Politics can be a brutal business. One day you’re riding high, the next you’re eating humble pie with a side of crow.

America’s political landscape is littered with the wreckage of parties that lost their way. They drift from their founding principles, abandon their base, and wake up wondering why nobody’s listening anymore.

The Democratic Party’s response to President Trump’s joint address to Congress this week has become a perfect case study in political self-destruction. As Trump delivered his first address to Congress since beginning his second term, Democrats couldn’t decide whether to sit silently or actively disrupt the proceedings – and now they’re turning on each other.

From ‘Fox News’:

Democrats displayed their internal party divisions in the wake of President Donald Trump’s first address to Congress.

Democrats who are a part of leadership or more aligned with the establishment are clashing with progressives, many of whom heckled Trump throughout his more than 90-minute speech on Tuesday. The party is facing pressure from grassroots organizations to take a more combative approach – in lieu of decorum – to the Trump administration’s dismantling of the federal bureaucracy.

What began as tactical disagreements about how to respond to Trump has exploded into open warfare between progressive firebrands and moderate Democrats. Rep. George Latimer (D-NY) didn’t mince words, telling Axios the outbursts during Trump’s speech were “inappropriate.”

“When a president — my president, your president — is speaking, we don’t interrupt, we don’t pull those stunts,” Latimer said.

The most dramatic moment came when Rep. Al Green (D-TX) was escorted from the chamber after repeatedly jeering at Trump and waving his cane during the speech. While progressive Democrats held up signs reading “false,” “lies,” and “Musk steals,” some female Democratic lawmakers wore pink suits in protest.

Moderates Sound the Alarm

Democrats who represent competitive districts are sounding the alarm about the political consequences of their colleagues’ behavior.

“I think it was a big mistake,” Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) told Axios. “I’m an old school traditional type guy, I think we should be treating the president with deference. So I think it was inappropriate.”

Perhaps the most blistering critique came from Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who took to social media to condemn what he called a “sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance.”

“It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained,” Fetterman wrote. “We’re becoming the metaphorical car alarms that nobody pays attention to – and it may not be the winning message.”

Meanwhile, progressives are blaming party leadership for failing to provide direction. “There was definitely frustration about lack of guidance [or a] plan,” one progressive member of Congress told Axios.

Trump Sees Political Gold

President Trump wasted no time capitalizing on the Democrats’ disarray, taking to social media to predict electoral disaster for his opponents.

“The Democrats should lose the Midterms based on their behavior at last night’s Joint Address to Congress,” Trump posted, urging Republicans to use footage of Democrats’ behavior in campaign ads.

Even CNN commentator and Democratic strategist David Axelrod couldn’t defend his party’s behavior, saying on air: “I will say, I thought Democrats, I thought that was – I think there were times when they should have risen. I think what Al Green did was despicable.”

A Party That’s Lost Its Way

The Democrats’ congressional meltdown highlights a deeper identity crisis. Once the champion of working-class Americans, the party has increasingly become associated with coastal elites and progressive activists.

This disconnect was painfully evident during Trump’s address. While the president spoke about issues affecting everyday Americans – from inflation to border security – Democrats seemed more interested in performative protests than substantive engagement.

The party’s strategy of opposing Trump through lawsuits and bureaucratic resistance rather than appealing directly to voters’ concerns has left them without a coherent message. As one UnHerd analysis puts it: “A politics that leads by injunction isn’t grounded in persuasion and popular mobilization.”

With midterm elections approaching, Democrats face a stark choice: continue down the path of resistance for resistance’s sake, or reconnect with the kitchen-table issues that matter to average Americans. Their behavior at Trump’s address suggests they’re choosing the former – much to the delight of Republicans eyeing congressional gains.

Key Takeaways:

• Democrats’ disruptive behavior during Trump’s address has sparked internal warfare within the party.
• Sen. Fetterman warned they’re becoming “metaphorical car alarms nobody pays attention to.”
• Trump is already using Democrats’ behavior as campaign fodder, predicting it will cost them in the midterms.

Sources: Fox News, Daily Wire, UnHerd