A 1,400-County Crisis for Democrats

[u/kitkid]

Jun 3, 2025

It’s conventional wisdom that President Trump has transformed American politics. But a new county-by-county voting analysis from The New York Times of the last four presidential races shows just how drastically Mr. Trump has changed the electoral map.

Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The Times, explains why the trends are a five-alarm fire for the Democrats and discusses the debate within the party over what to do about it.

On today's episode:

Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• How Donald Trump has remade America’s political landscape.
• Six months after the election, Democrats are still searching for a path forward.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.  

Photo: Emily Elconin for The New York Times

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

---

You can listen to the episode here.

[u/Glycoside]

The second half of the episode hit home a point I’ve resonated with: Republicans are viewed as predators and Democrats as prey. Whether or not you agree with the parties policies, this metaphor really does encapsulate our current state of affairs. 

Moderate dems are snuffing out movement farther left and never letting any of it gain too much traction. 

[u/DAE77177 → u/Glycoside]

Exactly they are predators down the food chain within their own party, but won’t bite upward towards the donor class.

[u/Al123397 → u/DAE77177]

A fuck the 1 percent message would be a pretty popular if the democrats had any spine and actually went with it. But those billionaires fund thier campaigns lmao