Democrats are reportedly willing to collaborate with President-elect Donald Trump on addressing illegal immigration and the economy, according to Politico’s Lisa Kashinsky and Elena Schneider on Thursday. Trump’s decisive victory is prompting Democrats to reassess their previously adversarial stance toward many of his past initiatives. Democrats “can no longer” ignore Trump’s popularity, according to the report, and are “plotting more cautiously open approaches to Trump.”
Trump appeared eager to work with Democrats to address the nation’s challenges, but after his 2016 victory, the country remained politically divided due to Democrats’ refusal to accept the election results. In response, Democrats propagated various hoaxes and attempted to impeach him twice. The attacks on Trump persisted even after the 2020 election. His political adversaries sought to imprison him, bankrupt him, assassinate him, remove him from the ballot, and render him politically irrelevant by establishing a partisan committee to investigate January 6.
However, following their significant losses in November, Democrats now seem open to a new approach toward Trump’s second administration, appearing shellshocked by the results. “As they reckon with the ramifications of Trump’s resounding win, his mixed messaging on key issues is fueling uncertainty among Democratic leaders about how to adjust their approach to the president-elect as they prepare for him to return to power under markedly different political circumstances than in 2017 — when the energy and mandate, for Democrats, appeared clearer,” the outlet reported. “Instead, in 2024, Trump’s unpredictability and the depth of their own losses is clouding their conversations about how to revamp their party’s broader messaging.”
In Washington, some Democratic lawmakers are reaching out to billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk, who is set to co-lead efforts to reduce government spending. Others have expressed support for some of Trump’s more mainstream Cabinet nominees, the outlet continued. For example, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who won reelection in a state Trump carried, voiced her support on Thursday for former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) as Trump’s nominee for transportation secretary.
Democrats have also sought areas of common ground with one of Trump’s most controversial picks, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nominated for secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy, who was a Democrat for most of his life, has drawn mixed reactions from the party. Meanwhile, in the states, governors who have vowed to “fight to the death” if Trump attempts to infringe on their constituents’ rights are also publicly and privately pledging to collaborate with him on issues like infrastructure and immigration.
Attorneys general who are preparing to challenge mass deportations in court are also committing to not obstruct lawful immigration enforcement. While Denver’s Democratic mayor, Mike Johnston, declared he would be willing to go to jail to prevent Trump from taking actions he deems illegal, New York City’s mayor, Eric Adams, met on Thursday with the incoming administration’s designated “border czar,” Politico added.
“The political reality is just different than 2017. He won the popular vote and the Electoral College, and a bunch of House [Democratic] members woke up after the election in Trump districts,” Ian Russell, a Democrat consultant, told Politico. “It’s not that Democrats are going to roll over, but you’re seeing Trump handled as a more conventional political opponent as opposed to the Donald Trump who we’ve been doing battle with for the last decade.”
