Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) expressed frustration on Sunday over what he described as the Democratic Party’s lack of a unified and strategic response to President Donald Trump’s recent State of the Union address.
In an interview with ABC News’ This Week host Jonathan Karl, Schiff called the Democratic reaction a missed opportunity and said it diverted attention from what he considered the real issues that Americans care about.
“I think the lack of a coordinated response in the State of the Union was a mistake,” Schiff said. “It took the focus off of where it should have been—on the fact that the president spoke for an hour and 40 minutes and had nothing to say about how he would bring down costs for American families. People were watching, hoping for real solutions for housing, rent, healthcare, and childcare—and they got nothing.”
Fetterman, Carville, and the Party’s Divided Strategy
Schiff’s comments came in response to critiques from within his own party. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) had called the Democratic reaction to Trump’s address “a sad cavalcade of self-owns and unhinged petulance,” claiming it ultimately helped Trump appear more presidential and composed.
“We’re becoming the metaphorical car alarms that nobody pays attention to,” Fetterman said on X (formerly Twitter). “It may not be the winning message.”
Karl also brought up Democratic strategist James Carville’s suggestion that the party should “play dead”—in other words, avoid drawing attention and allow Trump to self-destruct politically.
Schiff disagreed sharply with that strategy.
“To me, that’s not enough,” he said. “We need to be advancing a broad, bold agenda that improves Americans’ economic well-being. We can’t just wait for the other side to collapse. We have to actively communicate our vision and reach new audiences in new ways.”
Despite his push for proactive messaging, Schiff did not offer specific explanations for why Democrats under President Biden hadn’t already implemented more effective economic policies—something critics argue has contributed to growing voter discontent.
Dissent Among Democrats
Other prominent Democrats, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), also rejected Carville’s passive approach. Sanders argued that the real problem was that Democrats had “been playing dead for too many years” and urged stronger action moving forward.
The disarray was especially evident during Trump’s speech to Congress. While some Democrats attended and held protest signs with slogans like “FALSE,” “SAVE MEDICAID,” and “PROTECT VETERANS,” others walked out mid-speech, and a few—including Rep. Al Green (D-Texas)—were removed from the chamber after shouting at the president.
Several lawmakers also chose not to attend at all.
Trump Responds, Calls Democrats’ Behavior a Gift to GOP
In a post on Truth Social following the event, former President Trump blasted Democratic lawmakers for what he called “disrespectful behavior” during the joint address.
“The Democrats should lose the Midterms based on their behavior at last night’s Joint Address,” Trump wrote. “Republicans should use the footage showing the total disrespect they showed to those honored that night—victims of crime, terminally ill individuals, and more—as their full campaign to victory.”
Trump urged Republicans to leverage the Democratic response as a political tool in the upcoming elections.
“Take what happened last night, and you can win any race in the country,” he added.
