“They need to fight harder,” one voter told The Epoch Times. It was a common sentiment among Democrats.
President Donald Trump’s sweeping electoral victory in 2024 marked one of the biggest challenges to Democrats’ sense of self that the party had ever endured.
Even top-ranking members in the party have been open about the challenges of moving forward from 2024.
“I don’t know what the party is,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom, long recognized as a potential presidential contender, said during an interview with The Hill this month. “I’m still struggling with that.”
It’s a sentiment that Democratic voters shared when they spoke to The Epoch Times.
For the time being, many Democratic voters want stronger action and opposition to Trump from the national party—but beyond that core area of agreement, both generational and ideological divides linger in the party.
Here’s how Democrats are feeling after 100 days of Trump’s second term.
‘They Need to Fight Harder’
For much of the first 100 days, Democrats have been reactive.
Trump’s aggressive first 100 days, including dismantling some government agencies, mass layoffs of federal bureaucrats, and strong immigration law enforcement, have prompted little official response from the out-of-power Democrats aside from public condemnations.
Many Democratic voters said that the party hasn’t been aggressive enough in its opposition. But they also said that Democrats were overwhelmed by the speed of the changes.
“It’s startling how fast and furious it all began, right out of the gate,” Laura Self of St. Louis told The Epoch Times during an April 25 Democratic event in Chesterfield, Missouri.
“They do a great job of flooding the zone,” Paul Shapiro said at the same event.
Attendees said they are becoming frustrated with what they perceive as inaction. These voters want unity in the party and more aggressive opposition to administration policies that they see as executive overreach.
“On Jan. 20, 2025, the United States stopped being a constitutional democracy,” John Hixson of Wildwood, Missouri, told The Epoch Times. “We’re being ruled by royal decree.”
Several attendees said they were initially disappointed by the response of the Democratic Party to Trump’s rapid-fire actions.
