For those who don’t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week’s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.
If this week’s political shows are to be taken at face value, the divide within the Democratic Party is quickly growing to an impassable chasm. Initially there was simply a difference of opinion regarding whether ousting President Joe Biden — and replacing him with former Vice President Kamala Harris with zero input from the voters — was the right thing to do with the 2024 presidential election hanging in the balance. In short order, it became clear that billions of dollars worth of celebrity endorsements and weapons-grade gaslighting couldn’t turn Harris into something she wasn’t: a likable and viable presidential candidate.
In the months since, the divide has focused on how best to “resist” or “fight back” against President Donald Trump and his agenda — an effort made far more challenging by the fact that President Trump and his team is far more cohesive than his first administration was and further complicated by the fact that Republicans have apparently mastered the art of sticking together.
Despite the fact that Democrats really should be rallying the troops behind a cohesive message, their actions thus far have only succeeded in deepening divides within their own party and putting them squarely on the wrong side of a few high-profile 80-20 issues. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer complicated matters further when, in order to avert a government shutdown he feared might ultimately be blamed on Democrats, he opted to vote in favor of a Republican-led Continuing Resolution funding the government through September. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) went the other direction — and recent polling indicates that it’s not just the party’s leadership that is at a crossroads.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) took a thinly-veiled shot at Schumer’s leadership during an appearance on ABC News’ “This Week,” saying that even when Schumer had control of the Senate he’d failed to deliver and Democrats “did virtually nothing for working people.”
“I have to say that,” he said. “I’m a member of the Democratic Caucus as an independent, so I’m not going to lie to you and tell you otherwise.”
Sen. Sanders told @JonKarl that Democrats “did virtually nothing for working people” when they had control of the Senate.
“I have to say that. I’m a member of the Democratic Caucus as an independent, so I’m not going to lie to you and tell you otherwise.” https://t.co/tzlbKEVfW3 pic.twitter.com/y4xKLIj4ZC
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 23, 2025
Sanders was happy to talk to host Jonathan Karl until the topic turned to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and the possibility that she might mount a primary challenge to oust Schumer from his Senate seat.
When asked by @JonKarl if he would like to see Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York in the Senate, Sen. Bernie Sanders abruptly tried to end the interview. https://t.co/v4ppEYgwCZ pic.twitter.com/4Hkht8sJAA
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 23, 2025
Former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile weighed in on Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, who have been hosting rallies around the United States under the banner of “stopping oligarchy,” and claimed that they were simply “filling a void” felt by Democratic voters in the aftermath of former Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss to President Trump.
“This void has to be filled because there’s so much anger, anger not just in red districts, but also in blue districts,” she said.
Former DNC chair @DonnaBrazile says Sen. Bernie Sanders hosting rallies across the country is “filling a void” left after the defeat of Kamala Harris.
“This void has to be filled because there’s so much anger, anger not just in red districts, but also in blue districts.” pic.twitter.com/nG8CeWmFhd
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 23, 2025
Fellow ABC panelist Rachel Bade noted that Democrats were looking at flipping the House of Representatives in 2026 — and that they ought to be wary of flooding the zone with primaries if they wanted to win general elections.
“The problem for Democrats right now is if they’re primaries by a bunch of Bernie Sanders, AOC-type Democrats, they’re going to have a real hard problem flipping the House,” she explained.
“The problem for Democrats right now is if they’re primaried by a bunch of Bernie Sanders, AOC-type Democrats, they’re going to have a real hard problem flipping the House,” @rachaelmbade tells @JonKarl. https://t.co/IFWeDTBihn pic.twitter.com/zwJTRpn7NZ
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 23, 2025
On CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) also criticized Schumer, saying that it created uncertainty within the party when congressional leaders did not present a united front on such a major issue.
“It was not a good look for the two congressional Democratic leaders to be on opposite sides of the continuing resolution,” Himes told host Margaret Brennan, saying that the result had been “an immense amount of anger” among voters. “I am quite certain that Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer have learned from this experience and are going to, at a minimum, be unified going forward.”
“It was not a good look for the two congressional Democratic leaders to be on opposite sides of the continuing resolution,” says Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), telling @margbrennan it has fueled “an immense amount of anger” from constituents across the country.
“I am quite certain that… pic.twitter.com/AypBviDjrl
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 23, 2025
Schumer defended himself on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” claiming that he hadn’t actually had any leverage to use against Republicans in the Senate with regard to the CR.
Schumer says ‘there was no leverage’ Democrats could have used in funding fight: Full interview https://t.co/nabJzHVY9f
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 23, 2025
In addition — and in spite of calls from some within the party — Schumer declared that he had no intention of stepping down from his leadership position.
Schumer says he’s ‘not stepping down’ despite Democratic pressures https://t.co/uxMNWfQVct
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 23, 2025
CNN anchor Dana Bash pressed Doug Heye — who previously had worked for former Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) when the rise of the Tea Party resulted in his primary loss — on whether he was seeing similar sentiment on the Democratic side as voters express their frustrations both with Schumer and with Democrats they believe are not doing enough to push back against President Trump’s agenda.
.@DanaBashCNN asks @DougHeye if the anger among voters in the Democratic Party reflects what he saw while working as a top aide for former Republican Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia who lost his 2014 primary election in the Tea Party wave. pic.twitter.com/GNwguSCzpd
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) March 23, 2025
Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) also joined Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union,” and he argued that Democrats needed to be careful about their approach — and suggested that different tactics would be required when it came to connecting with voters in districts that had voted red in 2024.
.@RepJasonCrow tells @DanaBashCNN the Democratic Party needs to take a “very different approach” when it comes to connecting with voters in Republican districts. pic.twitter.com/HjNyTBjOgE
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) March 23, 2025
And Rep. Ro Khanna heaped fuel on the fire, telling Bash that he believed “there would be a lot of support” if Ocasio-Cortez did decide to run against Schumer in a Democratic primary.
.@RoKhanna tells @DanaBashCNN that “there would be a lot of support” for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez if she decides to mount a primary challenge against Sen. Chuck Schumer. pic.twitter.com/7Ykm2yROhX
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) March 23, 2025

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