USA: Democrats after the midterms – “Trump gave us this chance”

James Talarico, Senator for Texas (D)

»We have to be brave. We have to be bold. We have to be big. We need a Democratic Party that looks a little less like Washington and a little more like Texas.”

Cornelius Dieckmann, SPIEGEL

»The Democrats inflicted a serious defeat on Donald Trump's Republicans in the midterm elections. And now they are discussing what they should actually do with their new majorities in Congress and, above all, what conclusions they can draw for the 2028 presidential election. Despite this result, one thing must not be forgotten: this party is by no means united. She argues about her future direction. Should she move to the left, to the progressive? Or does she want to win elections more in the middle?”

Chris Coons, Senator for Delaware (D)

“The Democrats won seats in states where we haven't won in 100 years, even 150 years. So this was a significant election. Essentially, Americans nationally rejected Donald Trump because he broke all of his campaign promises. “The Democrats now have the chance to prove that we can successfully address the issues that Donald Trump has neglected.”

Dan Pfeiffer, former adviser to Barack Obama

»Trump gave us this chance because during his election campaign he essentially campaigned on the promise of cutting costs and not waging wars abroad. And then he started a war abroad that drove up costs. And the Democrats had the right candidates and the right strategy to capitalize on it. But it would be a mistake to interpret this as any kind of endorsement of our manifesto, our message or our brand.”