California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff expressed frustration over the Democratic Party’s lack of a “coordinated response” to President Donald Trump.
“I think the lack of a coordinated response in the State of the Union was a mistake, and frankly, it took the focus off of where it should have been, which is on the fact that the president spoke for an hour and 40 minutes and had nothing to say about what he would do to bring down costs for American families that were watching that lengthy address, sitting at the kitchen table hoping he would offer something to help them afford a new home or pay their rent, afford health care, or afford child care,” Schiff said during an interview with ABC’s Jonathan Karl.
The lawmaker addressed the critiques by Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, where he called the Democrats’ situation “a sad cavalcade of self-owns and unhinged petulance.”
“They’re destroying the economy, and they’re making it harder and harder for Americans to afford things. That’s where we need to keep the focus, that’s why we lost the last election, because we weren’t laser-focused on the high cost of living and what they’re doing now is just making it so much worse,” Schiff claimed — falsely, according to the most recent economic data.
Karl also asked Schiff how the Democratic Party should respond to the president. The ABC News host specifically referenced Democratic strategist James Carville, who has suggested that the party should “play dead” and consider a strategic political retreat.
“We need to be advancing policies and making the arguments about what we have to offer, not simply standing back and letting them collapse under their own corrupt weight. To me, that’s not enough. We need to effectively use litigation as we are. We need to effectively use communication to talk to new people in new ways, as we are,” he added.
A new national poll shows that most Democrats are dissatisfied with how their party’s lawmakers are performing in Congress.
According to a Quinnipiac University survey released Wednesday, 53% of Democratic respondents disapproved of congressional Democrats’ job performance, while only 41% expressed approval.
Among all voters surveyed between June 5–8, just 21% approved of how Democrats in Congress are handling their roles, with 70% voicing disapproval.
The 21% approval rating matches the figure from Quinnipiac’s February national poll, tying “an all-time low since Quinnipiac University first asked this question of registered voters in March 2009.”
In contrast, the survey shows that 79% of Republican voters approve of how congressional Republicans are performing, while 13% disapprove, Fox News reported, citing the survey’s results.
Among all voters, 32% approved of the job performance of congressional Republicans, while just over 60% expressed disapproval.
Overall approval for Republicans in Congress has declined by eight points since Quinnipiac’s February poll, with disapproval rising by nine points over the same period.
The Democratic Party has been in a state of political disarray since the November elections, when Republicans regained control of the White House and the Senate while holding on to their narrow majority in the House. Adding to the setback, Republicans made inroads with key Democratic constituencies, including black, Hispanic, and younger voters.
Since President Donald Trump’s return to office earlier this year, an increasingly energized Democratic base has been pressuring party leaders to take a more forceful stance against the president’s sweeping and controversial agenda during the early months of his second term. Frustration is not only aimed at Republicans, but also at fellow Democrats who are seen as too passive in their opposition.
This growing dissatisfaction has contributed to a sharp decline in the Democratic Party’s favorability ratings, which have reached historic lows in multiple polls over the past several months.
