Democrats admit Republicans are 'running circles' around them online while Trump reshapes Washington
A Texas lawmaker criticized the Democratic response to Trump, stating it is “too slow and too tepid and not meeting the moment.”
TroibNews 
The Department of Government Efficiency launched its own account on X last November, quickly gaining 4 million followers with a steady flow of updates regarding contract cancellations and bureaucracy cuts. In contrast, Elon Musk has been actively posting on the social media platform he owns, amplifying his own voice using an algorithm he controls.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) initiated a rapid response account in January, which has attracted around 121,000 followers—significantly less than DOGE's following. Democrats have also organized traditional rallies outside USAID and Treasury buildings, where Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer faced ridicule on late-night television and even from some party members after leading a chant of “We will win!”
This response from Democrats has been described as disjointed in the face of a wave of pro-DOGE messaging. According to interviews with over a dozen Democratic elected officials and strategists, a primary concern is that they are engaging on the wrong platform. They have opted for conventional demonstrations for local and national TV coverage, as seen with Schumer holding a carton of eggs, while leaving a flood of MAGA rhetoric and disinformation online largely unchallenged.
In the words of Chi Ossé, a Democratic NYC councilman with a notable online presence through his short-form explanatory videos, “you don’t see those folks anywhere.” He emphasized that, “Trump and Republicans have been able to grasp different types of media in how to get their message across that impacts society as a whole, and I do believe that Dem leadership is missing the mark, not only in the election but in our resistance 2.0. We need to be active in every medium.”
As Trump commenced his second term, Democrats appeared overwhelmed. The DNC's new rapid response account is a fifth the size of @RapidResponse47, the account from the Trump White House. While House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has nearly a million followers, Musk’s platform boasts over 217 million after his recent surge in activity. Some Democratic organizations, including MoveOn.Org and the Human Rights Campaign, have noticeably reduced their postings on X or even abandoned it for Bluesky—a left-oriented alternative with considerably fewer users and audience reach.
Conservative voices dominate podcasting, with five of Spotify's top ten shows featuring conservative hosts. Meanwhile, the only liberal to break into this chart is New York Times columnist Ezra Klein. For context, when Ben Shapiro, a controversial conservative podcaster, posts on Facebook, he reaches 9.4 million followers, compared to about 1.8 million for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Three months post the November elections and three weeks into Trump’s presidency, several Democrats concede they are struggling in an asymmetrical fight against the president and his MAGA supporters, who have effectively harnessed online platforms in the past month. Democrats have not reached a consensus on how to improve their rapid response capabilities or who is to blame.
“Republicans are running circles around Democrats for how to connect to the culture today,” stated John Della Volpe, director of Harvard University’s youth poll and a Gen Z expert. He pointed out that “People are still asking me in these post-election meetings, ‘Who is Theo Von?’ Even if they had the best message, you can’t connect if you’re not part of modern American culture, if you’re not injecting yourself into these spaces where people already are.”
Democrats have long faced challenges in engaging voters beyond traditional media. Navigator Research found that a majority of “swing voters” and new Trump supporters primarily consumed news through social media and alternative sources such as podcasts, while less than half of Kamala Harris’ voters turned to broadcast TV outlets for information.
“Republicans’ ability to speak into the ecosystem is sharper, more precise, and Democrats are behind in that,” observed Dan Sena, a veteran Democratic strategist and former executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He noted that Republicans benefit from a wider media network amplifying their messages, allowing stories to escalate from Republican influencer videos to Musk’s feed to Joe Rogan’s podcast and ultimately to Fox News, broadening their reach.
“There is a fight for the attention economy, and today the Republicans are winning. No doubt,” he added.
Sena cautioned that the solution will not come from the DNC, the DCCC, or other official party channels, indicating that it is “not even a fix we can expect right now.” Instead, he asserted that it will rely on candidates sharpening their internal communications as they approach the 2026 elections.
Kyle Tharp, a progressive researcher tracking digital political trends, noted, “The leadership vacuum IRL is causing a messaging vacuum online. Even though there are some bright spots, Democrats are still getting steamrolled online and there’s not a lot they can do about it because there’s not a single coordinating body or person to push an offensive message.” He expressed uncertainty about the fixability of this issue.
However, some Democrats are making strides, including Ocasio-Cortez, who frequently goes viral with her Instagram live videos and posts on X. Rep. Maxwell Frost, the first Gen Z Congress member, often engages in online debates with Republicans, as do Senators Chris Murphy and Brian Schatz.
Moreover, some Democrats are refining their messaging, which can yield greater online visibility, albeit with the risk of alienating certain voters. Recently, Rep. Robert Garcia called Musk “a dick” on CNN, stating, “what the American public wants is for us to actually bring weapons to this bar fight.”
Tim Miller, a former GOP strategist now hosting a podcast on The Bulwark, advised, “They should be creating bait of their own. Be more aggressive, be more outlandish. I think they should be doing 700X of what they’re doing, in terms of output, volume, platforms, speed.”
There are indications that some Democrats have recognized the need for change. Progressive influencer Brian Tyler Cohen recently spoke with Senate and House members regarding social media engagement strategies, according to sources familiar with the meetings. Jeffries appeared on Cohen’s show and Jon Stewart’s podcast earlier this month.
Following the publication, Schumer released a statement saying, “We are fighting on every front—from pushing back on MAGA and DOGE’s thoughtless and devastating policies, to rising inflation, including the price of eggs, which directly impacts American families every single day.”
Last week, nine Democratic senators participated in live interviews on Pod Save America from Schumer’s office. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Schatz recently featured on Adam Mockler’s YouTube show, while Sen. Cory Booker appeared on The David Pakman Show. The DNC has also hired the team behind the @KamalaHQ X account to manage its new @FactPostNews initiative across various platforms including X, BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Facebook.
Despite these efforts, Democrats themselves recognize that these moves are exceptions within the party. James Talarico, a 35-year-old Texas state representative who has effectively used social media to advance his political goals, characterized the national Democratic response to Trump as “too slow and too tepid and not meeting the moment.”
“Just like the printing press or the radio or the TV, social media is now how we communicate and if we’re not adapting to this new environment, we’re not going to get heard,” Talarico emphasized. “If our party doesn’t keep up, we’re going to be left behind.”
Jessica Kline contributed to this report for TROIB News
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) initiated a rapid response account in January, which has attracted around 121,000 followers—significantly less than DOGE's following. Democrats have also organized traditional rallies outside USAID and Treasury buildings, where Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer faced ridicule on late-night television and even from some party members after leading a chant of “We will win!”
This response from Democrats has been described as disjointed in the face of a wave of pro-DOGE messaging. According to interviews with over a dozen Democratic elected officials and strategists, a primary concern is that they are engaging on the wrong platform. They have opted for conventional demonstrations for local and national TV coverage, as seen with Schumer holding a carton of eggs, while leaving a flood of MAGA rhetoric and disinformation online largely unchallenged.
In the words of Chi Ossé, a Democratic NYC councilman with a notable online presence through his short-form explanatory videos, “you don’t see those folks anywhere.” He emphasized that, “Trump and Republicans have been able to grasp different types of media in how to get their message across that impacts society as a whole, and I do believe that Dem leadership is missing the mark, not only in the election but in our resistance 2.0. We need to be active in every medium.”
As Trump commenced his second term, Democrats appeared overwhelmed. The DNC's new rapid response account is a fifth the size of @RapidResponse47, the account from the Trump White House. While House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has nearly a million followers, Musk’s platform boasts over 217 million after his recent surge in activity. Some Democratic organizations, including MoveOn.Org and the Human Rights Campaign, have noticeably reduced their postings on X or even abandoned it for Bluesky—a left-oriented alternative with considerably fewer users and audience reach.
Conservative voices dominate podcasting, with five of Spotify's top ten shows featuring conservative hosts. Meanwhile, the only liberal to break into this chart is New York Times columnist Ezra Klein. For context, when Ben Shapiro, a controversial conservative podcaster, posts on Facebook, he reaches 9.4 million followers, compared to about 1.8 million for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Three months post the November elections and three weeks into Trump’s presidency, several Democrats concede they are struggling in an asymmetrical fight against the president and his MAGA supporters, who have effectively harnessed online platforms in the past month. Democrats have not reached a consensus on how to improve their rapid response capabilities or who is to blame.
“Republicans are running circles around Democrats for how to connect to the culture today,” stated John Della Volpe, director of Harvard University’s youth poll and a Gen Z expert. He pointed out that “People are still asking me in these post-election meetings, ‘Who is Theo Von?’ Even if they had the best message, you can’t connect if you’re not part of modern American culture, if you’re not injecting yourself into these spaces where people already are.”
Democrats have long faced challenges in engaging voters beyond traditional media. Navigator Research found that a majority of “swing voters” and new Trump supporters primarily consumed news through social media and alternative sources such as podcasts, while less than half of Kamala Harris’ voters turned to broadcast TV outlets for information.
“Republicans’ ability to speak into the ecosystem is sharper, more precise, and Democrats are behind in that,” observed Dan Sena, a veteran Democratic strategist and former executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He noted that Republicans benefit from a wider media network amplifying their messages, allowing stories to escalate from Republican influencer videos to Musk’s feed to Joe Rogan’s podcast and ultimately to Fox News, broadening their reach.
“There is a fight for the attention economy, and today the Republicans are winning. No doubt,” he added.
Sena cautioned that the solution will not come from the DNC, the DCCC, or other official party channels, indicating that it is “not even a fix we can expect right now.” Instead, he asserted that it will rely on candidates sharpening their internal communications as they approach the 2026 elections.
Kyle Tharp, a progressive researcher tracking digital political trends, noted, “The leadership vacuum IRL is causing a messaging vacuum online. Even though there are some bright spots, Democrats are still getting steamrolled online and there’s not a lot they can do about it because there’s not a single coordinating body or person to push an offensive message.” He expressed uncertainty about the fixability of this issue.
However, some Democrats are making strides, including Ocasio-Cortez, who frequently goes viral with her Instagram live videos and posts on X. Rep. Maxwell Frost, the first Gen Z Congress member, often engages in online debates with Republicans, as do Senators Chris Murphy and Brian Schatz.
Moreover, some Democrats are refining their messaging, which can yield greater online visibility, albeit with the risk of alienating certain voters. Recently, Rep. Robert Garcia called Musk “a dick” on CNN, stating, “what the American public wants is for us to actually bring weapons to this bar fight.”
Tim Miller, a former GOP strategist now hosting a podcast on The Bulwark, advised, “They should be creating bait of their own. Be more aggressive, be more outlandish. I think they should be doing 700X of what they’re doing, in terms of output, volume, platforms, speed.”
There are indications that some Democrats have recognized the need for change. Progressive influencer Brian Tyler Cohen recently spoke with Senate and House members regarding social media engagement strategies, according to sources familiar with the meetings. Jeffries appeared on Cohen’s show and Jon Stewart’s podcast earlier this month.
Following the publication, Schumer released a statement saying, “We are fighting on every front—from pushing back on MAGA and DOGE’s thoughtless and devastating policies, to rising inflation, including the price of eggs, which directly impacts American families every single day.”
Last week, nine Democratic senators participated in live interviews on Pod Save America from Schumer’s office. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Schatz recently featured on Adam Mockler’s YouTube show, while Sen. Cory Booker appeared on The David Pakman Show. The DNC has also hired the team behind the @KamalaHQ X account to manage its new @FactPostNews initiative across various platforms including X, BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and Facebook.
Despite these efforts, Democrats themselves recognize that these moves are exceptions within the party. James Talarico, a 35-year-old Texas state representative who has effectively used social media to advance his political goals, characterized the national Democratic response to Trump as “too slow and too tepid and not meeting the moment.”
“Just like the printing press or the radio or the TV, social media is now how we communicate and if we’re not adapting to this new environment, we’re not going to get heard,” Talarico emphasized. “If our party doesn’t keep up, we’re going to be left behind.”
Jessica Kline contributed to this report for TROIB News
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