NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Democrats knew this was coming.
President promised a shock-and-awe campaign to deliver major policy victories immediately after he took office. Much of it was outlined in the document that Democrats predicted he would adopt.
But in the hours since Trump's inauguration, Democrats are struggling to confront the sheer volume of executive orders, pardons, personnel changes and controversial relationships taking shape in the new administration.
In less than two days, the Republican president has moved to across the federal government, the U.S. from the Paris climate accords, blocked a federal law banning TikTok, and sought to end the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship. He has also the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and granted unprecedented access to some of the world's richest men, raising questions about his commitment to the working-class voters who enabled his election.
Each of those actions enrages part of the Democratic base. Together, they make it difficult to formulate a response by an already fractured party.
鈥淚t is a fire hose right now. That鈥檚 what he does. He creates a ton of chaos so it鈥檚 hard to keep up with it,鈥� said Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, who instructed her staff to track Trump's executive orders, so her constituents could keep up. 鈥淓verything is overload.鈥�
Democrats warn of Trump's 鈥榩lans to screw over America鈥�
The Democratic National Committee, under the direction of retiring chair Jaime Harrison, has been running an active rapid response this week, issuing press releases and social media posts to push back against Trump鈥檚 actions. That stands in contrast to the party鈥檚 operation following Trump鈥檚 2017 inauguration, which was largely dark as a far more active protest movement became the focal point of the Democratic resistance.
For now, the Democratic establishment is largely focused on the prominent role of billionaires in Trump鈥檚 nascent presidency, which follows Biden鈥檚 about the rise of oligarchs.
The DNC shared talking points with its allies on Tuesday, encouraging them to focus on 鈥淭rump鈥檚 plans to screw over America.鈥� Specifically, the talking points focus on the new president鈥檚 move to rescind a Biden order designed to limit the cost of prescription drugs.
The DNC guidance also seizes on ultra-wealthy tech executives like Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and Space X, and Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon and Blue Origin, who were seated in front of some of Trump鈥檚 Cabinet picks during his inauguration. On Musk, the talking points accuse him of giving multiple Nazi during Trump鈥檚 inauguration parade.
Right-wing extremists are celebrating Musk鈥檚 during a speech Monday, although his intention wasn鈥檛 totally clear and some hate watchdogs are saying not to read too much into it.
The seating for some of the world鈥檚 richest men at the inauguration 鈥� with big-state governors and major allies relegated to an overflow area 鈥� initially offered Democrats an issue to rally around. Beyond the tech leaders featured at the inauguration, the Republican president has tapped more than a dozen billionaires for prominent roles.
Democratic strategist Andrew Bates, who left his job as a White House spokesman on Friday, attacked Trump鈥檚 GOP for 鈥減artying with rightwing billionaires鈥� on their first day in control of Washington and 鈥減lotting tax welfare for the super rich鈥� on Day 2.
鈥淩epublicans have revealed their establishment-bought true colors and are selling out every American except their well-connected donors,鈥� Bates said.
The party remains fractured
Crockett, who has become one of her party's most visible messengers on Capitol Hill, is concerned that the focus on billionaires might not resonate with average voters, who likely didn鈥檛 recognize Bezos or other tech executives at the inauguration.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure average people know that鈥檚 not normal,鈥� Crockett said of the seating arrangement. 鈥淭he brilliance of Trump, if I had to give him accolades, is that he understands how much people don鈥檛 understand.鈥�
Even under normal circumstances, a transition to a new presidential administration would bring a flurry of executive orders and personnel changes that would be difficult to track. But little is normal about the second incarnation of President Trump, a 78-year-old term-limited outsider at the height of his political power with little regard for political norms or legal consequences.
鈥淓veryone鈥檚 reeling and trying to process the information coming at them,鈥� said Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of the progressive advocacy group Our Revolution. 鈥淧eople are not confident that the Democratic Party knows what to do in this moment.鈥�
Some prominent allies of the Democratic Party aren't especially engaged either.
Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban, who was among Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' most visible surrogates last fall, downplayed the impact of Trump's early moves when asked to weigh in.
鈥淗e hasn鈥檛 really done anything yet,鈥� Cuban told The Associated Press. 鈥淚鈥檒l pay attention to what he does. But my focus is figuring out healthcare rather than getting mad about what he does.鈥�
鈥淛ust getting angry,鈥� Cuban continued, 鈥渋s not the way to go.鈥�
Faiz Shakir, a candidate for DNC chair and a longtime ally of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, said he was shocked by the prominent placement of the billionaires in the nationally televised event, which he said threatened to undermine Trump鈥檚 popularity with working-class voters.
鈥淗e has given people a window into how he鈥檚 going to govern,鈥� Shakir said.
Still, he acknowledged that Democrats must confront 鈥渇atigue and exhaustion鈥� within their own ranks that lingers two months after Trump鈥檚 victory: 鈥淭here鈥檚 a creeping hopelessness that needs to be fought against.鈥�
Crockett encouraged her party to adopt a much more organized campaign to educate the public about Trump鈥檚 three most egregious moves. What are they? She鈥檚 not sure yet.
鈥淏ut in my opinion, we can鈥檛 fight it all,鈥� she said.
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Steve Peoples, The Associated Press
