Remember when Kamala Harris campaigned on joy? That didn't work too well for her, so it seems that Democrats have decided to lean into being miserable, as they discuss ways to make all or lives miserable.
No, really.
That's their strategy for the 2028 primaries: they plan to lean into their childhood trauma and familial dysfunction.
🚨 Potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates are introducing themselves to voters in a striking way: by documenting their childhood resentments, family chaos and fights with their parents. https://t.co/3v8w8Mm7eU
— Jim VandeHei (@JimVandeHei) March 22, 2026
Some potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates are introducing themselves to voters in a striking way: by documenting their childhood resentments, family chaos and fights with their parents.
Why it matters: Many presidential hopefuls carry painful memories from complicated childhoods. But few have discussed them as openly as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
- Their frankness about their formative years and family dynamics is a way to shape their public stories before journalists do. It's also a sign of shifting taboos and a growing desire for candidates to appear relatable to voters.
Driving the news: In preparing for potential 2028 campaigns, the governors have opened up about how their difficult relationships with their parents still shape them.
This strategy might work if some of the leading Democrats, including Josh Shapiro, J.B. Pritzker, and Gavin Newsom, didn't have privileged upbringings. Even Shapiro, who wasn't wealthy, was the child of a pediatrician and a school teacher. Pritzker and Newsom were wealthy and well-connected.
This directly reflects the fact that the Democratic Party is defined by its cluster B psychopathology.
— J.D. Haltigan, PhD 🏒👨💻 (@JDHaltigan) March 23, 2026
This is accurate.
It's also not going to play well if Vice President Vance runs, given his actual impoverished and difficult childhood.
Wait until you hear about the NYT best seller JD Vance wrote
— Pericles (@PerryALPHA) March 23, 2026
This would explain why Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear was attacking Vice President Vance the other day. As the others mentioned, Beshear grew up politically connected and well-to-do.
“Vote for me, I’m the most psychotic”
— Brian Doherty (@BDOH) March 23, 2026
"I will fix all your problems, though."
That's the Democrats' pitch: we're just as messed up as you are, but we'll make things better for you. Somehow.
For all of human history, people bragged about coming from good families. Now people brag about coming from bad families. Probably nothing. https://t.co/DLoLdKIptp
— Roman Helmet Guy (@romanhelmetguy) March 22, 2026
That's not a shift for the better.
This is not a sign of civilizational health. https://t.co/zfBHjohIDO
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) March 22, 2026
It is the sign of civilizational psychopathy.
The most miserable party is conducting a miserable primary in a race to see who can make all Americans the most miserable. https://t.co/fL2CMo7pmT
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) March 23, 2026
Misery, after all, loves company.
Grievance Olympics cringe https://t.co/tiZKjiN0jm
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) March 22, 2026
It is going to be very fun watching the privileged, spoiled Democrats face off against Vice President Vance, who grew up dirt poor in Appalachia, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose family fled the oppression of communism in Cuba while the Democrats pretend they had the hard lives.
Good luck with this.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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