Latest news with #KenMartin
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Business
- Fox News
DNC taco truck stunt trolling Trump backfires on social media with Vance, GOP: 'Can't fix stupid'
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) parked a custom-wrapped food truck in front of the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., in an effort to troll President Trump over his tariff policies. The stunt received widespread mockery from conservatives. The DNC used the acronym TACO for "Trump Always Chickens Out" to provoke Trump's ire. The phrase was coined by Wall Street analysts when referring to Trump's tariff policies, suggesting Trump will walk back the steep reciprocal tariffs he announced in April. "Trump always chickens out. We're just bringing the tacos to match," DNC Chair Ken Martin told Fox News Digital of the effort. The move did not impress conservatives on social media who highlighted it as an example of Democrats struggling with their messaging during Trump's presidency. "The party that brought you the hugely successful 'Dark Brandon' and 'Republicans are Weird' campaigns are now going all in on 'TACO,'" Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross posted on X. "We have the lamest opposition in American history," Vice President JD Vance posted on X. "Democrats are doing what they do best: cheap gimmicks, free handouts, and I wouldn't be surprised if they stuck us with the bill," Western Regional & National Hispanic press secretary Christian Martinez posted on X. In a statement to Fox News Digital, NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella mocked the DNC for parking the truck at a church a block away. "Looks like the Democrats took a break from fighting amongst themselves to stage a pathetic stunt," Marinella said. The most embarrassing part? They couldn't even get the location right. You can't fix stupid." "LMFAO," Zach Parkinson, RNC communications director, told Fox News Digital. "A taco truck? Are they going to be giving out free vasectomies again, too? These people are morons. No wonder Democrats' approval rating is at a historic low." Abhi Rahman, the DNC's deputy communications director, took aim at Vance's X post, telling Fox News Digital Democrats know Vance is the "cringiest VP in American history." "We understand that JD Vance, the cringiest VP in American history who cannot order a donut like a normal human being, prefers to take food away from people, including 40 million Americans whose SNAP benefits were just scrapped in the GOP budget," he said. Earlier this week, conservative commentators took aim at a TikTok posted by Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., in which he is filmed eating a taco in an attempt to mock Trump's tariff strategy, and some declared it "cringeworthy."
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
DNC trolls Trump on tariffs with free 'TACO' truck parked outside RNC headquarters
FIRST ON FOX— The Democratic National Committee on Tuesday parked a new, decked-out food truck in front of the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C. The truck itself, rented out by the party, was custom-wrapped in photos of the president himself, and those inside were doling out a free, mouth-watering lunch option to passers-by. But those in Washington know there's no such thing as a free meal. And that's certainly the case here, because the food truck in question is a taco truck— a clever, policy-themed provocation hitting on tariffs, which the DNC sees as one of Trump's most vulnerable areas heading into 2026. The DNC's renting and customization of the taco truck, as well as its plans to hand out free Trump-branded tacos to passers-by, was previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital. It looks to seize on the acronym TACO, or "Trump Always Chickens Out," to provoke Trump's ire. The phrase was coined by Wall Street analysts when referring to Trump's tariff policies – and more specifically, espousing the view among some that Trump will walk back the steep reciprocal tariffs he announced in April, which are currently playing out in federal courts. Beyond simply presenting a moral quagmire to hungry RNC employees and other Hill staffers, DNC officials told Fox News that they see the truck as an effective way to draw attention to Trump's tariff policies, which they described as "playing games with working families' livelihoods." Trump Tariff Plan Faces Uncertain Future As Court Battles Intensify "Trump always chickens out – we're just bringing the tacos to match," DNC Chair Ken Martin told Fox News Digital of the effort. Read On The Fox News App "Instead of realizing his tariff chaos is wrecking the economy, Trump continues to drag America towards more economic pain, and the rest of the world sees Trump for exactly what he is: a chicken," he added. The food truck comes as Trump's power to enact sweeping tariffs has come under legal scrutiny. There is also an open question of whether the administration would actually move forward with the harsh import fees. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously acknowledged that the threat of tariffs could be used as more of a negotiating tactic or an opening salvo for future trade talks, including between the U.S. and China, and described Trump's uncertainty in the process to reporters last week as a means of "strategic uncertainty in the negotiations." As of this writing, three separate federal courts are weighing Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to stand up the harsh import fees. The plan, which Trump announced on April 2, invokes IEEPA for both his 10% baseline tariff on most U.S. trading partners and a so-called "reciprocal tariff" against other countries. Trump Denounces Court's 'Political' Tariff Decision, Calls On Supreme Court To Act Quickly The administration has appealed two lower court decisions that blocked his use of the law to either enact or threaten to enact the harsh tariffs. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit stayed a lower court order from the U.S. Court of International Trade, allowing Trump's tariff policy to continue for now while the court continues to investigate the merits of the case. Two other lower court challenges remain in flux. In the meantime, however, the moniker TACO has gotten under the president's skin. Last week, Trump blasted a reporter who asked him about the phrase, describing it as a "nasty question." "Don't ever say what you said," Trump told the reporter. "To me, that's the nastiest question," he said. "I chicken out, oh, I have never heard that," Trump said, noting that lowering the tariffs was part of an ongoing "negotiation" with China. He continued, "You mean because I reduced China from 145% that I set down to 100 and then down to another number? I said, 'You have to open your whole country.'" Justice Department Tells American Bar Association It Will No Longer Comply With Ratings For Judicial Nominees Democrats are using the truck to seize on what they see as a clear sore spot for the president, and a way of tying Trump more directly to any market uncertainty and turmoil that has come as a result of the tariffs. It comes as the party has struggled to coalesce around a unifying message in the aftermath of the 2024 elections. The party has been criticized for failing to seize on Elon Musk's departure from his official role in the Trump administration at the end of May, and for focusing its energy on attacking intraparty strategies and DNC board members, rather than going after the RNC more broadly. The Republican National Committee, for its part, brushed off the truck in question – as well as the notion that it impacted voters or RNC staff in the manner intended. The truck itself was parked outside St. Peters Church, one block away from the building itself. "LMFAO. A taco truck?" Zach Parkinson, the RNC communications director, told Fox News Digital in a statement. "Are they going to be giving out free vasectomies again too? These people are morons," he said, adding: "No wonder Democrats' approval rating is at a historic low." The taco truck stunt signals a shift in strategy, as Democrats adopt a more Trump-style approach to political attacks ahead of the 2026 midterms, but some of their efforts have missed the mark. Earlier this week, conservative commentators took aim at a TikTok posted by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), in which he is filmed eating a taco in an attempt to mock Trump's tariff strategy, with some declaring it "cringeworthy." DNC officials did not respond to Fox News Digital's questions on whether the party plans to pursue the tariff strategy beyond the taco truck, or if it sees these issues as a way to counter Trump and his allies with red state voters in the midterms and article source: DNC trolls Trump on tariffs with free 'TACO' truck parked outside RNC headquarters
Axios
8 hours ago
- Business
- Axios
Scoop: DNC rents taco truck to mock Trump on 'TACO' slogan
The Democratic National Committee is commandeering a taco truck to mock Trump's apparent fury at the slogan " Trump Always Chickens Out," or "TACO," Axios has learned. Why it matters: Democrats clearly think they have found a way to get under the president's skin. Trump was asked about the mantra — used by Wall Street traders to predict his response to tariff-induced market dips — at a press conference Wednesday, and he lashed out in response. "Don't ever say what you said. That's a nasty question," the president replied. Driving the news: The DNC will park a taco truck outside the Republican National Committee's headquarters on Capitol Hill with a graphic of Trump in a chicken suit and the "Trump Always Chickens Out" slogan. The truck will be there between noon and 2pm on Tuesday and will actually serve free tacos, a DNC spokesperson told Axios. What they're saying: "With his idiotic trade policy, he talks a big game, caves, and then leaves working families and small businesses to deal with the fallout," DNC chair Ken Martin said in a statement. "Trump always chickens out — we're just bringing the tacos to match." The other side: "LMFAO. A taco truck? Are they going to be giving out free vasectomies again too?" RNC spokesperson Zach Parkinson said in a statement, citing a past DNC pro-abortion initiative.
CNN
a day ago
- Business
- CNN
Shut out of power in Washington, Democrats grapple with how to win over young men and working-class voters
One effort from a group of veteran Democrats envisions a $20 million project to woo young men. Another liberal organization is on a 20-state listening tour to reach working-class Americans. The Democratic National Committee, meanwhile, is in the throes of what its new chairman, Ken Martin, calls an extensive 'postelection review' — examining not only the missteps of the party and the campaign of 2024 presidential nominee Kamala Harris but also the broad Democratic-aligned ecosystem that he said spent more than $10 billion in the last election, only to be shut out of power in Washington. Nearly seven months after Republicans won the White House and both chambers of Congress, Democrats are still coming to terms with the reasons behind their stinging defeats and looking for ways to claw back some power in next year's midterm elections. Intraparty debates are raging about the words Democrats use, the policies they should promote and even the podcasts they join. The causes for the alarm are clear. The Democratic Party's standing has fallen dramatically, with its favorability rating hitting 29% in March, a record low in CNN's polling dating to 1992. That's a drop of 20 points since January 2021, when President Donald Trump ended his first term. And a CNN poll released Sunday shows Americans are far more likely to see Republicans than Democrats as the party with strong leaders. In a further sign of trouble for the party, the CNN survey shows the dim view of Democrats' leadership is driven by relatively weak support from their own partisans. Republican-aligned adults, for example, are 50 points likelier than Democratic-aligned adults to say their own party has strong leaders. 'People believe the Democratic Party is weak, and they believe that Donald Trump is strong and authentic,' the DNC's Martin put it bluntly in a recent interview with CNN. 'I happen to believe Trump is a small, petty, insecure man who's a fraud, and there's nothing authentic about him.' 'But it doesn't matter what I believe,' he added. 'The reality is that Americans want strength and authenticity in their leaders.' The postelection soul-searching extends far beyond the DNC — with a cottage industry of multimillion-dollar political research projects springing to life in recent months to better understand the party's stumbles. And while election postmortems are typical exercises for the losing party, some prominent Democrats are expressing exasperation that a fresh round of consultant-aided introspection will only further paint their party as out of touch. Several potential presidential contenders are calling for less study and more straight talk. Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, viewed as a rising star in the Democratic Party after winning a tough Senate battle last year in a state that went for Trump, warns that voters tune out Democrats they perceive as sounding 'professorial.' 'During the campaign, especially, talking to Latino men, you could tell they were financially hurting, but also psychologically hurting in the sense that they felt they were no longer able to provide for their families,' Gallego said in an interview with CNN. It would be a mistake, then, he said, 'to come and talk to them and use terms like 'social equity' versus 'Man, this sucks. You really are in a bad position.' When you can actually empathize, with the language they use, they are more likely to open up.' (Gallego demurred last week when asked about his 2028 ambitions, noting the imminent arrival of his third child. 'Right now, I'm focused on being a good dad to my kids,' he said.) In recent days, two other potential 2028 Democratic contenders — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore — implored their party to emphasize the practical during speeches in the early primary state of South Carolina. 'I saw recently that apparently, the Democrats got together and hired a bunch of people — and they went into the hotel to discuss how we could best message to people. How we could calibrate the words we are using,' Walz, the party's 2024 vice presidential nominee, told attendees at the South Carolina Democratic Party's convention Saturday. 'That's how we got into this damn mess! 'Cause we're really cautious.' In his South Carolina appearances, Moore sought to cast himself as action-focused. 'Gone are the days when we were the party of multiyear studies on things that we already know, gone are the days when we are the party of panels, gone are the days when we are the party of college debate club rules,' Moore told a crowd in Columbia on Friday. 'We must be the party of action, and that action must come now.' Among the Democratic messaging and outreach efforts earning attention and some ridicule: a new project dubbed 'Speaking with American Men,' which aims to 'deeply understand the values, frustrations, and motivations driving the political shifts among young men ages 18 to 29,' according to a prospectus its leaders began circulating around the time of Trump's inauguration in January. (Trump himself recently joined the derision that erupted following a first mention of the Democratic project in a New York Times story. 'I read that they want to spend money to learn how to talk,' he told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. 'That's fake. You don't want to be fake.') But those behind the project — Ilyse Hogue, the former president of the abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, and John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics — described it as vital to Democrats' hopes of winning back support from young men who were part of Trump's winning coalition last year. Hogue declined to reveal the amount of funding the group, also known as SAM, has received. But the investments have helped underwrite 30 focus groups with young men this spring and early research into the digital platforms — such as Discord, known for its gaming communities — where Republicans have effectively spread messages to these voters in recent years. The goal is to spend $20 million over two years researching, engaging with and winning over some of these young voters. The SAM plans, for instance, include spending money on in-game digital ads and promoting the voices of people who share Democrats' views on the social hubs where these potential voters spend their time. The young men Democrats need to win back are 'surrounded every day by these right-wing messages,' Hogue said. 'We can't win if we don't play.' Della Volpe, who served as an adviser to Joe Biden's 2020 campaign, said the discussions in the focus groups underscored the deep alienation these men feel. A recurring theme, he said, is: ''We have never felt like anyone has had our back. … Why are you asking me to defend the democracy, be part of the system that doesn't really work for me?'' Hogue said the voters SAM will target 'mostly want to see themselves as included in the big tent of Democratic politics and have their real pains and fears affirmed and know that someone is looking out for them.' The nonprofit arm of American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic opposition research group, has heard similar concerns from voters as part of a $4.5 million 'Working Class Project' that's taking its team to 20 states. A common perception among those in the American Bridge focus groups 'is the idea that 'Democrats don't care about people like me, that their first, primary goal is for other groups they consider at risk, who are not like me,'' said the organization's president, Pat Dennis. It's one reason that an ad Republicans repeatedly deployed against Harris in the closing weeks of the 2024 campaign proved so effective, Dennis said. Trump's political operation seized on Harris' past positions on health care for transgender Americans to hammer the Democrat with ads that ended with the tagline, 'Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.' In all, Trump's campaign and an aligned super PAC spent more than $46 million on the spots, according to a tally from the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. But in a roundly criticized move, Harris' campaign responded blandly with a spot that criticized negative attacks but sidestepped the transgender rights issue entirely. 'A lot of voters, including working-class voters, don't care about the transgender issue,' Dennis said. But the Republican ad bombardment last year reinforced an image of Democrats preoccupied with identity group politics that don't affect many Americans. But he cautioned against Democrats now concluding that renouncing their support for transgender rights will be a winning strategy in 2026 and 2028. 'The solution,' Dennis said, 'is talking about these issues that are important to every voter, including transgender voters and saying that 'First, my priority is good jobs, lowering the cost of living, making sure everyone has access to health care.'' It's clear that the anti-transgender messaging from Republicans isn't going away. As president, Trump has repeatedly threatened punitive actions against states and institutions over their policies on transgender athletes. And the theme has surfaced again this year in spots underwritten by a Republican-aligned outside group during college basketball playoffs, targeting Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat seeking reelection next year in a state Trump carried in 2024. Joe Jacobson, the founder of Progress Action Fund, a Democratic super PAC that is hoping to spend $25 million broadly targeting young men over the next year and a half, is urging the party to tackle the transgender rights issue head-on. 'We need to step up and not be silent about it because when we were silent about it the last time, we lost,' Jacobson said. An upcoming ad Jacobson recently previewed for journalists reframes the debate as Republican overreach into Americans' private lives. The 30-second spot shows an older White man, purporting to be a Republican congressman, confronting a girl in a bathroom stall and demanding proof of her gender. 'Bathrooms are private,' the girl responds. 'Don't you have anything better to do?' Despite the persistent problems with their brand, Democrats insist they see potential opportunities ahead of this year's gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey and next year's congressional midterms. Polls — including the CNN survey released Sunday — show that Americans' confidence in the GOP's handling of the economy has waned. Additionally, Democrats have overperformed in several elections this year. Martin, the DNC chair, pointed to voters in deep-red Missouri last year approving ballot measures supporting paid sick leave, a minimum-wage increase and protections for abortion, even as the state backed Trump by a more than 15-point margin. 'Our policies that we support are wildly popular, but the Democratic Party is not associated with them,' he said. 'But none of this is unfixable, right? We have an opportunity right now to change those perceptions.'
CNN
a day ago
- Business
- CNN
Shut out of power in Washington, Democrats grapple with how to win over young men and working-class voters
One effort from a group of veteran Democrats envisions a $20 million project to woo young men. Another liberal organization is on a 20-state listening tour to reach working-class Americans. The Democratic National Committee, meanwhile, is in the throes of what its new chairman, Ken Martin, calls an extensive 'postelection review' — examining not only the missteps of the party and the campaign of 2024 presidential nominee Kamala Harris but also the broad Democratic-aligned ecosystem that he said spent more than $10 billion in the last election, only to be shut out of power in Washington. Nearly seven months after Republicans won the White House and both chambers of Congress, Democrats are still coming to terms with the reasons behind their stinging defeats and looking for ways to claw back some power in next year's midterm elections. Intraparty debates are raging about the words Democrats use, the policies they should promote and even the podcasts they join. The causes for the alarm are clear. The Democratic Party's standing has fallen dramatically, with its favorability rating hitting 29% in March, a record low in CNN's polling dating to 1992. That's a drop of 20 points since January 2021, when President Donald Trump ended his first term. And a CNN poll released Sunday shows Americans are far more likely to see Republicans than Democrats as the party with strong leaders. In a further sign of trouble for the party, the CNN survey shows the dim view of Democrats' leadership is driven by relatively weak support from their own partisans. Republican-aligned adults, for example, are 50 points likelier than Democratic-aligned adults to say their own party has strong leaders. 'People believe the Democratic Party is weak, and they believe that Donald Trump is strong and authentic,' the DNC's Martin put it bluntly in a recent interview with CNN. 'I happen to believe Trump is a small, petty, insecure man who's a fraud, and there's nothing authentic about him.' 'But it doesn't matter what I believe,' he added. 'The reality is that Americans want strength and authenticity in their leaders.' The postelection soul-searching extends far beyond the DNC — with a cottage industry of multimillion-dollar political research projects springing to life in recent months to better understand the party's stumbles. And while election postmortems are typical exercises for the losing party, some prominent Democrats are expressing exasperation that a fresh round of consultant-aided introspection will only further paint their party as out of touch. Several potential presidential contenders are calling for less study and more straight talk. Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, viewed as a rising star in the Democratic Party after winning a tough Senate battle last year in a state that went for Trump, warns that voters tune out Democrats they perceive as sounding 'professorial.' 'During the campaign, especially, talking to Latino men, you could tell they were financially hurting, but also psychologically hurting in the sense that they felt they were no longer able to provide for their families,' Gallego said in an interview with CNN. It would be a mistake, then, he said, 'to come and talk to them and use terms like 'social equity' versus 'Man, this sucks. You really are in a bad position.' When you can actually empathize, with the language they use, they are more likely to open up.' (Gallego demurred last week when asked about his 2028 ambitions, noting the imminent arrival of his third child. 'Right now, I'm focused on being a good dad to my kids,' he said.) In recent days, two other potential 2028 Democratic contenders — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore — implored their party to emphasize the practical during speeches in the early primary state of South Carolina. 'I saw recently that apparently, the Democrats got together and hired a bunch of people — and they went into the hotel to discuss how we could best message to people. How we could calibrate the words we are using,' Walz, the party's 2024 vice presidential nominee, told attendees at the South Carolina Democratic Party's convention Saturday. 'That's how we got into this damn mess! 'Cause we're really cautious.' In his South Carolina appearances, Moore sought to cast himself as action-focused. 'Gone are the days when we were the party of multiyear studies on things that we already know, gone are the days when we are the party of panels, gone are the days when we are the party of college debate club rules,' Moore told a crowd in Columbia on Friday. 'We must be the party of action, and that action must come now.' Among the Democratic messaging and outreach efforts earning attention and some ridicule: a new project dubbed 'Speaking with American Men,' which aims to 'deeply understand the values, frustrations, and motivations driving the political shifts among young men ages 18 to 29,' according to a prospectus its leaders began circulating around the time of Trump's inauguration in January. (Trump himself recently joined the derision that erupted following a first mention of the Democratic project in a New York Times story. 'I read that they want to spend money to learn how to talk,' he told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. 'That's fake. You don't want to be fake.') But those behind the project — Ilyse Hogue, the former president of the abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, and John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics — described it as vital to Democrats' hopes of winning back support from young men who were part of Trump's winning coalition last year. Hogue declined to reveal the amount of funding the group, also known as SAM, has received. But the investments have helped underwrite 30 focus groups with young men this spring and early research into the digital platforms — such as Discord, known for its gaming communities — where Republicans have effectively spread messages to these voters in recent years. The goal is to spend $20 million over two years researching, engaging with and winning over some of these young voters. The SAM plans, for instance, include spending money on in-game digital ads and promoting the voices of people who share Democrats' views on the social hubs where these potential voters spend their time. The young men Democrats need to win back are 'surrounded every day by these right-wing messages,' Hogue said. 'We can't win if we don't play.' Della Volpe, who served as an adviser to Joe Biden's 2020 campaign, said the discussions in the focus groups underscored the deep alienation these men feel. A recurring theme, he said, is: ''We have never felt like anyone has had our back. … Why are you asking me to defend the democracy, be part of the system that doesn't really work for me?'' Hogue said the voters SAM will target 'mostly want to see themselves as included in the big tent of Democratic politics and have their real pains and fears affirmed and know that someone is looking out for them.' The nonprofit arm of American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic opposition research group, has heard similar concerns from voters as part of a $4.5 million 'Working Class Project' that's taking its team to 20 states. A common perception among those in the American Bridge focus groups 'is the idea that 'Democrats don't care about people like me, that their first, primary goal is for other groups they consider at risk, who are not like me,'' said the organization's president, Pat Dennis. It's one reason that an ad Republicans repeatedly deployed against Harris in the closing weeks of the 2024 campaign proved so effective, Dennis said. Trump's political operation seized on Harris' past positions on health care for transgender Americans to hammer the Democrat with ads that ended with the tagline, 'Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.' In all, Trump's campaign and an aligned super PAC spent more than $46 million on the spots, according to a tally from the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. But in a roundly criticized move, Harris' campaign responded blandly with a spot that criticized negative attacks but sidestepped the transgender rights issue entirely. 'A lot of voters, including working-class voters, don't care about the transgender issue,' Dennis said. But the Republican ad bombardment last year reinforced an image of Democrats preoccupied with identity group politics that don't affect many Americans. But he cautioned against Democrats now concluding that renouncing their support for transgender rights will be a winning strategy in 2026 and 2028. 'The solution,' Dennis said, 'is talking about these issues that are important to every voter, including transgender voters and saying that 'First, my priority is good jobs, lowering the cost of living, making sure everyone has access to health care.'' It's clear that the anti-transgender messaging from Republicans isn't going away. As president, Trump has repeatedly threatened punitive actions against states and institutions over their policies on transgender athletes. And the theme has surfaced again this year in spots underwritten by a Republican-aligned outside group during college basketball playoffs, targeting Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat seeking reelection next year in a state Trump carried in 2024. Joe Jacobson, the founder of Progress Action Fund, a Democratic super PAC that is hoping to spend $25 million broadly targeting young men over the next year and a half, is urging the party to tackle the transgender rights issue head-on. 'We need to step up and not be silent about it because when we were silent about it the last time, we lost,' Jacobson said. An upcoming ad Jacobson recently previewed for journalists reframes the debate as Republican overreach into Americans' private lives. The 30-second spot shows an older White man, purporting to be a Republican congressman, confronting a girl in a bathroom stall and demanding proof of her gender. 'Bathrooms are private,' the girl responds. 'Don't you have anything better to do?' Despite the persistent problems with their brand, Democrats insist they see potential opportunities ahead of this year's gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey and next year's congressional midterms. Polls — including the CNN survey released Sunday — show that Americans' confidence in the GOP's handling of the economy has waned. Additionally, Democrats have overperformed in several elections this year. Martin, the DNC chair, pointed to voters in deep-red Missouri last year approving ballot measures supporting paid sick leave, a minimum-wage increase and protections for abortion, even as the state backed Trump by a more than 15-point margin. 'Our policies that we support are wildly popular, but the Democratic Party is not associated with them,' he said. 'But none of this is unfixable, right? We have an opportunity right now to change those perceptions.'
