Karine Jean-Pierre stopped by “The View” on Tuesday and, when asked if Democrats are currently “meeting the moment,” her answer was blunt: “absolutely not.” According to the former White House press secretary, they need to step up more and actually be the “opposition party” to President Trump.
During her conversation with the ABC hosts, Jean-Pierre had a whole list of things the Democratic Party could and should be doing better, and at the top of it was not acting like Trump is a typical president. According to Jean-Pierre, Democrats need to remember that they actually have power in government.
“I think, right now, the Democratic party should be acting as the opposition party,” she said. “These are unprecedented times. We should not be acting, or they should not be acting as business as usual. And we need to see some fight, some teeth, some vigor, some strategy. That’s what I’ve been hearing from people since I left the administration.”
Jean-Pierre then pointed to the weekend’s No Kings protests as a key example of what politicians should be doing, and applauded the turnout of 7 million people nationwide.
“Where’s the Democratic party in doing the same and peaceful protesting?” she said. “Why are there not more lawsuits from the Democratic party? They need to take action on behalf of the American people, the people who are fearful. And it’s not throwing us under the bus!”
Jean-Pierre clarified that stepping up to Trump would not mean throwing marginalized groups of people under the bus, before adding that Democrats can’t only be playing the long game.
“It is about your moral compass in this moment, not about politics, and you have to bring the country with you,” she said. “Everybody keeps talking about 2026, no, no, no, we need to focus on right now.”
“The View” airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.
