JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
President Trump remade the Republican Party in his image, and now he is rapidly attempting to enact a sweeping agenda. His opposition, the Democratic Party, has lost control of the White House and Senate, and they remain the minority party in the House. But the Democratic National Committee has chosen a new chair. That is Ken Martin, who won internal election by a large margin over the weekend, and Ken Martin joins us now. Welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
KEN MARTIN: Thank you so much for having me, Juana. I'm very glad to be here.
SUMMERS: Ken, I'd like to start with this if we can. The Trump administration is attempting to remake just about every aspect of the federal government through executive action. It is pushing cabinet nominees through Senate confirmation. How should Democrats respond? What do you think the party needs to be doing right now to oppose those measures?
MARTIN: Well, we need to stand up and fight back, for sure. I think what American people are hoping the Democratic Party does is grow a spine and get back in the fight. And I'm ready to do that, certainly. I - two days on the job, but I think the real question right now that Americans have to ask is whose side are you on, right? And are you on the side of the robber baron, the union buster, the polluter, or are you on the side, like the Democrats are - the American family and the farmer, the small business owner?
SUMMERS: Let me jump in here. You said that your party needs to grow a spine to get back in the fight, but I just want to get really practical and granular...
MARTIN: Yes.
SUMMERS: ...About this. What do you think the Democrats can do right now, in opposition to President Trump's agenda, to push back, to fight back, as you say? What does and should that look like?
MARTIN: Well, I think you saw that yesterday with a number of senators and, of course, congressional members, talking about using the power they have in Congress to slow down some of the Trump appointees, to call the question, of course, to try to force their hand where they can. Of course, we don't have the majorities in Congress and so...
SUMMERS: Right.
MARTIN: ...It's hard to slow down what Donald Trump and the Republicans are doing right now. But the best thing we can do to stop Donald Trump's unimpeded power is to win - win elections, and that's why I'm here. And so we have big elections coming up in Virginia and New Jersey this year and other special elections for the U.S. House coming up that could put us back into the majority. And so if we really want to stop Donald Trump right now, and if people are pissed off about what he's doing, the best way to punch back and to fight back is to roll up your sleeves and help us build the infrastructure so we can win elections again.
SUMMERS: Let me ask you about the electoral politics of all of this. When you look at the narratives that President Trump introduces every day - for example, he has blamed airplane crashes on DEI initiatives, he's attempted to associate all immigrants who have crossed the border illegally with criminal activity - what is the winning message for Democrats there? What kind of messages do you want to hear Democratic leaders respond with that you think are effective in winning back the folks who did not support Democrats in these most recent elections?
MARTIN: Well, I think, you know, one of the things I've talked about which is really - should have been the canary in the coal mine last year, was the research that showed for the first time in modern history that the perceptions of the two political parties have changed, and now the majority of Americans believe that the Republican Party best represents the working class and the poor and the Democratic Party is the party of the wealthy and the elites. That is a damning indictment on our party, and that's got to change. And one way to change that, of course, is to focus on a message that unites all Americans, which is economics and kitchen table issues. And for me, of course, we need to push back on some of the crazy things that Donald Trump is doing and the excesses and extremes of this administration.
But we can't just live in that space and chase him down every rabbit hole, right? We need to give the American people a sense that we haven't forgotten about them. We haven't forgotten about their struggles and their lives. And while Donald Trump is failing the American people, we have to remind them that he made a lot of promises on the campaign trail that he was going to make their lives easier. For so many people right now, they're looking at what he's been doing these last two weeks and scratching their head, wondering, what is he actually doing to deliver on those promises? So we have to remind them that he has done nothing. For instance, I don't know how changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America helps anyone build a better life for their families.
SUMMERS: Here's the question I have, though. I spent a lot of years covering national politics, including a focus on Democratic candidates and the Democratic Party and the Democratic electorate, and defining who that party is, what it stands for, is something that has bedeviled so many people who have sat in your seat. How do you make the case to voters who want to support you that elected Democrats have their backs, given what we've seen in the last election cycle, where those working-class voters that you just talked about, who used to reliably vote Democratic, they've chosen a different path?
MARTIN: Well, we have to speak clear and loud and strong. Americans want a fighter. Working-class people want a sense that we haven't forgotten about them, right? And so it's not just the perception and brand problem, it's also a messaging problem. And one thing it's not, by the way, is our message or our policy prescription. I hear a whole host of Democrats saying, we need to come up with a new agenda. And, you know, I want you to take Missouri as an example. Last November, they voted for a minimum wage increase for paid family leave, as well as abortion protections, all by wide margins. They went down-ballot and voted for Donald Trump and the Republicans. So clearly, we have to do a better job as a Democratic party of connecting those very popular policy positions that Americans support by wide margins throughout this country back to our party and candidates, right? So many parts of our coalition have left us because they don't feel like we're fighting for them.
SUMMERS: That was Ken Martin, the new chair of the Democratic National Committee. Thank you for talking with us.
MARTIN: Thank you, Juana. Really appreciate it. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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