After losing the White House and both chambers of Congress to President-elect Donald Trump and his MAGA movement, one social media influencer is hoping that Democrats will abandon civility and get in the trenches.
TikTok creator Suzanne Lambert — a 33 year-old political consultant who lives in northern Virginia — recently told the Washington Post that she believes the current political moment requires Democrats to embrace being mean to their political opponents. She called herself a "Regina George liberal," in reference to the character from the 2004 film Mean Girls. Lambert frequently goes viral in her roasts of Trump supporters, and is hoping other Democratic voters will follow suit during the second Trump administration.
"I think that the narrative of ‘don’t stoop to their level’ benefits exactly one side," Lambert told the Post. “And I’m kind of like, well, if I don’t stoop, they’re not going to be able to hear me.”
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Lambert fondly recalled when Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz (Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate) called Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance "weird" during the 2024 campaign cycle. Although the Harris campaign didn't lean into Walz's attack, Lambert said it felt like "one of the only times where Democrats felt human, in terms of how they talk."
"We were like, finally,” Lambert said. “Can we call these people out? For how we see them?”
Guardian contributor Peter Rothpletz has also joined the call for Democrats to drop civility. In a Friday essay, Rothpletz argued that Democrats "must get mean — ruthlessly, bitterly mean."
"Time and again congressional Democrats have swept in to save Republican leaders – and Republican voters – from their own lawmakers. This generosity must end," he wrote. "The Dems must bleed the Republican party of its political capital at every opportunity, even if it means the American people experience some pain."
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In the comment threads of Lambert's TikTok videos, Republicans often chime in to critique her. Lambert goes viral not only for her content, but for her spicy comments. And her followers have taken note and piled on.
“MAGAs already perceive us as stuck-up and mean,” one commenter wrote. “May as well show them what mean really is at this point.”
According to the Post, Lambert viewed Trump's ascension as the start of a "new era of incivility in politics." She felt that Democrats have so far been too "cautious" and have failed to meet the moment.
"I can’t do four years of, like, us preaching peace, love and kindness, while they’re just on a rampage against people’s rights," she said.
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Click here to read the Post's report in full (subscription required).