Who Will Lead the Democrats?

Tara Palmeri: “Still reeling from Donald Trump’s win in November, Democrats seemed entirely flat-footed during the first 72 hours of his presidency while a barrage of executive orders vaporized the ancien régime in Washington. Sure, some of this was ostensibly strategic: In recent weeks, multiple Democratic leaders have expressed their intent to lie low and keep their powder dry until public sentiment inevitably turns.”

“But it’s been impossible to ignore the glaring absence of any sort of Democratic standard-bearer, or even a would-be standard-bearer, to bring the fight to Trump and the Republican Congress. A rope-a-dope strategy works only if the fighter has a knock-out punch ready to throw in a later round.”

“Also noticeably missing in response to Trump’s blitzkrieg—pardoning the January 6 rioters, requiring federal workers to snitch on colleagues practicing D.E.I., attempting to rewrite the 14th Amendment by fiat—has been anything resembling Nancy Pelosi’s rousing ‘Hell no!’ rallying cry for Democrats. But really, who’s left to unite them?”