Confronted With Party’s Cratering Popularity, Dem Insists Americans Crave Anti-Trump ‘Fight’

Americans want Democrats to “fight” President Donald Trump, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) contended on Sunday, despite polling that painted a dismal picture for his party.

On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Murphy alluded to a contentious few days for Senate Democrats in the last week. During that time, enough members of the party chose not to support blocking a GOP-backed stopgap bill, allowing it to pass and averting a partial government shutdown.

“I think Americans want the Democratic Party to stand up and fight and to take risks. Listen, I understand that had we gone into a shutdown, even for a handful of days, it would have been difficult,” Murphy said.

“But it would have sent a message that the Democratic Party is not going to be bullied by Donald Trump,” he added. “We are not going to let them write spending bills unilaterally that cut programs for people we care about, that give the president new and extraordinary power.”

Murphy was responding to moderator Kristen Welker, who pressed the senator for a response to a new NBC survey. Conducted before the Senate showdown over the continuing resolution, the national poll found just 27% of respondents had a positive view of the Democrats.

The same survey revealed that Trump and his second-term administration reached a significant milestone, with 44% of Americans saying they believe the United States is “headed in the right direction” — the highest level since early 2004 when George W. Bush was president.

Despite these findings, Murphy argued that bipartisanship is not a viable option for his party. Echoing a common refrain among Democrats, he warned that representative democracy in the United States is at risk with Trump in office.

“I think Democrats in this country, but I think the broad middle of the public as well, want to see our party fighting in exceptional ways,” Murphy said. “That is the conversation that has to happen inside of the Democratic Party, inside our caucus. And if we don’t get that right, if we continue to work with Republicans, if we continue to hand Donald Trump more power, we are going to lose our democracy.”