LEESBURG, Virginia — House Democrats are in a messaging rut. They are ridiculed for social media posts, blasted as a party in “disarray,” and are having a difficult time unifying behind a message to connect with working-class voters.
But some Democrats think they may be shooting themselves in the foot with “theatrics” as others brush off and encourage criticism, arguing it shows “we’re getting under their skin.”
Democrats, without control of Congress and the White House, retreated to their annual Issues Conference with one standout goal: become “united” on a strong message that will meet voters where they are. But since the GOP trifecta took over, the party has proven to be quite divided over the best approach to combat President Donald Trump and Republican policies.
The caucus has tried numerous avenues to push out their anti-GOP messaging: social media, podcasts, and live broadcasts, to name a few. But those attempts have been met with, at best, lackluster participation, and at worst, ridicule from Republican campaign arms and the White House itself.
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The biggest trial over the next 21 months, many lawmakers have said, is how to break through the “megaphone” reach Trump, Elon Musk, and other Republicans have monopolized and instead “spotlight” how their policies hurt everyday people.
“What we do know right now… Trump lied to those who voted for him, and I know that those in my district who voted for Trump did not vote for this s*** storm,” Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-OR) said bluntly at a Congressional Hispanic Caucus press conference on Thursday.
Lawmakers’ “potty mouth” behavior is growing and has become second nature. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) told Musk to “f*** off,” Senate Democrats launched coordinated “s*** that ain’t true” videos, and some Democrats have begun cursing in social media posts aimed at the National Republican Congressional Committee or other Republicans.
But that’s not the preference for all members, especially centrists.
“What I don’t think works well is theatrics,” New Democrat Coalition Chairman Brad Schneider (D-IL), who leads a caucus of 118 center-left members, said in an interview with the Washington Examiner.
“Theatrics catch a moment,” Schneider said. “You might get on TV, you might go viral on social media, and the next day, where are you? There are times for theatrics, but that can’t be the strategy. That has to be a tool — and a sparsely used tool — when it’s effective.”
Democrats have had mixed feelings about the display some of their colleagues put on at Trump’s joint address, with one House Democrat noting that it “doesn’t help us win the majority.”
Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE), a New Dem member, said Democrats are at a crossroads between breaking through the wall they find themselves behind and “not falling prey to antics that the algorithm might reward.”
“The heckler always loses because the comedian has the mic, right. … People are going to try different things, and some of those things are going to work. Some of those things are not going to work,” McBride said. ‘I do believe that, at least for that week prior to the presidential address to Congress, the focus was on Medicaid. After the presidential address to Congress, in too many instances, the focus was on the Democrats.”
The day after the address, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’s (D-NY) message was clear: Make the story about the “bluster and broken promises of President Trump, not about the theatrics of Democrats,” Schneider said.
“And what I saw Wednesday morning in every news outlet, on every podcast, in coffee shops is the conversation was about the Democrats and not about the broken promises of the president,” the chairman added. “So we need to make sure that we are focused on our long-term goal.”
That long-term goal, Schneider said, is to focus on “pocketbook issues” — something in which New Democrats were successful during the 2024 election. Though Democrats were swept into the minority in the legislative and executive branch, New Democrats defended 85 of 87 seats and brought their membership up to 114.
A new strategy advocated heavily on the Democrats’ three-day retreat is hammering home the message that Trump is not delivering on the promises he made on the campaign trail — especially to Republican voters.
“We have to take a look at ourselves, and we’re doing that,” Vice Chair Marc Veasey (D-TX) said. “We saw what happened during the election. But I also think that if the American people had known that this s*** was going to be this crazy, I also don’t think that they would have voted for Trump…I don’t think they would have chosen this and this nonsense that we’re seeing right now.”
“But that does not mean we’re not taking a serious look at issues like immigration and trying to elevate the importance of things like cost in people’s everyday lives,” Veasey added. “We’re not in denial, and we’re taking that seriously.”
McBride said Democrats need to be better at focusing on the issues of their constituents, not just focusing their battles on Trump while in Washington.
“When we show indignation, righteous indignation, specifically toward Trump, it might play well with our base, but it doesn’t necessarily also reach the people that we need to reach,” McBride said. “I think we hit the right chord when we show indignation on behalf of our constituents.”
Breaking through to GOP voters is a battle that Democrats understand they won’t win easily.
“We’re not trying to compete with Donald Trump for that megaphone that he has with the conservative media apparatus behind him,” Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-CA) said. “We’re trying to focus on the American people, to show them how we’re fighting, what we’re fighting for, and the importance of this moment.”
The latest breakthrough attempts have been met with ridicule as Republicans blast Democrats for awkward social media posts and videos. Most recently, Democrats were slammed for essentially copy and pasting the same exact message regarding the continuing resolution.
Communications teams for the members argued it was an “intentional show of solidarity,” but like many Democratic posts of late, the narrative quickly spread of the party being unoriginal and unwilling to break ranks.
Republican operatives, and sometimes even the White House, have made fun of various Democratic posts, including a “choose your fighter” TikTok trend, a new party logo, and posters of prominent Democratic leaders.
But Democrats are not going to be swayed by the backlash — in fact, they believe they benefit from it.
“If folks want to ridicule or point things out, if the White House wants to tweet us, that means that we’re getting under their skin, and if anything, it’s expanding our reach,” Democratic Policy and Communications Committee co-chair Lauren Underwood (D-IL) said.
“Last week, we had 50 million — 50 million people, interacting with our content, and I would call that a success,” Underwood added.
Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), another DPCC co-chair and first “Gen Z” member elected to leadership, campaigned for his position on elevating members’ social media presence and revamping messaging tools to reach young voters, especially men.
Ridicule doesn’t bother Frost, he said, as he had his own experience with Republicans’ opinions on his choices.
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“When I first got to Congress, they ridiculed me because I had trouble getting an apartment, because I’m not a rich person, and I wasn’t rich person when I got to Congress,” Frost said.
“They’re so out of touch, anything that we do, they’re going to ridicule, but that doesn’t guide where we’re going,” the Florida congressman continued. “What guides where we’re going is fighting for working people, fighting with working people, fighting for young people, fighting for seniors, fighting for veterans. And so, we’re not going to allow what the White House tweets out to dictate our message.”