Hey, Democrats: Take Yes for an Answer
Welcome America Firsters into the tent—and steal their message.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP last week took to the social media platform he owns to threaten war crimes. “A whole civilization will die tonight,” he wrote. “WHO KNOWS?” It was the most extreme example of the derangement of the commander-in-chief who entered us into a war with no clear objectives or goals, the consequences of which are reverberating around the globe.
Despite the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, Iran retains control of the Strait of Hormuz—and with it, a significant chunk of the world’s oil supply. Even if the Iranians open the strait and don’t charge an exorbitant toll, the economic effects of this war won’t be undone overnight. Nor will we be able to bring back the American service members who sacrificed their lives for this Middle East misadventure.
This is not like the many, many other controversies Trump has wriggled out of. People will feel and see the damage that his war of choice has wreaked. And they are going to be pissed. In some cases very pissed. Many already are. People who supported Trump feel betrayed. And some of them are even beginning to recognize his derangement. We’re seeing this play out in real time.
This is the best opportunity for the Democrats to regain credibility with voters who have turned away from them during the Trump era.
And they shouldn’t—they can’t—let it go by. Democrats must employ two related strategies to find renewed, lasting electoral success: (1) Take yes for an answer. And (2), reclaim America First.
Here’s how.
TAKING YES FOR AN ANSWER means, in short, welcoming people who are suddenly inclined to agree with you without having to haggle over all their past indiscretions. For all Trump’s flaws, this is one of his political superpowers: As long as someone is willing to don the red hat, he welcomes them to the flock.
The anti-Trump side can learn from that magnanimity. And yes, that means being open to taking yes for an answer from various and sundry cranks and kooks not because we agree with their crazy or bigoted ideas but because any successful political coalition will contain some cranks. And even cranks have moments of lucidity from time to time. That doesn’t mean we should be made into suckers. But we should be open-minded about converts.
I’m particularly inclined to that kind of welcoming; it is both my nature and also springs from my own experience of having been a political convert and having received some patience and grace. I accept that people can be fooled or be blinded by motivated reasoning and end up participating in a political movement they didn’t see clearly.
My simple proposal is that the Democrats would benefit politically if they adopted this way of thinking. Take yes for an answer from the manosphere podcasters and bro influencers and former Trump voters and, hell, even the annoying Jill Stein leftists—all of whom are beginning to see Trump and the MAGA movement for the scam they are.
Here’s America First comedian Tim Dillon on his podcast last week as one example:
This is the greatest con in history. To run as an America First and you’re gonna take care of America and then turn around and go, ‘You know, all of these things—daycare, Medicare, Medicaid—we have nothing to do with that. We’re fighting wars.’ . . . It is the greatest scam in history.
Dillon is employing some performative hyperbole here. To state the obvious, MAGA was not the greatest scam in history. Seventy-plus million people and a whole bunch of Bulwark readers avoided getting scammed—and they told the marks that they were being scammed . . . in real time . . . as it was all happening. If it were really the greatest scam in history, then we must all be geniuses!
So I get it. When I watch these MAGA bro rants, part of me wants to shout You moron! How are you just now seeing this?! And I will certainly treat myself to a gratuitous dunk from time to time.
But fundamentally I believe that people are redeemable. That they have good and bad impulses and judgments. That people like Tim Dillon can channel their skills for good if given the chance.
If The Bulwark is about anything, it should be about that.
If you feel tempted to dismiss this welcoming approach as arising from an overly earnest, soft-boi impulse, just look at the question from a purely Machiavellian perspective: The more people who bail on Trump the better.
For a political party, what is the good in shunning or mocking these people? If some former Trump voters enter into an uneasy alliance with the Democrats, even temporarily, because they are pissed about the war—great!
The more people who bail, the deeper below the ‘Bush line’ Trump digs, the harder it will be for him to interfere with the election process in the midterms or 2028. And stopping that is kinda the whole point of what we’re doing here.
In short, I don’t care how loony you are. Do you want to take the plunge and switch to opposing Trump? Come on in, the water is warm.
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WHICH BRINGS ME to the longer-term question: How do we build a new viable coalition for defeating MAGA? And the more that I think about this, the more convinced I am that the only way to do it is to have a Democratic party that can speak to America First voters.
This is going to be a tough pill for some folks to swallow, I get it. But there are already a lot of areas of overlap between the Democrats’ existing positions and these voters’ concerns. The issues just have to be framed the right way.
To be clear, I don’t think Democrats should become “America First” in the nativist, Charles Lindbergh, Donald Trump sense. No racism, antisemitism, or xenophobia. No pretending like the United States can act as if the rest of the world doesn’t exist. No stripping aid from the poorest people in the world or siding with the fascists overseas.
Obviously there are a lot of America First voters who are there only for the hard-core, nasty, soulless stuff. They signed up for the memes of shackled immigrant girls crying as they are whisked away by goons. Those are voters Democrats won’t be able to get—and shouldn’t try to.
But there’s a whole additional category of people out there who just want to believe that politicians care about people like them.
These disaffected voters thought that the political class in both parties had screwed them over. That our leaders cared more about their donor friends and corporate interests and Georgetown cocktail parties than they cared about the average Joe or Jayden.
These voters are ripe for the taking right now because they have legitimate grievances and the president has demonstrated he doesn’t give a fuck about them in the most brazen ways imaginable. They do not like this war. They are unhappy about the economy—at the same time that they see Trump’s family and friends enriching themselves. And it’s not clear to them that any of these things are going to get better anytime soon.
A Democratic party that can make these voters feel heard, that can convince them that the party will prioritize Americans’ interests, is one that can take back the majority. Democrats need to fashion an “America first” (lowercase f!) message of their own. One that is in line with liberal values, economic opportunity, and the common good, rather than centered on hate and conspiracies.
But to do so, Democrats need to start building credibility with disaffected America First voters right now. That’s step one. The American people are pissed. For good reason. Democratic politicians should be channeling their pain and their rage for good. And convincing the angry electorate that their complaints are being heard. Now is the time for Democrats who want to save the country from MAGA to be unapologetically anti-war-of-choice, anti-corruption, anti-Trump, open to converts, focused on the economic suffering of Americans, and committed to actually putting the priorities of American voters first.
Instead of "America First", how about "Americans First". Covers access to voting, SS and Medicare, child care and lowering costs for everyone, especially if it specifically includes immigrants living here for many years. Subtle change in terms but a huge change in approach.
I really appreciate this piece Tim. I work hard every day, especially among coworkers who I know likely voted for Trump to try to see if I can make inroads. And honestly, so far, I see it working. Not among the cult, they are lost to us, but the ones who can be persuaded.
My bestie and I knocked over 1500 doors in NC in 2024, and we literally talked to anyone who was open to talking to us. We are continuing that again this year for the midterms.
Would I like them all to repent openly? YES. But I’ll meet people where they are, and if getting them to accept that things are terrible under Trump is what gets us to the real America First movement among the pro democracy party then sign me up. The water is absolutely warm.