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As President-elect Trump prepares to return to the White House, a prominent Democratic pollster has urged her party to develop a new strategy for confronting the former and soon-to-be future president.
“The 2025 playbook cannot be the 2017 playbook,” stated Molly Murphy, a leading pollster for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, during a presentation at the Democratic National Committee’s executive committee meeting held after last month’s election.
Trump’s decisive victory over Harris — including his win of the popular vote and a sweep of all seven key battleground states — along with the GOP flipping the Senate and maintaining control of the House, has left Democrats grappling with how to regroup.
Murphy highlighted post-election polling, showing that most Americans approve of the president-elect’s handling of the transition. She also noted that Trump is entering his return to the White House more popular than when he first won in 2016.
Additionally, she pointed out that voters “give him a pass on the outrageous” comments he often makes because of their approval of his economic policies.
The challenge for Democrats, according to Murphy, is to change this perception. “We want to focus on this term and tell the story about how this term is worse and how things are not going to be good for the American people,” she said.
She argued the party’s message should center on the economy and costs, framing Trump as being indifferent to everyday Americans’ struggles. “Donald Trump does not care about you. He is going to screw you,” Murphy stated. “As a north star, I think we need to stay focused on … the economy and costs.”
Murphy also proposed adopting some strategies Republicans used during the 2024 campaign, saying, “We can do what they did to us … even if the economy is stronger, costs are still going to be too high for people.”
She suggested targeting what she described as unpopular elements of Trump’s agenda, such as “tax breaks for the wealthy” and “letting corporations drive up prices.” She also recommended emphasizing that Trump’s proposed tariffs on key trading partners amount to “a sales tax on the American people that will drive up prices” — a talking point Harris previously used on the campaign trail.
Murphy acknowledged Republican gains with key Democratic voting blocs, including younger voters, Latinos, and Black voters, citing economic concerns and the Democrats’ perceived overly technical messaging. She remarked, “A lot of times we’re talking about policies,” while Republicans foster “culture conversations that create a connection between the party and the people that go beyond policies.”
She urged Democrats to engage in similar cultural discussions, arguing, “We know we have a lot of shared values with these working Americans, and we need to find ways to have more authentic connection points.”
DNC Chair Jaime Harrison praised Murphy’s presentation but cautioned against solely focusing on Trump. Highlighting Vice President-elect JD Vance, Harrison said, “I think it will be a big error on our part if we focus all of our attention on Donald Trump and not JD Vance, particularly as we start to look at the 2028 race.”
