'We'll see you in court': Democrats are finally standing up to Trump the bully | Opinion
When Trump is treating marginalized groups as less than human, there is no room for middle ground. He has left no room for compromise. Democrats need to embrace that.
The Democrats might be finding their voice in a political world where MAGA runs the government. It took them long enough.
At a meeting of the country’s governors at the White House on Friday, President Donald Trump singled out Maine Gov. Janet Mills during remarks about an executive order he signed this month that bans trans girls and women from competing in female sports.
Maine has a law that bars discrimination based on gender identity and continues to allow trans girls to compete in high school athletics.
“You'd better comply,” Trump told the Democratic governor, referencing the executive order. “Otherwise, you’re not getting any federal funding.”
“We’ll see you in court,” Mills responded, apparently striking a nerve.
“Good, I’ll see you in court,” Trump replied. “I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one. And enjoy your life after governor because I don’t think you’ll be elected in politics.”
Mills is a former state attorney general, she knows what she's talking about. She isn't just threatening legal action to go viral. She intends to follow through with it. She also probably knows how to handle a bully openly threatening to withhold federal funding if he doesn't get his way.
Finally, someone is challenging Trump to his face when he tries to be a tough guy. This should be the standard for every Democratic politician in the United States.
Clearly, we are past the point of passive-aggressive eye rolls and complaining on X (formerly Twitter). I understand that the party is at a crossroads: There is no clear leader, and Democrats seem to be is still trying to understand what happened in the presidential election. What is clear, however, is that the party’s constituents are fed up, and Democrats can use this momentum to prepare for the midterm elections.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills shows Democrats the way forward
Mills isn’t the only Democrat stepping up to challenge Trump. There are a handful of other Democrats who seem prepared to meet the moment.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., for example, has doubled his following on Instagram since Trump’s election by consistently calling out the president.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, another shining star among Democrats, has been giving her party a masterclass in social media strategy for years. Most recently, she has used her platform to go head-to-head with "border czar" Tom Homan, who criticized her for holding a webinar to teach her constituents about their rights as immigrants.
Ocasio-Cortez, who lost out on the opportunity to be the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee last year, is someone her party should be elevating.
What's clear is that messaging needs to go beyond social media. Democracy works best when people are engaged, and they are best engaged in person.
I hope to see Murphy, Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats speaking at protests, marching in rallies and taking the message offline. Not only will it improve their chances for 2026, it will help repair the party's relationship with everyday Americans in a nonelection year.
The Democrats could also stand to take a page from Sen. Bernie Sanders’ playbook. The independent senator from Vermont has been touring the country, speaking with voters who are dissatisfied with the Democratic Party’s way of doing things.
Still, not all Democrats are shining examples of resistance.
The country’s top Democrats, like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, representing solidly blue New York state, could be doing more than offering platitudes and skirting discussion of genuine concerns within the party.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, often seen as a 2028 presidential hopeful, has sought to find common ground with the Trump administration.
To me, we are past bipartisanship. When Trump is treating marginalized groups as less than human, there is no room for middle ground. He has left no room for compromise and Democrats need to embrace that. Doing anything else won't work.
Waiting for Trump to fail won't work. He's already failing.
Some have argued that the best thing for Democrats to do at this time is to let the Trump administration implode on its own.
Political strategist James Carville wrote an opinion column for The New York Times suggesting as much, saying “only until the Trump administration has spiraled into the low 40s or high 30s in public approval polling percentages should we make like a pack of hyenas and go for the jugular.”
I understand the sentiment. I also understand that there is only so much the Democrats can do politically at this moment. However, I disagree with Carville’s take. I would rather the Democrats have a steady drumbeat of anti-Trump words backed by action. Tell him you will see him in court. Call out the cruelty of his administration to his face. Tell Elon Musk to go to hell.
Besides, Trump already has a very low approval rating of 45% ‒ "15 points below the historical average for all other elected presidents in mid-February since 1953," according to Gallup ‒ that will likely get lower. It won't matter if Democrats don't mobilize.
It's not like MAGA activist sat idly by while the Biden administration worked to improve the country. They spent the entire four years lying and catastrophizing about everything. It clearly worked out in their favor.
In a matter of days, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a budget to avert a March 14 government shutdown. If all Democrats are in attendance, House Speaker Mike Johnson can only afford to lose maybe a couple of votes.
This will be the perfect test of Democratic fortitude in the face of Trump’s spending cuts, one that they can use to their advantage if they are strong and energized. It’s time for the Democrats to chart a new path forward – they must break from their traditions and decorum and be angry. If democracy is truly at stake, it’s time to act like it.
Follow Paste BN columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno