Democrats Struggle To Pick Their Message Against Trump's Shock-and-awe Campaign

Democrats knew this was coming.

President Donald Trump promised a shock-and-awe campaign to deliver major policy victories immediately after he took office. Much of it was outlined in the Project 2025 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two days, the Republican president has moved to end diversity and inclusion programs across the federal government, withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris climate accords, blocked a federal law banning TikTok, and sought to end the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship.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 pardoned 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.