A year ago, President Donald Trump kicked off his nonconsecutive second term in office and the Republican Party took control of both chambers of Congress.
To say Democrats suffered an epic defeat in November 2024 would be an understatement. But even allowing for a couple of months of wound licking, more than a year later, polls show Democratic lawmakers are now more unpopular than ever.
For the better part of this past year, strategists and pundits have been saying the opposition party needs to change its approach. But experts say it hasn’t, and now the call to action is taking on a tone of both urgency and panic.
Susan Del Percio, a Republican political strategist who has never endorsed Trump, says Democratic lawmakers are “fractured” and need to start presenting a vision of what they’ll do for voters.
“At the end of the day, people are still trying to figure out ... what are Democrats really doing?” Del Percio told The Independent.
“How are you helping? What are you proposing? Give me something,” she added.
Here’s why political strategists say the resistance to Trump struggled last year — and what the party needs to change in 2026:
‘Best thing Schumer could do is announce he isn’t seeking reelection’
Support for Democratic lawmakers is falling — and some surveys even indicate their approval rating is at a record low.
A December Gallup poll showed congressional Democrats have just a 24 percent job approval rating, which is ”lower than any prior Gallup measurement.” Quinnipiac University’s December poll revealed an 18 percent approval rating for congressional Democrats, which is a “record low,” the organization said.
Democratic political strategist Christy Setzer told The Independent that the public is unhappy with lawmakers because they are “not going far enough,” and that Democrats may be “demoralized by the lack of action.”
“You know, I would imagine there's going to be a fight next week about whether or not to give ICE even more money, and Democrats will probably be split on that,” Setzer said.
“It blows the minds of regular people who think that there's no way that Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries could possibly understand America right now, if those are the decisions they're making,” she added.
Schumer has been criticized for his leadership over the last year, even by his fellow Democrats.
In April, Schumer told CNN’s Dana Bash he sent Trump a “very strong letter ... asking eight very strong questions” about the Harvard University federal funding freeze — a comment which was mocked at the time, including by former White House press secretary Jen Psaki during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Comedian Jon Stewart also slammed Schumer’s comments and impersonated the Democratic leader saying what he told Bash on an April episode of The Daily Show.
For many Americans, the image stuck.
“The best thing Schumer could do for Democratic leadership in the Senate is announce that he's not seeking reelection in 2028,” Del Percio said.
A spokesperson for Schumer told The Independent: “Democrats are in a stronger position to win the Senate in 2026 than we were a year ago because of the work Leader Schumer has done to recruit strong candidates and set the right agenda to win in key battleground races.”
The Independent has contacted Jeffries for comment.
Democrats are also preparing for the 2026 midterm elections and hoping to take control of the House and Senate. Historical trends show that the president’s party typically loses ground in midterm elections, but it’s still unclear how many seats Democrats can expect to flip in November.
Recent polling shows Democrats running for Congress have a modest advantage over Republicans, according to The New York Times’ poll aggregator. Meanwhile, the Cook Political Report has moved 18 House races in favor Democrats, according to an analysis released January 15.
For their part, Democrats have also touted electoral victories in the last year. In a November memo, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin highlighted victories by Zohran Mamdani in New York, Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey. He noted the party strives to focus on “health care, groceries, housing, and jobs.”
Del Percio argues that Democrats must identify the issues that resonate the most with voters.
“If you want me to vote for you, Democrat, A, B and C, why? Don’t tell me it's because you're going to take Trump's name off of the Kennedy Center. Don’t tell me it's because you won't let a ballroom be built. … Tell me what you're going to do about prices,” she explained.
Trump stole Big Tech from the Democrats — and a couple of superstars
Meanwhile, Trump is garnering support in big tech and Hollywood.
Several major companies, including Google and Meta, donated to Trump’s inaugural fund shortly after the 2024 election. Several tech leaders attended his inauguration, including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Google’s Sundar Pichai. Later in the year, when Trump announced plans for his $400 million ballroom addition to the White House, many of those same companies were quick to donate to the project.
Dozens of big-name and a few has-been celebrities also have voiced their support for Trump, including rapper Nikki Minaj, actor Sylvester Stallone and singer Kid Rock. Trump himself has even weighed in on Hollywood controversies — including the headline-making American Eagle jeans advertisement featuring Sydney Sweeney.
More celebrities may be aligning themselves with Trump because of the rise of “cancel culture,” Del Percio said.
“Trump and Trumpers are much more forgiving of people, especially if they deserve it, and I think that's where his support has gained in that celebrity star power arena — it has nothing to do with his policies,” she added.
Even those who don’t back the president appear to be toning down their rhetoric against him and his supporters. Compared to last year, celebrities appeared more comfortable — or obligated to — speak out against the president during his first term, The Guardian reports.
Some celebrities, like actor Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence, have recently expressed doubt about Hollywood political activism. Lawrence, who has previously voiced opposition to Trump, told The New York Times in November she feels that “celebrities do not make a difference whatsoever on who people vote for.”
When asked how she feels about speaking out against Trump now, Lawrence responded: “I don’t really know if I should.”
Setzer said celebrities may be questioning “how they can be most effective with their platform.”
Democrats prepare for 2028
Meanwhile, several individual Democratic lawmakers — including potential 2028 presidential candidates California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker — have waged individual battles with the Trump administration in the last year.
Newsom has used social media to hit out at the administration over a wide range of issues, including immigration and the Jeffrey Epstein files. He’s also taken to mimicking Trump’s online posting style, including by using all-caps and coining nicknames.
Pritzker has repeatedly criticized the Trump’s Department of Homeland Security, particularly after the agency launched Operation Midway Blitz in the Chicago area.
Newsom and Pritkzer are among the Democrats who many speculate could be positioning themselves for a presidential bid in 2028. Others include far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Mark Kelly and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
But Del Percio warns Democrats should remain focused on the midterms for now.
“I highly recommend: don’t talk about 2028 right now. I’d stick to 2026 if I were the Democrats,” she said.
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