3 lessons from 3 missteps: If you want to beat Trump, don’t do this | Opinion
Democrats and their progressive allies simply aren’t going to get much traction in fighting Donald Trump until they learn three simple lessons:
One, that social media and protest worlds aren’t the reality most people live in;
Two, that Republicans won in large part because voters thought Trump’s populist insanity was closer to their values than Democrats’ woke insanity;
And three, that Democrats’ unethical behavior paved the way for Trump to do even worse.
All three were on display this week.
James Comey
Former FBI Director James Comey got national attention for an Instagram post spreading what overly online Democrats somehow think is a clever attack on Trump. Using rocks and sea shells placed in the sand, Comey posted a picture of the number 8647. Ha ha. 86 (get rid of) 47 (Trump). Ooooh what a subversive secret code!
If the best a man with Comey’s resume, influence and resources can do is a silly Instagram post, Democrats are in big trouble. But it didn’t end there. The Republican snowflake brigade pretended that Comey had threatened Trump’s life, requiring a Secret Service investigation of a scary beach still-life. Trump FBI Director Kash Patel says that is exactly what we’re going to get.
To make matters worse, Comey 86’d the Instagram post and added a statement that he didn’t know the numbers were associated with violence. The only thing more counterproductive than launching a meme war with Trump supporters is not knowing what you are doing and then backing down in the face of feigned outrage.
Gavin Newsom
Meanwhile in California, 2028 presidential candidate Gov. Gavin Newsom brought more attention to Democrats’ worst issue. In the face of a perfectly predictable budget deficit after a blizzard of recent spending increases, Newsom proposed to trim spending on free health care for undocumented immigrants, something that Newsom decided to invest $10 billion in just last year. California threw out the welcome mat as the Biden administration was struggling to tell potential migrants not to come.
If Trump won the presidency on one issue, it is immigration. Democrats combined ineptness with total disregard for the feelings of American voters who felt unheard on the issue. Biden’s inept border policies let millions of undocumented and unwelcome immigrants into the country while his most progressive allies told taxpayers they should foot the bill for housing, food, transportation and healthcare. The spending was all the more galling as regular Americans felt they couldn’t afford their own after Biden’s wave of inflation.
It is utterly clueless and, even now, Newsom clings to the taxpayer handout for undocumented immigrants. He just wants them to pay some insurance premiums and maybe some copays.
If Democrats’ woke values continue to put the unwelcome before the unheard, blue-collar workers and other Democratic constituencies will continue to vote with Trump.
Hillary Clinton
And then, Hillary Clinton had to speak up. As Trump was happily accepting a $400 million sky palace from Qatar, raising reasonable questions about his long-missing ethical compass, the very last person who should lecture him had her say on X.
“No one gives someone a $400 million jet for free without expecting anything in return. Be serious,” she wrote. She might have some insight into the matter as when she was secretary of State, her foundation took millions from Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Algeria among others. No word on what they wanted or whether dubious countries only want things for their gifts when they hit the $400 million threshold.
One thing that’s clear is that Clinton was sure open to hearing what those donors wanted. Half the people Clinton met with while she was secretary (who weren’t part of the Obama administration) just happened to be Clinton Foundation donors. Maybe they are the ones who told her that foreign gifts come with strings.
I live in a red state. Out here among the Trump voters when you talk about Trump’s perfidy, his supporters always have an example of Democrats doing the same thing. Many of those examples involve a Clinton or two. Democrats would do well to get their own house in order and maybe 86 the Clintons if they want to be taken seriously.
This story was originally published May 16, 2025 at 9:15 AM with the headline "3 lessons from 3 missteps: If you want to beat Trump, don’t do this | Opinion."
