LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Democratic Party is facing a crisis of leadership, direction, and any kind of coherence after getting soundly defeated in the presidential election. While small protests took place from Michigan to California at the end of January, they weren’t large in numbers and they had no unifying message other than to be anti-Trump.

Their signs and chants ran the full spectrum – everything from climate policies to women’s rights to immigration issues. The one thing uniting the Democratic base is currently their ability to be thoroughly divided on everything except their dislike for President Trump.

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At a protest at the Lansing Capitol on January 29th, Kassandra Cooper who traveled from Ann Arbor to Lansing told the State News, “I stand against everything that Trump is for.” That sentiment seems to sum up the Democratic Party’s entire playbook at the moment.

Governor Whitmer plays nice.

After Trump won the presidential race, Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer took the high road and talked about working together with the 47th president. In a press release on the day of Trump’s inauguration, she said, “I want to congratulate President Trump as he begins his second term, and I look forward to getting to work on the priorities we share…Together, with Republicans and Democrats in Lansing and the new administration in DC, I know we can lower costs, bring more manufacturing back to Michigan, boost research and innovation, and cut red tape.”

Michigan Dems disappointed in Whitmer.

In addition to not being happy with Whitmer’s plans to work with Trump, some Michigan Democrats are also currently scratching their heads over Whitmer’s lackluster response to President Donald Trump’s efforts to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in addition to other executive orders he has signed. While other states are taking a more aggressive stand against Trump’s executive orders, Whitmer issued an order requiring state agencies to “review” their policies for compliance rather than mounting a direct challenge.

Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) questioned why Whitmer, who previously took a hard stance on issues like abortion rights, isn’t showing the same level of resistance now. Rep. Emily Dievendorf (D-Lansing) echoed the frustration, arguing that Michigan should be pushing back rather than complying with what she called “inhumane measures.”

Appearing on the progressive anti-Trump TV show “The View” recently to talk about Trump’s first week in office, Whitmer told the co-hosts that she was going to try to stay focused on common ground wherever she could. As we have reported in the past, this shift to find common ground with the Republicans could very likely be a strategy for a future run for the White House by the Michigan governor.

Fighting in the streets?

On the other side of a willingness to cooperate is House Minority Leader Democrat Hakeem Jeffries (D- NY) who recently got criticized for trying to energize people to take to the streets to fight Trump. He said at an event in New York, “Right now, we’re going to keep focused on the need to look out for everyday New Yorkers and everyday Americans who are under assault by an extreme MAGA Republican agenda

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that is trying to cut taxes for billionaires, donors, and wealthy corporations and then stick New Yorkers and working- class Americans across the country with the bill. That’s not acceptable. We are going to fight it legislatively. We are going to fight it in the courts. We’re going to fight it in the streets.”

Still stuck with policies that lost them elections and no new ideas on the horizon.

Mostly, however, there is no real “energy” in the Democratic Party to fight in the streets at the moment and no real understanding, or acknowledgment, of why they lost the presidency. A recent report from the New York Times highlighted interviews with more than 50 Democratic leaders and the interviews revealed a fundamental belief that the current moment calls for an inspirational message from the Democratic Party – but they don’t know what that message should be. Calling elected Democrats “leaderless, rudderless and divided” the NYT reported that the Democrats have no real shared understanding of why they lost the presidential election or how to win in the future.

A new “leader” with the same old ideas.

Over the weekend, Ken Martin of Minnesota became the new Chair of the Democratic National Committee. He says he plans to conduct a post-election review – but appears to be focused on tactics and messaging. Instead of looking into if the Democrats stand for the wrong policies, it looks like the Democrats still think that advertising and branding is their problem.

Martin appears to have won the position because he has the anti-Trump credentials that the party looks for including having called for Trump to be tried for treason. In his victory speech he sounded a little like Jeffries when he said, “We need to go on offense. We’re going to go out there and take this fight to Donald Trump and the Republicans.” Whether or not the voters in his party adhere to those marching orders remains to be seen.

Picking and choosing the battles.

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, may be recognizing, however, that a relentless anti-Trump strategy isn’t gaining traction, especially with limited support. So far, the street fight that some Democrats are wanting to happen and have called for has not come into fruition – except for illegal immigrants protesting the deportation of their criminal friends and relatives. In an interview, Schumer admitted, “We’re not going to go after every single issue…We are picking the most important fights and lying down on the train tracks on those fights.”

Marching in circles, not forward.

One would think that losing to Trump – again – would make Democrats rethink their approach and the ideas that they support. Instead, they seem to be doubling down on the same tired strategies: relying on protests, social media outrage, and performative congressional grandstanding.

With the 2026 midterms already on the horizon, Democrats are running out of time to find a coherent strategy – let alone a leader who can execute it. Right now, all they have is chaos, finger-pointing, and a vague hope that Trump will somehow self-destruct.