While Donald Trump seems to single handedly push his country and the entire world into a recession, people also wonder what is going on with Democrats?

In fact, several journalists have asked me lately if Democrats are still alive? Who’s their leader? Who’s their face?

Yes, Democrats are indeed in a difficult position. Not only have they lost the White House, but they’re also in the minority in Congress, in the Supreme Court, and in many of the state legislatures.

A new poll came out which showed that their approval rating was below 30% — the lowest it has ever been. I think that in the short run, the legal route — meaning to challenge Trump policies in the courts — might probably be the most promising avenue for them.

Now, in their defense, some of their challenges are inherent to the political system in the US. The party that is in the White House has the president, and therefore a clear leader and a face — and now that’s Donald Trump for the Republican Party. For the party that is out of the White House, the situation is more challenging, and I’m afraid it will remain so for some time to come.

In the U.S. campaign jargon, we say that one should not interrupt when the opponent self-destructs. In that sense, Donald Trump now has the podium and the attention is focused on him. Democrats don’t need to do all that much at the front of the stage.

Back stage, however, what is crucial for the Democratic Party at this point in time is to do the homework, which means to analyze what went wrong in the last election to make sure they don’t repeat the same mistakes. They will have to prepare for the next elections, because elections are what ultimately matters to get power.

Regarding the message, they need to work on an economic message that offers an attractive alternative to Trump and the Republicans. That shouldn’t be all that difficult at the moment, but it takes focus. I can only warn Democrats not to get lost in woke issues or “I told you so” rhetoric. Swing voters don’t like to be told that they made a mistake.

As I write in my book “Beat the Incumbent”, not all challengers are equal. There is such a concept as challenger quality. And of course, the midterm elections are only one and a half years away. Americans will vote for the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate. The Senate might be a long shot, but I think winning the majority in the House of Representatives is doable. It’s far from a shoo-in, but it’s something that Democrats could accomplish.

What they should therefore do now is recruit high-quality challengers to compete in the key districts where they have to win in order to get the majority. And if they do win the majority in the House, they would have, of course, the Speaker of the House of Representatives — which could then be sort of a counter play, a counter face versus the president, very much as Nancy Pelosi was during the first Trump term.

Do I think Democrats can ever rebound and come back to power? Yes, absolutely. I’ve been in the business for too long not to think so. Ultimately, in a two-party system, the pendulum will swing back. Right now, it seems like Donald Trump is their biggest help working that pendulum.

PS: Check out my channel on YouTube where the latest video is on this topic!