Trump won, but Dems still control the bureaucracy — for now

Have the Democrats dug a hole for themselves? The answer is an unequivocal yes.

Although Donald Trump won the presidential race by about two million votes and the GOP retook the Senate by a majority of three, the Democrats were hardly crushed in the November election. Three of their outspoken feminist candidates won senatorial races in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada, partly by outspending very solid Republican opponents. Thanks to coastal elites, the Democrats enjoyed a sizable ad advantage over Republicans by Election Day last year; and a less-than-impressive Democratic presidential candidate spent her way through more than $1 billion that Democratic donors showered on her.

Today’s woke Democrats belong to a party that directly serves their interests. The question is whether that party can build a broad enough coalition to reclaim a national majority.

The legacy media, most educational institutions, and a majority of government bureaucrats stand solidly behind the Democratic Party. Trump’s decision to slim down the size of our managerial state has caused panic among Democrats, precisely because public administration has been an inexhaustible source of employment and financial benefit for their loyalists. But the Democrats continue to occupy almost all of this empire.

Unfortunately, Democratic politicians have not been able to accept the loss of the presidency with equanimity. They’ve gone berserk and for understandable reasons. They’ve waged war on the current president for the last eight years and have thrown so much ammunition at him that it must have dawned on them that Trump would not leave his enemies in charge if he won.

Democrats have used every tool at their disposal to undermine the current president. They have engaged in lawfare, weaponized the FBI and the Department of Justice against him, tried to remove his name from ballots, attempted to imprison him, and even incited would-be assassins. After such relentless attacks, expecting Trump not to retaliate in some way would require near-saintly restraint.

To their detriment, Democrats continue waging old battles in ways that have damaged their own standing. They have obstructed efforts to deport criminal illegal immigrants, defended sex-change surgeries for minors, fought to preserve costly government bureaucracies that align with their ideological interests, and tacitly encouraged anti-Trump riots. None of these actions have won them new supporters. At this point, their public approval has shrunk to 31%.

Democrats have also resorted to clumsy, staged demonstrations, with their most prominent figures decrying Elon Musk’s influence over the Republican administration. They claim Trump is acting “unconstitutionally” by laying off overwhelmingly Democratic government workers while supposedly taking orders from Musk. Yet, it remains unclear why Trump must seek approval from Chuck Schumer and Maxine Waters before following the advice of his own people. And why is it acceptable for Democratic presidents — but not Republican ones — to rely on unelected advisers?

Let’s try to make sense of what the Democrats are doing. In blue states, voters consistently elect leftist governments. Governors such as J.B. Pritzker in Illinois, Gavin Newsom in California, Kathy Hochul in New York, Phil Murphy in New Jersey, Maura Healey in Massachusetts, Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan, and Tim Walz in Minnesota win with little difficulty, often while relying on anti-Trump rhetoric.

The Democrats’ base also includes wealthy donors who align with the party’s radical core. Meanwhile, legacy media eagerly amplifies the party’s anti-Trump messaging, adding its own attacks. Since 2016, mainstream outlets have built an audience around cultivating anti-Trump sentiment.

But this strategy does not seem to resonate with most Americans. Many are increasingly alarmed by the millions of illegal aliens the Democrats have welcomed into the country, now widely seen as both a safety risk and a financial burden. Pritzker, Healey, and other left-wing governors have further weakened their party’s standing by openly supporting illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes.

Democrats and their media allies have also doubled down on unpopular policies like DEI mandates, “gender-affirming” surgeries for minors, and the costly Green New Deal. These stances have driven down the party’s appeal nationally, and even in deep-blue regions, support for these policies appears to be waning — though not yet enough to break the Democrats’ grip on those areas.

Perhaps most importantly, Democrats have reshaped themselves over the past generation into a culturally leftist party. Their core constituency now consists of racial minorities, college-educated women, government employees, and nonprofit organizations. Calls for the party to return to its working-class roots are unlikely to succeed.

Across the Western world, non-public-sector workers have aligned with the populist right, while the cultural left has gained support from global financial elites, government bureaucrats, Third World migrants, and activists opposed to traditional gender roles and the nuclear family.

Today’s woke Democrats belong to a party that directly serves their interests. The real question is whether that party can build a broad enough coalition to reclaim a national majority.