Democrats are frustrated.

The party’s donor class is openly questioning whether leadership even has a pulse. After losing the White House and the Senate, and failing to win back the House, they say the party lacks both direction and a message that sticks. One donor put it bluntly in conversation with The Hill, saying, “We still haven’t been able to find our feet and no one is excited about anything. But I think a lot of people are realizing that if we do nothing, we cede control to Trump, and enough is enough.”

That’s the thesis Democrats can’t ignore: Love for the party isn’t what’s keeping the lights on — it’s fear of Donald Trump, now in his second term.

And that fear is tangible. Donors point to an “escalating threat of freedom of speech” as a reason they’ve started writing checks again. For some, it was the decision to pull Jimmy........

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