Former Democratic strategist Dan Turrentine voiced his concerns Wednesday over two major problems facing his party — and he worries that the party is not doing enough to address either one.
Turrentine spoke with Fox News host Sean Hannity on his eponymous show, revealing the extent to which he believes Democrats are struggling in the lead up to the 2026 midterm elections. “It’s horrifying,” he said, arguing that Democrats thus far have appeared to be either unable or unwilling to do what was necessary to right the ship.
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????NEW: @danturrentine *RIPS* Dems over “TWO BIG PROBLEMS”????
“It’s horrifying that the party just will not come to grips with the depth of its problems and do the things to get out of it.”
“The first is our leadership — such as it is — is terrified of being cancelled.”
“And the… pic.twitter.com/RypaVNwINx
— Jason Cohen ???????? (@JasonJournoDC) August 7, 2025
“Unfortunately for people like myself and folks that are focused on trying to win races and rebuild our majority, it’s horrifying that the party just will not come to grips with the depth of its problems and do the things to get out of it. And you said it earlier. There’s two big problems,” Turrentine said.
Turrentine went on to outline the two problems as he saw them. The first, a lack of clear and effective leadership, was on full display during a recent interview between former Vice President Kamala Harris and soon-to-be ousted comedian Stephen Colbert. Harris, even when asked directly, either could not or would not say who was leading the Democratic Party.
The second problem he identified was a failure among Democrats to put forth an agenda that would actually work to make people’s lives better.
“The first is our leadership, such as it is, is terrified of being canceled. If they come out and say it’s great that the border has been secured, they’ll be attacked. If they say boys shouldn’t be playing girl sports [sic] as Gavin Newsom and Rahm Emanuel did recently, they were attacked. If they come out and say it’s great that the police keep our neighborhood safe and that they’re heroic in their efforts, they’ll be attacked,” Turrentine explained.
“And the second part is we continue to have no agenda to help the real lives of real people. It’s Trump Derangement Syndrome, and this academic stuff about authoritativeness. Until we come to grips and start doing this work, we’re going to remain in a ditch,” he concluded.