Do the Democrats Really Want to Become Populists?

By David Wallace-Wells

A month ago, Democrats seemed like a party without a concrete policy agenda, surfing a wave of anti-Trump rage and discontent but without a clear or widely shared vision for what to do with real political power, should they win it in 2026 or 2028. Then this month we got a flurry of policy proposals in quick succession — to my eyes, the most substantive ones the party has offered in President Trump’s second term. They aren’t exactly a road map, but they tell a pretty coherent story about the Democratic Party testing the appeal of ambitious, redistributive populism.

Not that long ago, “Tax the rich” was a factional slogan that scandalized people when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wore it on a gown at the Met Gala — both those horrified that she really meant it and those who thought putting the phrase on a designer dress meant she really didn’t. Today Democrats are even more widely caricatured as the party of the well off and well........

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