Former Democratic strategist Dan Turrentine criticized the “embarrassing” trajectory of his party during an interview with Fox News on Friday. He expanded on his disapproval of Democratic lawmakers’ behavior during last week’s State of the Union address, describing their actions as “embarrassing.” Several moments during the address drew criticism, beginning with an outburst from Rep. Al Green (D-TX). The progressive lawmaker stood up, shouted, and made aggressive movements toward the president’s podium after Trump remarked that he had won the popular vote.
Green—who has repeatedly introduced unsuccessful articles of impeachment against Trump—was ultimately escorted from the chamber and later censured by his colleagues. Later in Trump’s speech, most Democratic lawmakers remained seated during an emotional moment honoring brain cancer survivor DJ Daniel, a young boy who was made an honorary member of the U.S. Secret Service. Turrentine called their reaction an “unforgivable embarrassment” and a stark indictment of his party’s current approach.
“I love my Party, but tonight was a new low. I get silence on this or that policy, and the raw politics of the base’s anger. But, for not a single D to stand to applaud a boy’s brave battle with cancer, or a man’s admission to West Point, was a classless disgrace,” the former strategist wrote in an X post a day after the speech. “And maddeningly, while overall Trump’s speech was politically good, there were political holes that could be exploited, juvenile taunts that voters hate, and comical lies. But much of that will be buried by our self-inflicted stupidity.”
Turrentine expanded on his criticism while speaking with Fox News host Jesse Watters on Friday. “Jesse it’s embarrassing. I mean, I guess fake it till you make it. I mean, I think a lot of them right now have kind of lost their minds,” the veteran strategist said. “They’re trying to kind of out-Trump, Trump. They’re not being who they are, right? Trump is an authentic street fighter — like it comes natural to him to do the taunts to try to get in people’s heads. We need to go back to just like the basics here.”
Beyond the behavior of Democratic lawmakers during the speech, Turrentine also criticized a peculiar series of TikTok videos released by lawmakers earlier this week. Dozens of Democrats posted nearly identical videos, repeating the same scripted lines—a trend that quickly caught the attention of political pundits and analysts. “They more sound like sophomores with a TikTok account at this point. So I think the problem is there is no leader at this point, Jesse,” Turrentine went on to argue. “Hakeem Jeffries clearly is not Nancy Pelosi.”
WATCH: Fox’s @JoeConchaTV thinks Democrats “should have a new rule going forward: ‘No More Singing’. This ain’t 1960 any more! The problem for them is that they have ceded the common sense block of voters – a massive amount of voters.”
Former Dem advisor @danturrentine adds: “A… pic.twitter.com/gyzc71Ukgn
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) March 8, 2025
Turrentine’s blunt assessment comes as the Democratic Party’s favorability ratings continue to decline. A recent Quinnipiac poll found that only 31% of Americans have a favorable view of the party, while a staggering 57% hold an unfavorable opinion.