Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) expressed frustration on Sunday over what he described as the Democratic Party\u2019s lack of a unified and strategic response to President Donald Trump\u2019s recent State of the Union address.<\/p>\n
In an interview with ABC News’ This Week<\/em> host Jonathan Karl, Schiff called the Democratic reaction a missed opportunity and said it diverted attention from what he considered the real issues that Americans care about.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the lack of a coordinated response in the State of the Union was a mistake,\u201d Schiff said. \u201cIt took the focus off of where it should have been\u2014on the fact that the president spoke for an hour and 40 minutes and had nothing to say about how he would bring down costs for American families. People were watching, hoping for real solutions for housing, rent, healthcare, and childcare\u2014and they got nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Schiff\u2019s comments came in response to critiques from within his own party. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) had called the Democratic reaction to Trump\u2019s address \u201ca sad cavalcade of self-owns and unhinged petulance,\u201d claiming it ultimately helped Trump appear more presidential and composed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re becoming the metaphorical car alarms that nobody pays attention to,\u201d Fetterman said on X (formerly Twitter). \u201cIt may not be the winning message.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Karl also brought up Democratic strategist James Carville\u2019s suggestion that the party should \u201cplay dead\u201d\u2014in other words, avoid drawing attention and allow Trump to self-destruct politically.<\/p>\n Schiff disagreed sharply with that strategy.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, that\u2019s not enough,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to be advancing a broad, bold agenda that improves Americans\u2019 economic well-being. We can\u2019t just wait for the other side to collapse. We have to actively communicate our vision and reach new audiences in new ways.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Despite his push for proactive messaging, Schiff did not offer specific explanations for why Democrats under President Biden hadn\u2019t already implemented more effective economic policies\u2014something critics argue has contributed to growing voter discontent.<\/p>\n Other prominent Democrats, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), also rejected Carville\u2019s passive approach. Sanders argued that the real problem was that Democrats had \u201cbeen playing dead for too many years\u201d and urged stronger action moving forward.<\/p>\n The disarray was especially evident during Trump\u2019s speech to Congress. While some Democrats attended and held protest signs with slogans like \u201cFALSE,\u201d \u201cSAVE MEDICAID,\u201d and \u201cPROTECT VETERANS,\u201d others walked out mid-speech, and a few\u2014including Rep. Al Green (D-Texas)\u2014were removed from the chamber after shouting at the president.<\/p>\n Several lawmakers also chose not to attend at all.<\/p>\n In a post on Truth Social following the event, former President Trump blasted Democratic lawmakers for what he called \u201cdisrespectful behavior\u201d during the joint address.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Democrats should lose the Midterms based on their behavior at last night\u2019s Joint Address,\u201d Trump wrote. \u201cRepublicans should use the footage showing the total disrespect they showed to those honored that night\u2014victims of crime, terminally ill individuals, and more\u2014as their full campaign to victory.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Trump urged Republicans to leverage the Democratic response as a political tool in the upcoming elections.<\/p>\n \u201cTake what happened last night, and you can win any race in the country,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) expressed frustration on Sunday over what he described as the Democratic Party\u2019s lack of a unified and strategic response to President Donald Trump\u2019s… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
Fetterman, Carville, and the Party’s Divided Strategy<\/h3>\n
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Dissent Among Democrats<\/h3>\n
Trump Responds, Calls Democrats’ Behavior a Gift to GOP<\/h3>\n
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