Democrats are anxious to rebuild their party on the heels of President Trump’s victory in November. But they have a major problem as they try to refashion their brand: The money isn’t there.

Democratic donors — from bundlers to small dollar donors — say they are still angry about the election results and uninspired by anything their side has put forward since then.

“I’ll be blunt here: The Democratic Party is f‑‑‑ing terrible. Plain and simple,” said one major Democratic donor. “In fact, it doesn’t get much worse.”

A second donor was equally as pointed. “They want us to spend money and for what? For no message, no organization, no forward thinking,” the donor said. “The thing that’s clear to a lot of us is that the party never really learned its lesson in 2016. They worked off the same playbook and the same ineffective strategies and to what end?”

Much of the consternation among the donor community stems from the unprecedented 2024 election cycle, where many felt misled by the party and former President Biden’s reelection campaign. Until the Democratic debate in June, donors and fundraisers were led to believe that Biden could once again defeat Trump, even as many had serious reservations about it.

When Biden badly botched the debate, inflaming fears about his age, donors felt like the campaign continued to hoodwink them, despite outwardly expressing........

© The Hill