No matter how many pivots, resets, or rebrands Democrats attempt, the cold reality is this: They’ve lost the trust of working-class Americans. Recent polling has shown that despite all the doomsday predictions from the Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media, voters still trust Trump and the Republicans more on the economy. Why? Isn’t it obvious? Democrats spent four years lying about the economy under Biden, pretending inflation was down and wages were up, and they lost all credibility on the economy.
Meanwhile, under Trump, inflation actually is going down, prices are on the decline, and wages are going up again. Democrats have done nothing to earn the vote of working-class voters.
“They’ve lost the working class,” CNN’s Scott Jennings observed on a recent segment of “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” He added, “And make no mistake, they have.”
He’s right. Democrats didn’t just lose these voters because of inflation or grocery bills, though that certainly hasn’t helped. They lost them because of their relentless war on common sense.
As Jennings pointed out, it’s not just about economics. “A lot of it is simply cultural,” he said. “This adherence to wanting to put boys in girls’ sports, the fighting for illegal immigrants […] to be given benefits of all kinds — these are deeply held cultural issues that Democrats are fighting for, and that the working class of this country is strongly opposed to.”
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That’s the core of the problem. These aren’t fringe positions Democrats accidentally stumbled into. These are the very policies they’ve chosen to champion — loudly, repeatedly, and unapologetically. The party has gone all-in on ideas that might win applause on MSNBC or in a Harvard seminar, but fall flat with the voters you need on your side to win an election
Former Obama advisor David Axelrod responded by saying voters are more concerned about the “cost of food, the cost of housing, the cost of energy,” which, of course, is true, and that’s the root of the problem. Voters aren’t just annoyed; they’ve been lied to too many times by the Democrats.
Jennings didn’t let the dodge slide. “Donald Trump has better numbers on the economy than Democrats right now, despite all the rhetoric and all the doom and gloom,” he countered.
He’s right. Despite the constant media attacks, Trump is still viewed by a majority of working-class Americans as the one leader actually fighting for them. That didn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of years of Democratic overreach, cultural arrogance, and tone-deaf policymaking.
And trust, once lost, is hard to regain. Jennings drove that point home: “If you can’t trust what a Democrat says about, you know, something that seems like an 80-20 or a 90-10 or a 95-5 issue, then why would I trust you when you’re out here crapping on Donald Trump’s economic agenda?”
Exactly. When Democrats deny biological reality and praise sanctuary cities while American communities struggle, and then turn around to claim they’re the party of working families, voters see right through it. The betrayal isn’t theoretical: It’s personal. And no pivot, no campaign ad, no sudden “focus on the middle class” speech is going to undo years of deception.
That’s why — even with inflation still a concern, even with the media blasting tariffs and trade fights — Americans are giving Trump more leeway. “They do believe he’s fighting for working-class Americans,” Jennings said. And that belief stems not from spin, but from the unmistakable contrast between two parties: one that at least acts like it understands middle America, and one that mocks it at every turn.
Dems have blown their credibility with the working class on illegal immigration, insane cultural issues, and identity politics.
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) June 3, 2025
And now they expect people to believe their attacks on Trump’s economic policies? pic.twitter.com/uDBnQI4z34
Democrats can keep tinkering with their message, but until they confront the cultural rot at the heart of their platform — and the trust deficit they’ve created — they’re just rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship. Until they realize this, I don’t see how they win back the working class.
