The fury of many Americans at President Donald Trump's whirlwind first month in office has the Democratic Party in its crosshairs, a report revealed Friday.
Salon wrote that protesters targeted Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) this week, angry about inaction by Democratic lawmakers to organize an effective fight back.
“Hakeem Jeffries, where’s the firewall? Where’s your plan B? While Musk and his Musketeers are digitally destroying our democracy, you’re making speeches. While our democracy is being decapitated, you’re issuing press releases,” said Ken Scheles, an organizer with Food and Water Watch. “I don’t see you!”
The protesters fought freezing temperatures to rally for an hour on Thursday, the report stated.
Salon spoke to protester Ed Goldman, who complained Jeffries' “leadership of the opposition has been weak.”
“Jeffries and the Democratic Party writ large, as opposition to Trump, is legalistic and formalistic. It assumes that everything in the country before Trump was okay, pretty much, and if we just got back to where we were it would be fine again,” Goldman said. “I don’t think that they speak to the deep mistrust of the population to government."
One protester who didn't give their name said, “Republicans certainly knew how to be obstructionists and speak up when they were in the minority."
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"I would like to see people on the steps of Congress every day giving a daily report and talking to people directly,” the person said.
Earlier this month, Jeffries said about an ongoing budget debate that he's still "trying to figure out what leverage we actually have," given they don't have control in the House or Senate.
Last week, Jeffries said in a press conference that President Donald Trump is trying to flood the zone with inflammatory statements that distract Americans while the GOP is pushing through further cuts. He told reporters that they don't intend to swing at every little issue like renaming the Gulf of Mexico or Trump's proclaiming himself king.
That statement tipped off HBO host John Oliver, who argued that Democrats knew what Trump would do and shouldn't have been caught flat-footed.
"We're going to swing at the ones that matter for the American people," Oliver quoted Jeffries. "Who is that exactly? ...Please, just let us know who you think is worth swinging for, because it looks to me like you are striking out looking right now."
Activist Molly Ornati, who works for a local environmental organization, told Salon Jeffries was “not presenting a forceful energy of resistance and outrage to what’s going on."
"He’s acting as though this is a normal part of the political process, when this is a completely never before seen violation of the Constitution, of federal laws, separation of power, democratic principle — all of the key American values. He’s not standing up with the level of outrage that people meant to see, that Democrats want to see,” Ornati said.