Voters Hate Trump. Good. But Democrats Should Take No Solace in That.

First, in the short-term, Zohran Mamdani needs to understand his situation. By not only winning the mayoral race in the media capital of the country but becoming a leading character in American life, Mamdani is going to get attention, coverage, and criticism more akin to a president than a mayor or even a governor. I want him to succeed. And in my view, his success depends on not just running the city well, but also controlling the narrative about himself. As Obama and Biden showed, effective governance is not enough to be popular in this era, when people are literally profiting off of portraying you in a negative light. 

Second, the Democratic Party can’t get fat and happy based on its wins last week, or even in 2026 and 2028, if they come. Based on presidential hatred alone, there’s a good chance that Democrats will be in control of the House, Senate, and presidency in January 2029. (Assuming free, fair, and not super-gerrymandered elections.) And because basically all governors are popular and there is a large group of Democratic governors running for president, there’s a good chance that a Democratic governor who has been consistently popular in their state is in the Oval Office. 

The danger is that Democrats assume they have figured out American politics if they have won the 2026 and 2028 elections and have a seemingly smart politician in the White House. That kind of thinking will keep us on the road to fascism. It is very easy to imagine President Josh Shapiro or Gretchen Whitmer in October 2029 with dismal poll numbers, a year away from ensuring that a person even crazier than Mike Johnson will become the speaker of the House.