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Eight years ago, The Resistance was in full swing. It started with a sea of pink hats and the Women’s March on the weekend of the inauguration, and didn’t let up for four years.
In 2025, it’s been a bit slower going.
But on the evening of March 6, Charlotte-area Rep. Alma Adams held a town hall at Mayfield Memorial Baptist Church, off West Sugar Creek Road.
The parking lot was full. Democrats parked their cars on the streets of Hidden Valley, and the church pews were packed.
Democrats have gotten off the mat.
But many want more.
More fight from Adams. More fight from her colleagues.
“The Republican strategy is offensive, it’s push, it’s send the (talking) points,” said Lauren Hawk, of Charlotte, who works in communications. “The Democratic strategy has been to respond to everything, follow the law, be peaceful, and be compliant. And I think we’re past compliance.”
She said she wasn’t planning to come to the town hall, but changed her mind after President Trump’s address to Congress Tuesday night.
“We need a little friction,” she said. “There’s no vocal anything (from Democrats).”
She was enraged that 10 House Democrats voted to censure Texas Democrat Al Green, who was removed from the chamber after waving his cane and trying to shout down the president’s speech.
“Ten Democrats censured him,” she said. “That is insane. He’s the only one who did anything.”
(Three of the Democrats who voted to censure represent districts that Trump won, including rising star Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington state.)
Adams talked about Elon Musk’s firing of federal workers and the possible elimination of the Department of Education. She said Democrats are introducing bills to protect Americans’ private information.
And she referenced reports that North Carolina Republican Rep. Richard Hudson, who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, recommended GOP lawmakers not hold town halls.
Nick Clanton and Jackie Jircitano, of Charlotte, were disappointed by Adams’ town hall.
Clanton, a hospice worker, said Adams’ suggestion of people writing letters to Trump to express their displeasure was a “cheap parlor trick.”
They both wanted specifics on what the Democrats plan to do if Trump defies court orders.
As for the future, Jircitano said the party needs to move to the center.
“I think they have failed to invite other folks to the party,” she said. “They lost a lot of independents.”
But at the same time, in arguably a contradictory statement, she said the decision of 10 Democrats to censure Green was “disgusting.”
Clanton wants to see more pushback from Democrats.
“I am someone who believes the Democrats have been pretty feckless for a while,” he said.
(Some did, however, fight back aggressively against Trump in the courts leading up to the election. Some states tried to keep Trump off the ballot. In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis charged him with trying to overturn the election. Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg convicted Trump of falsifying business records.)
The town hall was a perfect synopsis of the Democratic Party’s challenge in the early weeks of the Trump administration.
Fight back on a broad front? Fight back on a few specific issues? Lay low and let the GOP implode?
Settling on the perfect strategy for 2026 is probably not important. Democrats will be energized regardless, and they have the historic tailwind of presidents normally losing seats in the midterms at their back.
But it’s a key question for 2028.
On the same day as Adams’ town hall, California Gov. Gavin Newsom made a startling statement on an even more startling forum.
Newsom, a Democrat who is expected to run for president, said it was “deeply unfair” for transgender girls and women to compete in women’s sports — a break from what almost all Democrats have said publicly. He made the comments speaking with Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative influencer who has been credited with helping Republicans improve their standing with young voters.
“I think it’s an issue of fairness, I completely agree with you on that,” Newsom said. “It is an issue of fairness. It’s deeply unfair.”
He added that Trump’s commercial against Kamala Harris’ support for prisoners to have taxpayer-funded health care to transition to a different gender was “devastating.”
“And she didn’t even react to it, which was even more devastating,” Newsom said.
