Democrats have been looking for a jolt of energy since their devastating November loss of the White House to President Trump, and they finally feel like they got one this past weekend during the “No Kings” protests.
Millions marched in demonstrations across the country, from small towns to cities, with those marching raising their voices and signs against President Trump and his administration’s policies, particularly on immigration.
Democrats are now pondering how to harness the power of the protests and parlay it into ongoing excitement for a party that has felt lost and rudderless since former Vice President Kamala Harris’s defeat.
They say it’s a different kind of energy than the resistance that emerged in 2017, during Trump’s first administration, and is only gaining in popularity this time, five months into Trump’s second term.
“One of the things that is so encouraging about No Kings … is that it seems like the opposition to Trump is growing,” said Democratic strategist Joel Payne. “This time, it’s already bigger and feeling more diverse and more sustainable.”
“These are not just the coffeehouse liberals who are coming out to protests — you are seeing independents and less political people showing up at these rallies,” Payne added. “And the rallies are not just in big blue cities. They are all over the country and communities large and small. Trump’s overreach has really united the opposition more quickly than it did in his first term.”
Five million protesters turned out for the No Kings organization’s “national day of action” against the Trump administration in more than 2,000 cities and towns across the country. The marches took place as a parade in honor of the Army took place in Washington, D.C., on Trump’s birthday.
And Democratic strategist Christy Setzer said the sheer volume of demonstraters sent a powerful message about the reemergence of the Trump resistance — regardless of what one thinks about the word “resistance” as a political brand.
“I don’t know that it’s a problem if it’s seen, for now, as ‘the resistance,’ especially if that resistance means … one of the biggest protests in American history,” Setzer said.
In the long term, she said, part of the goal is to change the narrative that a majority of the country supports Trump, “or at least is passively OK with his ideas, to an understanding that millions of Americans are not OK with it.”
The protests and defiance against Trump come as the Democratic Party attempts to rebuild in the aftermath of November’s election. In their period of self-reflection since then, Democrats — in various postmortems and focus groups — have sought to figure out what went wrong and how they managed to lose not only the White House but both chambers of Congress.
Many Democratic thinkers have concluded that the party had become too fixated on Trump, without connecting with voters. Much of the argument in the 2024 presidential race, for example, revolved around the threat that Trump posed to democracy when the issue voters cared about most was the economy.
Since then, Democrats have pondered existential questions, including what the Democratic Party represents.
“There is not a thesis or a coherent answer to that question and there hasn’t been one in a while,” said Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons. “At some point, they’ve got to be for something.”
Simmons conceded that the protests are indeed where the energy resides in the party. That energy, he said, has definitely galvanized the base and has given the party a sense of purpose.
But he said a larger question looms: “The question is, is that where the energy is for independent voters, for young voters, for new voters?”
Those questions come as there is decreasing optimism within the Democratic Party.
An AP/NORC poll revealed last month that 35 percent of surveyed Democrats were optimistic about the party’s future, compared with 57 percent in July 2024. A separate CNN/SSRS survey also out last month showed a sense that the party lacks strong leaders and that it is not offering change to Americans, which underpins the dwindling optimism.
Democrats acknowledge that they have a long way to go in their rebuilding efforts, but they say demonstrations like the ones last weekend help to lay the groundwork to lure more voters to their ranks.
Democratic strategist Eddie Vale said that while his party does need to do a better job of offering up an agenda, the protests provide “a barometer of where things are headed right now.”
Vale said that the protests could help grow and expand a movement of potential voters.
“Then, state by state, race by race, district by district, the Democrats have to catch those people and catch that energy and show them that voting in an election and voting for them is going to get you something,” he said.
Vale acknowledged that the protests alone aren’t enough. Democrats have to use the energy from the protests to offer the change their base is seeking.
“Candidates need to do a good job of laying out that if you just spent the … past year and a half marching in the streets because you were upset about XYZ, here are my ideas and solutions for how we can fix those things,” he added.
Vale said while the protests made him “super excited” about the positioning of the Democratic Party, he cautioned against “overtaxing” voters with too many demonstrations like No Kings.
But Setzer and other Democrats say it’s giving the party some much-needed oxygen.
“If you’re a protest organizer, keep it up,” she said. “Let’s do this regularly, to show sustained opposition.
“If you’re an elected official, show you’re not scared,” Setzer added. “Don’t pull punches. Understand that people aren’t looking for bipartisanship right now. They’re looking for you to stand up for what’s right, even if you’re the only one doing it.”