Source: Politics<\/p>\n
When President Donald Trump signed the pardons<\/a> of Jan. 6 defendants, many 2028 Democratic hopefuls didn\u2019t acknowledge it. And few got sucked into an outrage cycle<\/a> over Elon Musk’s straight-arm gesture during Trump’s inauguration celebration.<\/p>\n This week provided some clues about an emerging approach that\u2019s coming to define Democrats at the outset of Trump\u2019s second administration, firmly breaking with its fury-fueled resistance roots of 2017. Instead, Democratic state and congressional leaders are primarily looking for openings to attack the president, while promising bipartisanship and trying to model a Democratic alternative in the states.<\/p>\n In interviews with more than a dozen Democratic elected officials and strategists, they explained the shift as evidence of a party reorienting itself after sweeping losses and biding its time until public sentiment potentially turns against Trump. That’s because they are in less friendly territory than in 2017. Trump won the popular vote and all 50 states shifted right<\/a> in 2024. Thirteen House Democrats are now sitting in districts Trump won last November, but another 50 represent seats that Kamala Harris won by 9 points or less<\/a>. Just a few thousand showed up to protest Trump’s inauguration<\/a>.<\/p>\n Democrats are \u201cbeing more measured because people are just so tired, so there isn\u2019t the energy to stay at an 11 for the next four years,\u201d said Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow. \u201cMy advice is, call it out, be blunt, but don\u2019t shriek about it.\u201d<\/p>\n But for many of the future leaders and possible 2028 Democratic primary contenders, Trump\u2019s pardons and Musk\u2019s gesture \u2014 moments that would have inspired public outcry eight years ago \u2014 did not draw an immediate public response. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz did not weigh in with statements or on social media. Nor did Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro<\/a> did address Trump\u2019s pardons when asked by local reporters. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker was a notable outlier, posting on X<\/a> that Musk\u2019s salute was \u201coutrageous\u201d and criticizing Trump for his pardons.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe Biden is leaving as a very unpopular Democratic president, we lost the popular vote and people are pissed at us over inflation, culture and the border,\u201d Mike Nellis said, a Democratic strategist who worked on Harris\u2019 2020 presidential primary. \u201cWe have to change our tact because we have to earn people\u2019s trust back.\u201d<\/p>\n Confronting this new reality means Democrats are \u201cnot going to use the playbook from 2024 or 2017, if I\u2019m looking to run in 2028,\u201d said one Democratic adviser to a potential 2028 Democratic candidate granted anonymity to discuss internal discussions, adding that \u201cif you rush to the cameras every time there\u2019s an outrage, that\u2019s the old playbook.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe path to prominence is not in endless resistance headlines,\u201d said an adviser to another potential 2028 candidate. A third operative, who is also close to another prospective presidential candidate, said that \u201ca bunch of 2028-ers are still thinking through what their argument is going to be for how to fix the party, so it\u2019s hard to be out there without a solution in hand.\u201d<\/p>\n But that muted approach has also left a messaging void, which is frustrating some Democrats. One Democratic strategist said it\u2019s \u201ca big concern that we are rudderless\u201d and \u201cthere\u2019s a space out there for someone to fill,\u201d but \u201cright now, it\u2019s deafening.\u201d<\/p>\n For some, the silence is a missed opportunity. \u201cIf you\u2019re thinking of running for president in 2027, I understand why your advisers are saying, keep your head down and pick your spots,\u201d said one Democratic strategist who worked on a 2020 presidential primary campaign. \u201cNo one wants to stick their head up yet, but they\u2019re also over-learning their lesson of 2017 and 2018, worrying about whether the resistance efforts ultimately helped candidates \u2014 or didn\u2019t \u2014 when they ran for president in 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n The operative argued there is still \u201cgrassroots energy\u201d for Democrats, \u201cbut they\u2019re not seeing anybody take the mantle.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, there are exceptions. Chief among them is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/a> (D-N.Y.), who did not attend the inauguration<\/a> and said in an Instagram video<\/a>: \u201cTwo of probably the most foundational, defining things about American history is that we beat the Confederates and we beat the Nazis,\u201d referring to Musk, who has mocked these accusations<\/a>. She told comedian Jon Stewart on his podcast<\/a> that Trump is \u201cmuch more normalized this time around,\u201d but she argued that working class voters are still being \u201cripped off\u201d by Trump, \u201ca quintessential New York con man.\u201d<\/p>\n A few argued it\u2019s too early to judge: \u201cIt’s been the first week, and it’s such a deluge, but we will, in this tax fight, really find our sweet spot of highlighting how he’s been for tax breaks for the wealthy and not for the working class,\u201d said Rep. Ro Khanna<\/a> (D-Calif.).<\/p>\n Throughout the 2024 general election, Harris and Walz castigated Trump and Musk, and Democrats noted that keeping a low profile after an election loss is not unusual. After certifying the results of the election earlier this month, Harris told reporters<\/a> that a \u201cpeaceful transfer of power\u201d should be something \u201cAmericans take for granted,\u201d an implicit reference to the insurrection on Jan. 6.<\/p>\n Walz, for his part, proposed a sales tax cut in Minnesota this month, but hasn\u2019t waded back into national politics. Whitmer, too, pledged to not<\/a> \u201cgo looking for fights\u201d with Trump, but she promised to not \u201cback down from them, either,\u201d in a speech at the Detroit Auto Show last week. Newsom, meanwhile, greeted Trump on the tarmac on Friday<\/a> when the president arrived for a tour of wildfire damage in Los Angeles, even though he wasn\u2019t invited<\/a>.<\/p>\n