If you’re like me, you’re still looking for a coherent response to Trump that points the way forward for Democrats. I believe there should be a very negative and very aggressively pursued narrative on Trump. But Ds should also more fully develop a positive, coherent narrative for themselves. Here’s my brief suggestions on both:
The Negative: Branding Trump and his admin. as racist and bigoted is necessary and accurate. But it shouldn’t be the whole story. Just as central should be branding Trump a selfish narcissist who cares more about advancing his own interests than the interests of the country. This is more important than branding Trump intemperate, which the Clinton team attempted to no avail. It’s also more important than branding Trump ignorant, which has been floated recently. Trump as a selfish, insular, thin-skinned narcissist will fit his upcoming betrayal of the working classes and his unprecedented corruption. Especially because of the latter, the selfish narcissist branding is also most likely to facilitate Trump’s removal from office, an option for which Ds should prepare.
The Positive: Ds should emphasize that they're a diverse tent because they're advocating for the interests of the vast majority of Americans, especially their economic and environmental interests. This directly pushes back against the charge that they're seeking to solely advantage minorities and disadvantage whites, a very widespread lie. This positive image will also sharply contrast with Trump when he arrogantly and corruptly seeking to enrich himself, his family and a small faction of cronies at the expense of the rest of us.
Keep the faith, people, we’ll come back from this disaster!