The sagest advice for an anti-Trump strategy comes from George Bernard Shaw, the English playwright and author. “I learned long ago, never wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.”
Calling Trump a pig goes against this advice, but it is almost a compliment compared to how opposing Democratic politicians and media refer to him: fascist, authoritarian and convicted felon. Tough, but they are deflected like water off the back of a duck.
Now the Democrats and their allies in the media are stressing the potential for a constitutional crisis. A few firebrands are considering impeachment, but that attack has yet to gain momentum.
Not only is attacking the president ineffective, he thrives on it. Trump is the master of the insult and has a track record of name calling his opponents. They are unleashed when he is under assault.
Stepping up to the microphones, the ranting against Trump by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) emboldens the president by reinforcing that his strategy is working.
According to Gallup Surveys, Trump, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and even Elon Musk have higher favorable ratings than Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Ocasio-Cortez.
To many Americans, it makes these members of Congress appear hysterical and unhinged. Cooler rhetoric and messaging would create an image of thoughtful response, rather than hyperbolic ranting.
The aggressive anti-Trump attacks reinforce the opinions of the base but do little to persuade swing and moderate voters that the Democrats offer a rational alternative to Trump. Many voters ignored these messages during the election. Why would they be receptive to them now?
Presenting a new generation of politicians as the voice of the Democrats would begin the process of not wrestling with a pig. Eliminate the usual suspects: old, east and west coast, ethnic, and blue city senators and representatives. Substitute new voices from mid-America that reflect the battleground states, purple states and the exurbs.
The Democratic attack strategy is reinforced by the liberal side of the mainstream media. Cable news channels are all Trump all the time, relying on the Les Moonves quote, “It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS.” Unfortunately, the ratings of MSNBC and CNN no longer reflect this programming philosophy. Many programs on Fox News Channel have double or triple the audience levels for CNN and MSNBC.
Despite not attracting a large audience, cable news and talk programming doubles down on a strategy of attacking Trump, preaching to the converted. Trump thrives on parrying the attacks of his political and media opponents. This plays into his hand and gives him multiple platforms to counter their messages.
A focused strategy selecting key issues that resonate with the voters would be more effective combatting Trump. Don’t fight everything coming out of the White House. Trump uses the beltway/New York echo chamber to show he is fighting for the voters against the entrenched powers.
Fight against the president’s issues and statements the public disagrees with. Polling from The Economist/YouGov presents several policies that offer the opportunity to oppose the president. Forty five percent are against putting 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports. Only 17 percent support eliminating the Department of Education. Inflation is a strong issue that worries American households. Focus on specific policies rather than broad conceptual ideas that the average voter isn’t concerned with.
The websites of liberal newspapers are filled with reporting, editorials, columns, op-eds and analysis bemoaning the initiatives of the president and his No. 1 associate, Elon Musk. The more Musk is attacked, the stronger Trump’s defense of him and his defenestration of federal agencies and organizations. Trump has a track record of firing powerful voices in his government. Let time take its toll with Musk.
The attacking Trump strategy failed in the 2024 election. It is failing now. The CBS/You Gov poll gives Trump an overall favorable job approval of 53 percent. An astronomical 70 percent said Trump is doing what he promised during the campaign. There is a strong chance the president’s approval rating will fall, though these numbers clearly demonstrate the attack strategy is currently failing.
Rather than quoting Shaw, Albert Einstein provides an apt way of evaluating the current Democratic tactics. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.”
Why would the result of 24/7 attacks be more successful than previously? They aren’t. But yelling during rallies and news conferences makes the Democratic leadership feel they are achieving something. It certainly shows their strong supporters that they feel their pain. But it inflicts a different type of pain on the more moderate voters whom they need to persuade that Trump is a threat to democracy.
Rather than wrestling with a pig, starve it by not feeding it oxygen. Trump’s oxygen is publicity. He lives in front of the camera. Nothing will stop that, but denying him the role of besieged martyr will reduce many of his most salient talking points.
He will continue to harangue his opponents. That’s in his DNA from the start of his career and stories on Page Six of the New York Daily News to his life in the boardroom of “The Apprentice.”
With a reasoned strategy the American public might eventually tire of Trump’s constant appearances on TV and social media. He seems to have voided the concept of overexposure. But exhaustion will set in. Attacks have failed to deter him from aggressively pursuing his slash and burn agenda. Time to follow Shakespeare and have Trump “hoist with his own petard.” Nothing else seems to work.
Tobe Berkovitz, Ph.D., is an associate professor of advertising emeritus at Boston University.
