Fox News anchor Dana Perino asked Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna on Wednesday whether his party can be repaired amid it struggles to counter President Donald Trump.
After losing to Trump in November, Democrats are split on how to mount a successful defense against the president’s policies and remain uncertain about the future of their platform. However, Khanna expressed optimism on “America’s Newsroom” about his party’s chance of recovery, pointing to Trump’s improbable comeback from Jan. 6, 2021 to reclaim the presidency in 2024.
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“Do you think the Democratic Party is fixable at this point?” Perino asked.
“Absolutely. I mean, look, if you had asked someone in 2021 would Donald Trump a week after January 6th go become president of the United States in 2024, I don’t think even many of your viewers would have said, ‘Yes that’s going to happen,’” Khanna said. “I know [former Republican Speaker of the House] Kevin McCarthy certainly didn’t think it was going to happen. So yes, the Democrats can come back, but we’re not going to come back if we’re just going to offer the same old status quo.”
Khanna asserted that a Democratic Party comeback requires “a vision recognizing that a lot has gone wrong for working and middle class Americans and … a positive vision about what we’re going to do for their economic success and their communities’ economic success.”
The Democratic Party’s approval rating slid to near an all time low of 31% among registered voters, according to Quinnipiac University polling released on Jan. 29.
Moreover, CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten showed on Wednesday how Trump has reshaped the American electorate by increasing the share of Republican voters to the point where they now outnumber Democrats.
“Donald Trump and the Republican Party has changed the electorate. What do I mean by that? Well, let’s take a look at party identification. Democrats versus Republicans,” Enten said. “You go back to 2017, five points more of the electorate was Democrats than Republicans. You go to 2021 when [former President] Joe Biden was starting out. Look at that. Six points more of the electorate was Democrats than Republicans.”
“But look at what’s happened in February of 2025. Look at this: Republicans, there are more Republicans in the electorate than there are Democrats. Republican plus two,” he continued. “So Donald Trump and the Republicans have remade the electorate. They’ve turned some people over from being Democrats or independents to become Republicans. New folks have entered the electorate who are more Republican leaning.”
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