Dan Pfeiffer

What We Just Learned About the Battle for the House The special election in Tennessee was a dry run for the midterms.

The special election on Tuesday in Tennessee showed just how big a problem Republican fealty to Trump will be in the midterms. messagebox.substack.com/p/what-we-ju...

Last Night's Election Should Cause Republicans to Panic about 2026 The backlash to Trump is happening even in the most pro-Trump districts

Republicans will publicly breathe a sigh of relief, but a 13-point shift to the Ds in a nationalized race with midterm-level turnout is absolutely terrible news for the Republicans and a big rebuke of Trump. www.messageboxnews.com/p/last-night...

Join me and @danpfeiffer.bsky.social this week on Assembly Required! Listen wherever you get your podcasts: bit.ly/4oRGsNv

How to Handle Your MAGA Uncle at Thanksgiving (Without Ruining Dinner) Some facts and messages for the inevitable, awkward political conversation over Turkey.

Some thoughts on how to win the argument with your MAGA uncle at Thanksgiving:

www.messageboxnews.com/p/how-to-han...

Is Trump’s Coalition Falling Apart Faster Than Anyone Expected? A year after Trump’s “new coalition” shocked the political world, it’s falling apart. Young men, Latinos, and reluctant 2024 Trump voters are bailing — fast.

One year ago, Trump and the GOP were bragging about a permanent Trump coalition. Democrats were in a panic about Trump's gains with Latinos, young men, and other parts of our base.

Today, that coalition looks on the verge of collapse. Here's why:
messagebox.substack.com/p/is-2025-th...

How Democrats Can Get Past the Shutdown Debacle The end of the shutdown was a disaster, but we have to put it behind us and move forward.

I’m as pissed as the next person about the Dems who surrendered over the shutdown, but in the interest of being constructive, I put together some thoughts on how we can move past this moment. messagebox.substack.com/p/how-democr...

Thoughts on Democrats' Shutdown Surrender Democrats lost the battle, but they may win the war

Great overview by @danpfeiffer.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/messageb...

Thoughts on Democrats' Shutdown Surrender Democrats lost the battle, but they may win the war

Senate Democrats caved at their point of maximum leverage. A bizarre and bewildering choice that embodies so much of the party’s struggles in the Trump era. Some thoughts on what went wrong and where we go from here www.messageboxnews.com/p/thoughts-o...

Why Tearing Down Trump’s Ballroom Would Be a Mistake Democrats should focus on the real MAGA monuments

Pfeiffer concludes: “A better approach is to target the things that actually matter: institutional capture, corrupt agencies, dangerous policies, and the people who engineered them. Take apart the structures that enabled Trump’s abuses, enforce accountability, and rebuild institutions…

They are supporting her over Platner, which will give her access to donors and endorsements not available to other candidates

I'm not arguing there shouldn't be a primary. I am arguing that the Democratic Party should not pick one candidate; they should let the voters of Maine pick.

If Mills want to run, she should! and if she can beat Platner, great! I just think the National Dem Party should stay out

TBF, I don't think the national Dem party is encouraging McGrath to run, I think she just wants to run

I'm not arguing they should clear the field. I'm arguing they shouldn't back Mills and should just let the voters decide

Are Democrats About to Blow It in Maine? By backing Janet Mills over a grassroots outsider, party leaders may be repeating the same mistakes from 2024

ME's Senate field includes at least 3 plausible younger Democrats, most notably the viral populist oyster farmer Graham Platner, 41. Janet Mills is 77. Why are top Dems so set on her? So resistant to new blood? @danpfeiffer.bsky.social asks the right questions. www.messageboxnews.com/p/are-democr...

Are Democrats About to Blow It in Maine? By backing Janet Mills over a grassroots outsider, party leaders may be repeating the same mistakes from 2024

Dan Pfeiffer
For the life of me, I cannot figure out what the hell the Senate Democrats are doing in Maine — the most important Senate race in the country. Their decision to back Janet Mills suggests they have learned no lessons from our loss in 2024.
messagebox.substack.com/p/are-democr...

Donald Trump is Losing the Shutdown (and I think He Knows it) I’ll admit it.

Donald Trump and his goons are talking tough, but they are losing the shutdown fight (and they know it)

www.messageboxnews.com/p/donald-tru...

Don't Believe the Hype, Dems Can Win the Shutdown Fight Trump is so much weaker than the pundits realize

this (from @danpfeiffer.bsky.social) is excellent. voters always blame the controlling party for shutdowns, and that's even when the guy in charge ISN'T historically unpopular.

Thoughts on How to Fight Trump’s Corrupt Prosecutions How Democrats can respond to the corruption at the heart of Trump’s DOJ

The goal of an authoritarian is to make the opposition feel powerless. Trump’s corrupt prosecution of Jim Comey is part of that plan, but Democrats are not powerless. We can respond.

Here are some thoughts on how to fight back

www.messageboxnews.com/p/thoughts-o...

Trump’s Anti-Vax Turn Is His Most Unpopular Move Yet Only 4% of Americans Want Government Health Agencies to Restrict Access to Vaccines

Over the years, Donald Trump has done some really unpopular stuff, but embracing RFK Jr’s anti-vax quackery is the most unpopular yet … by far www.messageboxnews.com/p/trumps-ant...

With Kimmel Suspension and TikTok Sale, Trump Takes Control of the Media Trump wants China to sell TikTok's U.S. operations to a group of pro-Trump billionaires

@danpfeiffer.bsky.social nails it (and I cannot recommend his newsletter highly enough): »The good news is that we’re in the middle of a massive transition in technology and media. Old models are collapsing. If Democrats are smart and aggressive, we can seize this moment and reverse the trend.«

That was my mistake, I should have said pro-democracy

Pro-Trump Billionaires Control American Media Trump wants China to sell TikTok's U.S. operations to a group of pro-Trump billionaires

Pro-Trump billionaires now own X, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, the Washington Post, CBS, Fox, and the WSJ.

And it's about to get worse. Trump wants China to sell TikTok to a couple of pro-Trump billionaires who could do to it what Elon did to Twitter
messagebox.substack.com/p/does-maga-...

New Polls Show that Trump is a Paper Tiger America is rejecting Trump and his agenda

Corporations, law firms, media companies, and some Congressional Democrats would rather surrender to Trump than fight.

Here’s the thing

Trump is a weak president pushing an unpopular agenda.

Dems should be picking fights, not shying away from them
messagebox.substack.com/p/new-polls-...

The Democratic Divide That Could Decide 2026 (and 2028) Disagreement over how to handle Trump is preventing a full-throated response to his power grabs

Every decision by every Democrat can be traced back to how they answer one question

Just how dangerous is Donald Trump?

messagebox.substack.com/p/the-democr...

Mission Accomplished? Trump Declares Victory on Inflation as Costs Soar Trump is trying to gaslight America on prices; it won't work

Trump is gaslighting America about the economy. Today, he declared that Inflation was over. Well, the data and the price tags say something very different.

Here’s why he won’t get away with it

messagebox.substack.com/p/mission-ac...

Trump's Quiet Coup: Redistricting, Census Games, and the End of Fair Elections How the GOP is trying to win the 2026 and 2028 elections before a single vote is cast.

Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans have a plan to end free and fair elections in this country.

And it’s already underway, and it's happening right before our eyes.
messagebox.substack.com/p/trumps-qui...

We could really use some sort of bureau whose job it was to protect consumers from this sort of predatory behavior

Oh wait...

Trump is Attacking Obama to Distract from Epstein; It's Not Working New data shows that even Trump's most loyal media allies aren't taking the bait

A few weeks ago, Trump concocted evidence accusing Barack Obama of treason to distract his base from the Epstein files. In the past, these transparent gambits have worked. We now have data that shows this whole Obama conspiracy BS has fallen flat on its face. www.messageboxnews.com/p/trump-is-a...

The High Cost of Spam: How the Flood of Dem Fundraising Texts Hurt the Party Dems are abusing our most loyal supporters with long term consequences

Democrats are texting their most loyal supporters into oblivion. The consequences go beyond mere annoyance; it's hurting our brand and burning out our base. It doesn't have to be this way. Here are some thoughts on how to fix it. www.messageboxnews.com/p/the-high-c...

Trump's Epstein Problem is Officially a Massive Political Scandal The WSJ Report shows that this is a coverup that includes the President, the AG, the FBI Director and the GOP Congress

This is now officially a massive scandal with a coverup that includes the President, the Attorney General, the FBI Director, and the GOP Congress messagebox.substack.com/p/trumps-eps...