Former Democrat strategist Dan Turrentine says he knows what his party needs to compete with Trump’s brand

Former Democrat strategist Dan Turrentine shared his insights on Fox News Friday on what it would take for the left to compete with President Donald Trump’s influence.

About 62% of Democrats believe the party needs new leaders, while 24% disagree, and the remainder are unsure or did not respond, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll. During an appearance on “Hannity,” Turrentine said Democrats need to reconsider their messaging, platform and approach.

“I think there are moderates, but to this last point, the moderates have to have the kahunas to take on the base of our party, right? I think some of that is pizzazz, some of that is strength,” Turrentine said. “You know, on a lot of these issues you were talking to Clay earlier about immigration. First, Democrats said it didn’t, that they couldn’t solve the problem. And now you have a bunch of them in our base saying we shouldn’t solve the problem, right?”

A survey said that only 19% of likely voters in swing districts approve of how the Democratic Party has handled immigration, giving them a 58-point net negative rating. The poll reports the party’s struggle to address immigration effectively and chip away at the GOP’s advantage.

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The strategist pointed to Trump’s personal brand.

“We should let all these people go. And so winning campaigns focus on the real lives of real people, right? It’s what powered Donald Trump’s rise. You know, ending the forever wars, redoing trade deals, obviously immigration, his economic reforms,” Turrentine said. “He was speaking to people when a lot of folks thought ‘Hey, that’s not very popular.’ Tell me an issue where Democrats are speaking to people and saying we have a set of solutions that’ll address your problems.”

Recent polls report growing dissatisfaction among Democrats with their party’s leadership and future prospects. Many prominent Democrats have criticized the party as being too “weak and woke,” and there are concerns about retaking control of the Senate in the 2026 midterm elections.

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