Head in the Sand: Post-election research shows that Democrats' have a weakness issue

December 23, 2024

US Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks at an event for young leaders at Prince George’s County Community College in Largo, Maryland on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.

Photo by Annabelle Gordon/Pool/Sipa USA

For the Democrats, 2024 was the year of the ostrich, or the koala, according to lapsed-Democratic voters asked to describe the party as an animal in post-election research. On Monday, they released the results of three focus groups and a national poll of voters who previously voted for Democrats but supported Trump or did not vote in 2024 – and the results are scathing.

“They’ve got their heads in the sand and are absolutely committed to their own ideas, even when they’re failing,” said one focus group participant. Or, according to another, they are like koalas: “complacent and lazy about getting policy wins that we really need.”

Participants characterized the party as weak, overly focused on diversity and elites, and “not a friend of the working class anymore.” The nationwide poll also found that Trump’s approval rating is at its highest since he left office, at 47%.

While the research showed that the Democrats could capitalize on issues like abortion, health care, taxing the rich, and a fear that Trump may go too far on tariffs, it also indicates that the party has deeper perception issues that may take more than one election cycle to fix. Around the world, support for strongmen (or strongwomen – we see you, Giorgia Meloni) is surging, a current Trump has ridden back back into the White House. Democrats may struggle to make gains in the 2026 midterms if they can’t overcome their perceived weakness and other issues revealed in this research.

Where does Trump’s immigration crackdown stand, nearly 100 days in?

Salvadoran police officers escort an alleged member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recently deported by the U.S. government to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) prison, as part of an agreement with the Salvadoran government, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, in this handout image obtained March 16, 2025.

Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via REUTERS

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Dispatch from DC: Bessent defends tariffs, urges IMF and World Bank reform

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivers remarks at the Institute of International Finance (IIF) Global Outlook Forum on sidelines of the IMF and World Bank’s 2025 annual Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C.,U.S., April 23, 2025.

REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addressed international financiers at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, on Wednesday morning, saying that “America First does not mean America alone” but “fairness in the international economic system.”

EXCLUSIVE: Democratic astronaut explores Texas Senate launch

International Space Station (ISS) crew member Terry Virts of the U.S. speaks by satellite phone shortly after landing near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on June 11, 2015.

REUTERS/Ivan Sekretarev/Pool

In the latest sign that Democrats are turning a new leaf after their dismal 2024 defeat, astronaut and political neophyte Terry Virts is planning to launch a run for the US Senate in Texas, GZERO Media has learned following recent conversations with those familiar with the race. He plans to challenge incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican.

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Delegations from France, Germany, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the USA meet at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris on April 17, 2025.

Eric Tschaen/Pool/ABACAPRESS.COM

It’s all Big Smoke and no fire in London, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pulled out of Russia-Ukraine peace talks that were scheduled to take place in British capital on Wednesday, right as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rebuffed the Americans’ peace plan that involved formally recognizing Crimea as Russian territory.

Is the age of energy transition over?

Enbridge

The concept of energy transition - the idea that one is conscious about the quantity of CO2 in the atmosphere and looking for ways to replace conventional sources of energy with lower emissions renewables - picked up steam after COVID-19. While concerns about emissions haven't gone away, priorities appear to be shifting, says Arjun Murti, partner at Veriten and founder of the energy transition newsletter Super-Spiked, on the latest episode of the podcast series "Energized: The Future of Energy" from GZERO Media's Blue Circle Studios and Enbridge. “I see no evidence that people don't always care about having reliable energy. All anyone cares about is: when I turn on my light, does it come on? If I want to go somewhere, can the car move forward?” explains Murti to host JJ Ramberg and Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel as they discuss the age of energy transition. Listen to this episode at gzeromedia.com/energized, or on Apple, Spotify, Goodpods, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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