Trump’s first 100 days: The  opposition score card

– Resistance –

“We’re not going to go after every single issue,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told the New York Times in February. “We are picking the most important fights and lying down on the train tracks on those fights.”

But Schumer — and potential 2028 presidential contenders like governors Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer — have infuriated grassroots activists over various efforts to cooperate with the White House or build bridges with Trump’s “MAGA” movement.

Meanwhile Democratic lawmakers have been mocked on social media for ineffective gestures such as silently waving paddles bearing protest slogans during Trump’s speech to Congress.

Rare glimpses of a fightback have included victory in a Wisconsin Supreme Court race, and a hugely popular “Fighting Oligarchy” tour by progressive lawmakers Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Popular New Jersey senator Cory Booker provided a possible roadmap for eyecatching opposition, say analysts, with a blockbuster 25-hour Senate speech that made headlines for days.

But Madeline Summerville, a former communications advisor and speechwriter for Democratic state senators, said Booker’s actual message had been lost in the noise.

“The Dems struggle with messaging. They don’t understand that you need a rallying cry — a slogan — to motivate the masses. And that slogan needs to be clear, concise and inspiring,” she said.

“They’re calling on people to ‘fight oligarchy’ but they’re not telling us how — nor is that a very catchy slogan.”

Andrew Koneschusky, a former communications aide to Schumer, said that he would give Democrats in Congress a D grade, noting that while individual lawmakers were making a splash, “no one seems to be conducting the orchestra.”

But he was more optimistic about grassroots opposition, which he awarded a B grade, pointing to lawsuits that have had some success in reining Trump in.

“After a deafening silence, we’re also seeing more visible signs of resistance such as the recent marches in Washington DC and across the country that drew hundreds of thousands of people,” he said.

“It feels like Democrats are finally emerging from their post-election funk.”

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© Agence France-Presse