Former Minnesota Democratic Party Chair Ken Martin became head of the national party Saturday following a speech in which he offered no indication his party intended to pivot away from the policies many have said led to dramatic Democratic losses across the country, and to President Donald Trump’s win.
Martin blasted Trump in his remarks making the case for electing him to chair, as well as in his victory speech after winning. And although he mentioned the party taking “a beating” in November, he outlined his own view of the party as continuing with progressive politics and fighting against the Republican vision.
Martin said that Republicans want to “turn back the clock” on civil rights and engage in “grotesque” politics and agenda that “already” have “failed” the American public since Trump took office just weeks ago.
Many 2024 election post-mortems advised Democratic candidates to move toward the center on some issues and to be more than just an opposition entity to Trumpism — things that Martin expressly vowed would contiue to be their focus. He also indicated he will encourage Democrats to double down on the politics around race and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“Look, to my fellow Democrats, we got punched in the mouth in November,” Martin said. “There’s no two ways about it. I’m running for DNC chair because it’s time to get off the mat, dust ourselves off, and to get back in this fight.” Martin continued:
A lot of people in this country right now are going to need us to walk and chew gum at the same time, meaning we’re going to have to fight the extremes of Donald Trump while we make a sharp case to families in both red states and blue states about why they should trust us with their votes. The thing is this when the Trump agenda fails, Americans, which it most certainly will and already has, we have to be there with a legitimate alternative to this chaos.
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Democrats need to ask ourselves each day, Whose side are we on? Which side are we on? Are we on the side of the robber baron, the ultra-wealthy billionaire, the oil and gas polluter, the union buster? Or are we on the side of the American working family, The small business owner, the farmer, the immigrants, and the students? Let me tell you, I know which side I’m on. I know which side you’re on. Let me tell you, folks, Black History Month, Black History Month started today. So are we on the side of this grotesque brand of politics that bans us from observing this month stops us from celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and expressly aims to turn back the clock to a pre-civil rights era, or are we on the side of a fiercely and compassionately defending the rights of freedoms and dreams of the American people?
In a speech he delivered after becoming DNC chair, Martin said Trump’s first two weeks in office were what happens when “amateur hour meets demolition derby.”
He concluded Democrats would work tirelessly to stop Trump and “ultra elites.”
