Democratic strategists are urging the party not to go full “Orange Man Bad” during the midterm elections, but Democratic candidates might not be able to resist the temptation.
With the elections on the horizon, Democrats are hoping to win back Congress after a sound drubbing in 2024. However, simply screaming about President Donald Trump is not the answer, according to multiple experts.
From The Hill:
Political strategists say Democrats running in competitive races in this year’s midterm elections for the House and Senate should steer clear of making President Trump the centerpiece of their campaigns.
While Trump’s approval ratings are low and Americans have been frustrated by his job performance in the first year of his second term, the strategists say the key to winning is to home in on economic issues — particularly affordability.
“The fight to win 2026 will be on the economy and affordability. It’s not going to be on the Epstein files,” said Susan Del Percio, a veteran Republican strategist who has never supported the president. “They shouldn’t take the bait on Trump. Even if they want to talk about Venezuela, you can’t talk about it too much.”
It’s not as though Trump won’t be mentioned, people familiar with the strategy of the House Democrats’ campaign arm say. It’s that the president will be secondary to the primary focus of how Democrats can make the economy better.
“You can’t ignore Trump because it’s his economy. But the top message is the economy and affordability,” one source familiar with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s (DCCC) plans for the midterms said.
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The Hill further notes that Democrats have to win in areas that Trump won in 2024 and are fighting for 39 seats, 28 of which are in districts Trump won by at least five percentage points.
GOP strategist Kevin Madden told The Hill that Trump won those districts “because voters in the middle migrated toward Trum because of frustrations with the Biden administration over the economy and inflation.”
He further stated every candidate “has to be focused on the reality that these affordability concerns, even one year later, still exist.”
Some Democrats already recognize this, which is why they are trying to create effective messaging on the economy. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) wrote a post on X in which she noted that “Costs are rising, and millions of Americans are seeing their health insurance premiums skyrocket after Republicans in Congress let key tax credits expire.”
Costs are rising, and millions of Americans are seeing their health insurance premiums skyrocket after Republicans in Congress let key tax credits expire.
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) January 4, 2026
Instead of working to lower costs for the American people, Trump decided to go “run” another country.
However, most of their comrades still have not gotten the memo. Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) argued that President Trump “promised no ‘new stupid wars,’ yet he’s starting one with Venezuela without congressional approval” and that “People can’t afford groceries and millions are losing healthcare, but his is where his focus is.”
Trump promised no “new stupid wars,” yet he’s starting one with Venezuela without congressional approval.
— Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (@RepJasmine) January 3, 2026
People can’t afford groceries and millions are losing healthcare, but this is where his focus is.
This is unconstitutional and not what the American people asked for.
During an appearance on MS Now, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA-14) also lashed out at Trump over Venezuela. “I want to understand what this has to do with bringing costs down,” the lawmaker, who is also running for governor, said.
The biggest betrayal, Anna, that this President has made in his first year is he told every American he was going to end all wars, release the Epstein files, and bring costs down. Instead, he has attacked Nigeria, Syria, Venezuela, Iran. He has not released the Epstein files. He's buried them, and he has put this stupid tariff tax on every American as they go to the store to buy products. So many politicians make promises that they can't keep. That happens. But this guy has actually done the opposite. He has broken every promise and done the reverse and has hurt us in every way. I think most folks are saying, what does this have to do with our core issues here at home?
Trump has broken every promise. pic.twitter.com/Y3qaVTYop4
— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) January 7, 2026
While these lawmakers did bring up the economy, Trump remained their vocal point, which isn’t going to help them in November unless Republicans manage to screw up so royally that voters vote against the GOP rather than for Democrats.
The problem with the left is that they have struggled to articulate clear policy positions that would convince the public that they can be trusted with power again. Instead, they rely primarily on anti-Trump messaging, which will only get them so far.
Historically, the party that lost the White House ends up winning during the midterms. But if Democrats continue along these lines, history might not repeat itself.
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