NewsNation host Chris Cuomo stated on Wednesday that Democrats’ blanket condemnation of all actions by President Donald Trump and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk indicates they have not “learned” from their 2024 election losses.
As Democrats organize their strategy to oppose the Trump administration, figures like Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy advocate for resisting the president’s entire agenda. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith commented on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” that Democratic lawmakers appear to be “still campaigning” through their protests. Cuomo concurred, emphasizing the need for Democrats to present “better ideas” rather than persistently attacking Republicans.
Cuomo observed, “It seems like anything that Trump or Musk does, they have to condemn, and they have to condemn it on the basis of the people personally. Trump is a Nazi. Musk has apartheid roots.”
At a protest rally on February 5, Democratic Illinois Rep. Jonathan Jackson claimed that Musk aims to introduce apartheid to the U.S., referencing Musk’s South African origins. Jackson declared, “We’re not gonna have apartheid in America anymore!” However, Musk participated in anti-apartheid protests during his youth in South Africa in the 1980s, as detailed in Walter Isaacson’s book, “Elon Musk.”
Cuomo continued, “To me, it just proves they haven’t learned their lesson yet, that they should be in the better idea business. And they do seem like they’re defending the status quo. They’re just defending the establishment. And I don’t think that’s where you want to be right now. You want to be in the business of better, and they seem like they’re still in the business of painting the other side as worse.”
The NewsNation host added that Democrats must “find a better answer” to whether they genuinely aim to improve Americans’ lives or are merely attempting to score points against Republicans.
“There’s a lot of hand-wringing going on on the left, and to me, that’s almost like masturbatory,” he said. “You know, it’s not really about getting them to a better place.”
CNN anchor Pamela Brown questioned Democratic California Rep. Ted Lieu on Wednesday about his stance on American taxpayer funds supporting initiatives abroad, including “gender-affirming health care in Guatemala, teaching people in Kazakhstan to fight back against internet trolls, voluntary male circumcisions in Mozambique, creating work opportunities for young LGBTQI+ people in Serbia,” which she stated have been cut by DOGE. Lieu did not provide a direct response, instead discussing his opposition to proposed Republican “tax breaks.”
Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna expressed on Wednesday that his party can mount a comeback but must avoid offering “the same old status quo.” He stated that recovery requires “a vision recognizing that a lot has gone wrong for working and middle-class Americans and… a positive vision about what we’re going to do for their economic success and their communities’ economic success.”
