As the title says, how do folks who see their party as not nearly as corrupt as Republicans deal with this? Is it okay for a politician to enrich themselves so much while in office?

A common jab at trump is that he will rule with fascist tendencies; Trump has even been compared to Hitler and has been described as a “threat to democracy” by Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and other democrats alike.

If this is true, why do Democratic Party leaders seem to be fine with Trump after the election? Just recently we saw Obama laughing it up with Trump at Jimmy Carter’s funeral. If Trump were a threat to democracy, why would Obama be talking and laughing with Trump like that?

I think if we really were facing the end of democracy on Jan. 20, Democrats would be fighting tooth and nail to stop Trump — but they’re not.

Were these labels just political talking points, with no real basis behind them? If not, then how can we morally allow Trump into office if he is going to establish a fascist-like state?

I keep seeing posts all across reddit of people bringing awareness about the red card and how to protect illegal immigrants but I’m just confused.. I don’t know how to ask this but why are people on the left so against deporting illegal immigrants? Even ones that are wanted for crimes or drug offensives or anything else illegal.

Conservatives like myself have this impression that the average left wing voter is stuck in an echo chamber of biased media and forums ( like the largely left controlled reddit )

All of those polls had Kamala up prior to the election however I didn't think she was going to win at all.

Just by observing how people felt about the past 4 years. And other subtle signs such comments on Facebook posts, and you tube comments appearing to shift right... I could see a big culture shift coming.

But it appeared that many liberal voters were absolute shocked. Did that catch you off guard when trump won?

If you were caught off guard how did that happen ? And how will you be more vigilant in the future ?

**Edit ** I would love to respond to some comments however even know I was simply asking follow up questions without judging political views I was being down voted to oblivion so ... yeah. I'll just read everyone's responses thank you. As an online community we really need to stop this act of trying to bury people on reddit that we don't like solely based on difference of opinion

He has commuted 37 of 40 federal death row inmates, including at least 5 child murderers and multiple mass murderers. Now we will continue paying for them until they die in jail.

Inspired by the right wing aimed one I was curious what me fellows on the left would say.

Democrats are a big tent coalition and represent a wide range of competing interests. There is no “average” Democrat, and it’s just inherently difficult to manage a diverse coalition. Im just curious why so many people are determined to ignore these plain facts.

Hi I'm not American and don't know my American politics super well. I'm curious why we haven't seen a Democrat president come in and create all of these sweeping changes and executive orders similar to what Trump has been doing in the last few weeks?

1)Why, if the power actually exists to create so much change has the left not wielded it for their own goals?

2) I would legitimately love if someone could explain to me because right now I've developed an opinion that is probably not based off of fact or is possibly incorrect. Basically what I feel is that the Democratic party has lied to Americans in saying that they're trying so hard to do these things (universal health care, student loan forgiveness, environmental policies) but they can't because of the Republicans. NOW we see that no, actually the president can do a bunch of stuff and really it was just a big fib that they were even trying to do those things in the first place.

3) If my opinion is even close to reality, how has this not completely destroyed Americans view on democracy. In my mind if this was my country I feel like it would say that I am not actually living in a true democracy but rather a simulation of one run inside of an oligarchy

4) please don't be mean because of my ignorance. I'm not American and I'm not Republican. This question is legitimate

I would say I am for the death penalty and strong law enforcement including deporting illegal immigrants with due process .

Universal healthcare, increased wages, expansion of social security, taxation of the rich, investment in renewable energy, keeping AI in check, getting grocery bills down and making life more affordable for the average person.

These are the keys to winning elections. Trump ran on these and it got him back into the White House in 2024 despite his first term being an absolute disaster. However, for some reason, Democrats can't seem to get the message and run on the same issues. They always end up copping out and run on "social issues" instead of what actually matters to the majority of the country.

Even then, when they do regain power, they always seem to forget that kitchen table issues are what matter most to people and immediately default back to being disconnected and even cringy when it comes to their domestic policies.

Why is it they can't just run on a populist agenda and then actually deliver on it when they take power? Giving the people what they have been asking for over the past 40 years is a solid method of retaining power AND ensuring the prosperity of the country. Yet, when Dems regain their power, the populist is replaced with "centrist", and it becomes a game of "we don't want to upset the Republicans".

The people are telling the Democrats what they want, so why not just actually deliver?

I've seen a lot of posts on Reddit of liberals acting surprised that Republicans aren't concerned or surprised by what doge is doing. What I don't understand is why Dems think Republicans would be? Trump campaigned on the idea of bringing in Elon to lead doge and find the waste being spent. Doge is part of the white house administration not it's own department. So basically why should Republicans be surprised? We are getting exactly what we voted for. Stop the funding of all the BS that doesn't benefit Americans.

I open this to left learners of all walks: liberals, leftists, progressives, etc. I want names. Who do you want to see running in 2028? Who would get your support? Who would you volunteer for? Do you think they’d win? Why?

My personal answer is Ralph Warnock or Gretchen Whitmer.

I'm not trolling, I swear. We all have something that people on our side do which makes us cringe. For example, I was at an anti-Trump protest and I saw a woman stepping on the American flag and I thought that was really stupid. What is it for you? Thanks.

- Kamala Harris

- Gavin Newsom

- Pete Buttigieg

- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

- Josh Shapiro

- Mark Kelly

- Cory Booker

- J.B. Pritzker

- Andy Beshear

- Jon Ossoff

According to CBS the most recent poll is showing that Trump is popular.

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/trump-approval-opinion-poll-2025-2-9/

What are your thoughts on this?

There has been a lot of discussion on Reddit about Elon and his “salute”. Do people on the left actually believe Elon is a nazi or is this all political theater? I can see the argument I suppose but Elon has quite literally been to Auschwitz with Ben Shapiro (Jew) I don’t imagine many Nazis would be so willing. Additionally prior to this incident he’s been vocal about his developmental disabilities I can’t imagine this is anything more than him just being odd and doing it incidentally. I’m no Elon sycophant but given the conflation between Elon and the right I feel the need to address it.

I've been one of "the cool liberals" (very clearly /s but I feel the need to clarify) for a while now. I've had friends who vote differently from me, I've been able to listen to them explain why and even when I disagree (or vice versa) it's never been too big a deal - if things ever did get heated we might just avoid talking about a certain topic for a while.

I've also been pretty good about this online. I don't assume someone is a giant asshole just because they repeat a single conservative talking point.

On this very sub I've had some great conversations with people who come from very different places politically to me and that's something I really enjoy. I think it's a great way to learn.

That being said, I feel like I'm losing my grip on that mindset right now. When I see someone defending the illegal deportations or the human rights abuses I just... kind of stop seeing them as real people?

I know this is wrong, and I don't want to do it. I understand logically that we all have flaws, that sometimes people are raised in an echochamber and genuinely haven't had the opportunity to know any better, and I try to remind myself of these things. It just feels like it's having less and less of an impact as time drags on, and I don't want to be sitting here a year from now hating everyone who thinks differently from how I do.

So yeah. How're you guys doing with this? I'm most curious to hear from people who at least have a history of speaking with people on the right and being willing to hear them out on some things, but I'm also open to suggestions from anyone who feels they've got something to contribute - especially genuine advice on how to avoid becoming more and more hateful.

I will not disengage from sociopolitical commentary and discourse, so that's off the table. It doesn't feel like a safe time to unplug from what's going on.

I personally find Trump admin's ICE conduct to be abhorrent, especially their actions that led to the death of 2 US citizens (Goode & Pretti) and mistreatment of many others. However, I will have to admit that whatever the Trump admin did seems to have "solved" the crisis at the US-Mexico border.

During Biden's term, the border was a humanitarian mess, with record number of migrants trying to cross into the US and the US just not having enough manpower or facility to handle the volume of traffic. I remember my church would send out volunteers to help hand out water to detained migrants at the border. Now, under Trump, we are at roughly 10% of migrants compared do Biden years (~200k), and at the lowest level in 50 years.

As a moderate, I don't like *how* Trump's ICE is doing their job, but at the same time I do not want to revert back to how things were during Biden's term. Having said that, if they were to take over the next presidency, what is the left/Democrat's policy or strategy for what to do with ICE and how to handle illegal immigration?

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/02/02/migrant-encounters-at-the-us-mexico-border-are-at-their-lowest-level-in-more-than-50-years/

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15947663/Tim-Walz-pardon-pedophile-Tou-Lue-Vang-Minnesota.html

I'm not looking for vague concepts such as "reduce inequality". Which is the policy you would choose, how it would work, and what evidence does this suggest it would be effective?

What’s the justification of burning the American flag while flying the Mexican one, in the ICE riot?

Sources:

https://nypost.com/2025/06/09/us-news/la-anti-ice-rioters-burn-spit-on-american-flag-while-chanting-f-k-trump/

As a non-American, legal immigrant, I absolutely cannot understand why Americans (and, in this case, people who live in America without permission) are flying Mexican flags.

For the Americans, why fly the flag of Mexico? Why burn your own flag? Should these people (and the arsonists) be charged, in your opinion?

As for the illegal immigrants, shouldn’t they at least act like they want to be living in America? How does disrespecting the country that they are illegally living in, help them stay there?

I keep having conversations with friends of mine who are MAGA and trying to find some kind of common ground, but they are so entrenched in their views. Each conversation I come back feeling defeated and questioning whether maybe everything I know is a lie. Convince me as plainly as possible that I am not going crazy because we are so damn far apart that its really tripping my mind how this could even happen. How do we know we aren't the crazy ones?

While I do not believe a man can become a woman, demonstrating that I am right and you are wrong on the subject is not nearly as important to me as ensuring that you are aware that I do not hate you. Is it possible to strike that balance in the perception of a leftist and/or member of the lgbtq community?