the base but may not be enough to win over independents, and thus, elections.
“Trump is the best base mobilizer for Democrats right now,” Democrat strategist Joel Payne told the Hill. “But I think there is a broad understanding that the clock is ticking on how much longer Democrats can rely on polarization because of Trump to galvanize our voters.”
Democrat strategist Dan Turrentine also sounded an alarm. In a Substack post this week titled “Can D’s Control Their Fury?” the analyst said Democrats were “becoming blinded by” seething anger.
Turrentine also attended the “Ideas” conference in the capital’s Mayflower hotel and wrote:
As the day went on, I was stunned by how consumed speakers and moderators were by raw fury against Donald Trump’s administration. Time and again, they looked and sounded angry, and no matter the topic, talked incessantly about losing our democracy and the country being genuinely destroyed. Even if one sees that point of view as table stakes at such an event, I expected some degree of pivot to happy warrior optimism – a smile and laying out at a high level what could – or will – be accomplished when we regain power.
The party’s reputation has suffered as a result, according to the Hill.
Only 28 percent of those surveyed in a CNN poll in April had a positive view of the Democratic Party, while 56 percent viewed the party negatively.
However, Republicans fared only slightly better.
Just 32 percent of Americans said they viewed the GOP positively, with 55 percent seeing it in a negative light.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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