It's no secret to progressives that authoritarian agendas thrive when working-class voters feel abandoned. Trump’s success in weaponizing economic pain while wrapping it in faux populism has delivered devastating results for the Democratic Party. While we know Trump’s record is one of serving the ultra-wealthy, his recent signals that he is paying attention to the working class—like his backing of the International Longshoremen’s Association in their fight against automation—should not be underestimated.
Trump is not dumb. By publicly siding with union leaders, amplifying their fight against automation, and nominating pro-labor Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer to lead the Department of Labor, he is deliberately positioning himself as a fighter for workers. This calculated maneuvering speaks to his understanding that working-class voters hold the key to electoral power. Yet, behind the scenes, Trump’s cabinet of billionaires—individuals who have profited off the backs of working people—tells the real story of his agenda.
The Democratic Party, meanwhile, stands at a dangerous crossroads. The MAGA strategy exposes a hard truth: the Democratic Party cannot afford to continue losing its connection to the working class. Failing to respond with bold action, clear reforms, and a commitment to the priorities of working families will all but guarantee further electoral losses.
Reform Is the Path Back to the Working Class
The Democratic Party cannot win back the working class without first addressing its own structural decay. The party has grown too reliant on corporate donors, consultants, and top-down strategies that ignore the real needs of working people. A winning path requires revitalizing the party infrastructure and a strategy geared toward building winning coalitions that counters Trump’s faux populism with authentic, solutions rooted in economic populism. In order for that to happen, the Democratic party must address the root causes of its decline.
This is not just a fight for the soul of the Democratic Party—it’s a fight for the future of our democracy. Viewing the task as merely an exercise in rebranding won’t do enough to fix a broken party.
It’s unlikely that the insiders who built a system that enriches themselves—guaranteeing profits whether the party wins or loses—will willingly dismantle it. Yet that is exactly what is required: cutting off their reliance on corporate donors, abandoning the consultant-driven strategies that fail working people, and rebuilding a Party that serves its grassroots base. This is why progressives are calling for a reform agenda that puts working-class voters first.
With the elections for new DNC leadership rapidly approaching, it’s imperative that new leadership adopts a Reform Agenda to signal it is serious about restoring trust and rebuilding the party as a force for working people.
The core of that reform message needs to start with the following:
- Banning Dark Money in Primaries: Working-class voters have no reason to trust a party whose primaries are shaped by billionaire-funded super PACs. Eliminating dark money ensures that our candidates win based on voter support, not corporate influence. We’ve seen too many examples where races are flooded with big money to crush popular (progressive) candidates.
- Investing in State Parties and Grassroots Organizing: The first step to rebuilding working-class coalitions is investing in organizing infrastructure—direct voter outreach based on authentic solutions and supporting grassroots leadership in every state. A 50-state strategy means strengthening state parties and empowering organizers, not handing millions to out-of-touch consultants.
- Committing to a Progressive Platform: To win back working families, Democrats must champion and deliver on the issues that impact their lives—Medicare expansion, living wages, affordable housing, union rights, and climate justice, to name a few. These policies are not only popular; they are essential to solving the economic pain fueling Trump’s appeal.
- Increasing Transparency and Accountability: For too long, DNC resources have been squandered on expensive media buys and elite political insiders. A reformed DNC must be accountable to its base and transparent about how it spends its resources—resources that belong to grassroots Democrats.
Taking On Trump Faux Populism Starts With Reforming The Party
Progressives have called for these institutional changes for years. With the stinging loss in November, the urgency is undeniable. Trump’s success doesn’t stem from his policies, but from his ability to exploit economic pain and present himself as an anti-establishment alternative. Progressives have been sounding the alarm since 2016 and have been consistent on the path required to counter the working class realignment.
The Democratic Party cannot win back the working class without first addressing its own structural decay.
This is not just a fight for the soul of the Democratic Party—it’s a fight for the future of our democracy. Viewing the task as merely an exercise in rebranding won’t do enough to fix a broken party. That’s why progressives need to be at the helm of rebuilding the infrastructure needed to counter Trump’s faux populism. While Trump makes calculated plays for union voters and working families, Democrats cannot afford to wait for his hypocrisy to reveal itself. They must offer a clear, authentic alternative rooted in economic justice.
The February DNC leadership elections are a pivotal moment to choose leaders who will champion these reforms. A reform-minded DNC that invests in organizers, not consultants, will signal a commitment to rebuilding the party from the ground up. It will amplify working-class struggles, not corporate talking points, and prioritize policies that directly address the economic pain faced by Americans. By focusing on grassroots power and rejecting corporate influence, the DNC can deliver the solutions necessary to earn back trust, form durable coalitions, and win elections against Trump’s GOP.
This is a moment of change that must not be squandered, and mainstream Democrats cannot afford to view progressives as adversaries or dismiss us as a thorn in their side. Instead, progressives must be recognized as the driving force capable of reconnecting the party with the voters who have felt ignored or gaslit. Unfortunately, one of the first major tests of whether the Democratic Party was prepared to take progressives seriously—the vote on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s bid to be the ranking member of the Oversight Committee—revealed troubling signs of continued resistance to the grassroots wing of the party. Electing Rep. Gerry Connolly over AOC is not just a missed opportunity, it’s a glaring example of the establishment actively blocking the most impactful avenue for exposing Trump’s faux populism for the harm it truly brings to working-class Americans.
The Democratic Party’s only path forward is to offer a real, working-class alternative—one rooted in bold economic policies, grassroots organizing, and a rejection of corporate influence.
That’s why, over the next few weeks, progressives should intensify the pressure and hold every candidate for DNC leadership accountable. We must remind DNC members that Democrats didn’t lose because of progressive or working-class values—we lost because the party ran a "Republican-lite" campaign. By embracing figures like Liz Cheney and billionaires like Mark Cuban, the party watered down its message of economic populism, which is not only popular but desperately needed.
The conversations over the next few weeks about the leadership election aren’t just about fixing what’s broken in the Democratic Party’s structure—they’re about something much bigger. This is about laying a foundation rooted in bold, authentic solutions that actually resonate with the people. It’s about rebuilding trust, energizing our base, and forming coalitions that can win. The stakes couldn’t be higher. Progressives have the vision, the policies, and the grit to lead this transformation. Now is the time to seize this moment, stand together, and rebuild a Democratic Party that serves the people, not the powerful. This is about fighting for our democracy and the working-class Americans who’ve been left behind for far too long. Let’s get to work.
