California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff expressed frustration over the Democratic Party’s lack of a “coordinated response” to President Donald Trump during an interview with ABC’s Jonathan Karl.
“I think the lack of a coordinated response in the State of the Union was a mistake, and frankly, it took the focus off of where it should have been, which is on the fact that the president spoke for an hour and 40 minutes and had nothing to say about what he would do to bring down costs for American families that were watching that lengthy address, sitting at the kitchen table hoping he would offer something to help them afford a new home or pay their rent, afford health care, or afford child care,” Schiff said.
The lawmaker addressed the critiques by Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, where he called the Democrats’ situation “a sad cavalcade of self-owns and unhinged petulance.”
“They’re destroying the economy, and they’re making it harder and harder for Americans to afford things. That’s where we need to keep the focus, that’s why we lost the last election, because we weren’t laser-focused on the high cost of living and what they’re doing now is just making it so much worse,” Schiff claimed — falsely, according to the most recent economic data.
“Mortgage rates continue their downward trend, making seven consecutive weeks of declines — this is great news.” – Katrina Campins pic.twitter.com/Ya9hP5EbDD
— Department of Housing and Urban Development (@HUDgov) March 9, 2025
Karl also asked Schiff how the Democratic Party should respond to the president. The ABC News host specifically referenced Democratic strategist James Carville, who has suggested that the party should “play dead” and consider a strategic political retreat.
Schiff said he disagreed with that approach and added that his party needed their “own broad, bold agenda to improve the economic well-being of Americans,” though he didn’t explain why Democrats under Biden didn’t adopt better economic policies to achieve just that.
“We need to be advancing policies and making the arguments about what we have to offer, not simply standing back and letting them collapse under their own corrupt weight. To me, that’s not enough. We need to effectively use litigation as we are. We need to effectively use communication to talk to new people in new ways, as we are,” he added.
Other left-wing members of Congress have also rejected Carville’s suggestion, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT., and said, “In fact, the problem is the Democrats have been playing dead for too many years.”
Fetterman took to social media to criticize the responses to Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress last week.
“A sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance. It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained. We’re becoming the metaphorical car alarms that nobody pays attention to—and it may not be the winning message,” the senator wrote in a post on X.
This comes as President Trump’s approval rating has risen to near-record levels, despite several days of outrage from Democrats, establishment Republicans, and mainstream media outlets over the president’s ambitious trade changes.
According to a new poll conducted by J.L. Partners in collaboration with the Daily Mail, which surveyed 1,000 registered voters from March 31 to April 3, Trump’s support rating increased even after sweeping tariffs were imposed on dozens of trading partners on April 2.
The study indicated that Trump’s approval rating increased to 53 percent, a four-point improvement from last week’s poll, when it was 49 percent. The Daily Mail termed the outcome as “surprising” considering the intense pressure and stock market crash that occurred on Thursday and Friday.
Breaking down the numbers further, Trump’s favorability rating among voters aged 18 to 29 has improved by an amazing 13 points since March 7.
The study implies Trump is building on the tremendous support he earned from the group in the November presidential election, when voters aged 18 to 29 switched 10 points in Trump’s favor after heavily supporting Joe Biden in 2020.
The president’s support rating increased by six percentage points among registered Democrats and independents, according to the study.
The president’s favorability among black voters has increased by 17 points since last week’s survey.
