Status, Dire: Checking in with the Democratic Party
June 11, 2025.png)
Key Takeaways
- Biden’s autopen controversy and former Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s decision to leave the Democratic Party symbolize a leaderless and performative left wing.
- Celebrity surrogates like George Clooney highlight the Democrats’ reliance on cultural elites rather than authentic voter connection.
- Without a credible successor or coherent vision, public sentiment suggests the Democratic Party is drifting toward political irrelevance.
Our Methodology
Demographics
All Voters
Sample Size
5,500
Geographical Breakdown
National
Time Period
2 Days
MIG Reports leverages EyesOver technology, employing Advanced AI for precise analysis. This ensures unparalleled precision, setting a new standard. Find out more about the unique data pull for this article.
The Democratic Party post-2024 is battered, fragmented, and struggling to find narrative control. After a decisive loss in the presidential election and significant erosion across key swing states, Democrats now face a serious credibility crisis. Voter trust is collapsing, the leadership bench appears hollow, and symbolic figures once propped up as cultural assets now stand exposed or irrelevant.
The party that once campaigned on restoring norms has become a study in contradictions. Democrats are trapped in a cycle of performance politics disconnected from voter sentiment. The base feels abandoned. Independents, particularly those who defected to Trump in 2024, express disdain for Democrats' failure to articulate any cohesive vision, even as internal fractures grow.
Biden’s Autopen and Absent Leadership
Joe Biden’s notorious use of the autopen during his presidency has become symbolic of the lack of clear leadership among Democrats. In prior administrations, the autopen drew little attention. Under Biden, it has become a viral flashpoint, which voters see as evidence of absentee governance.
BREAKING 🚨 Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt just confirmed Trumps DOJ is investigating the autopen
— MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) June 3, 2025
TICK TOCK… all of those Autopen Pardons will be null and VOID
pic.twitter.com/Y8rSfPNI12
A recurring narrative online suggests Biden was “replaced” in 2020 by a cabal of unelected shadow figures. Many say he served only as a ceremonial figurehead while far leftist activists governed behind the scenes.
This sentiment is amplified by recent media and Democratic revelations about Joe Biden’s mental health. Particularly in tell-all books by people like Jake Tapper and Karine Jean-Pierre.
- 60% of discussions related to Biden's autopen express negative sentiment.
- 25% include conspiracy framings (e.g. body double, AI control, secret cabinet governance).
- There is a crossover with Independents who don’t embrace full conspiracies, but question Biden’s autonomy.
- Recurring language includes “ghost presidency,” “phantom executive,” “rubber stamp government.”
Online discussion portrays Biden as passive, silent, and shielded. People say he was incapable of managing the burdens of office. Critics on both the right and the center-left argue using the autopen distances Biden from responsibility, particularly on executive orders involving contentious issues like immigration, economic regulation, and military deployments.
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Karine Jean-Pierre and the Optics of Failure
Karine Jean-Pierre’s new book, along with the attempt to rebrand herself as politically independent, lands with a thud. The former Biden Press Secretary, Jean-Pierre now exits the party with little credibility and waning support. Online, the response is dismissive at best, derisive at worst.
COVERUP: Karine Jean-Pierre, Biden’s former White House Press Secretary has left the Democrat Party to publish her tell-all book about the president. She was a central figure responsible for defrauding the US government and the American people.
— @amuse (@amuse) June 4, 2025
pic.twitter.com/HcD6nfvGjn
The public doesn’t see Jean-Pierre as a figure with convictions. They see her as a mouthpiece—an extension of an administration known for scripted evasion and pre-approved talking points. Many mock her book title as unintentionally ironic. The idea that someone who spent years delivering White House talking points without deviation could now claim “independence” reads as a late-stage career maneuver, not a meaningful shift.
- Less than 1% of online discussions mention Jean-Pierre’s memoir or her political defection.
- Tone is overwhelmingly sarcastic with jokes that she’s “independent of facts,” “independent of follow-up questions,” or “independent of relevance.”
- Disengagement is the key theme as voters say her role never felt substantive to begin with.
Critics view Jean-Pierre as a failed operative and a case study in the hollow identity politics that have come to define the Democratic apparatus. Her appointment was framed as historic—first Black, openly gay woman to serve as press secretary—but her performance reinforced a perception that the administration was more invested in symbolism than effectiveness. Voters critique her by citing dodged questions, fumbled names, or cited briefing notes for basic queries.
Even Democratic loyalists aren’t speaking of Jean-Pierre’s departure as a betrayal. They view it as inconsequential. Her fade into obscurity reflects a broader collapse in confidence toward party figures.
George Clooney and the Cultural Delusion
Recent comments from George Clooney are also adding to the deluge of criticism toward Democrats. His assertion that “Trumpism” will die with the end of Trump’s second administration is circulated widely among Democratic influencers and media personalities. But outside of leftist enclaves, the comment lands flat. To most voters, Clooney is a celebrity with waning clout—the same criticism he launches at Trump.
NEW: George Clooney claims MAGA is dead after Trump finishes this term.
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) June 5, 2025
ANDERSON COOPER: “Do you think Trumpism lasts beyond this term?”
CLOONEY: “Don’t think so. I think it’d be very hard to do it.”
Clooney then put on his “expert” hat to explain why he thinks that is:
“He… pic.twitter.com/F35uso4HxW
The response to Clooney’s remark illustrates the broader issue that Democrats lean too heavily on celebrity figures to define their political messaging, especially in moments of defeat. Clooney’s statement further confirms, for many, the loss of cultural power among the celebrity and political classes.
- Liberal audiences treat Clooney’s claim as hopeful and emboldening.
- Conservatives and Independents react with ridicule, often using Clooney’s statement to mock elite detachment.
- Comments include things like, “If Clooney says it, it must be false” or “Hollywood is the DNC’s last line of defense.”
Rather than reassess why their coalition is shrinking, Democrats elevate symbolic gestures that resonate only in safe cultural spaces. In that context, many see Clooney as narrating a fantasy.
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Democratic Voter Sentiment on Future Leadership
Significant cultural and narrative failures by the media and Democrats are causing growing concern for Democratic voters. Many point out infighting or the breakdown of unity in things like Jean-Pierre's book. They also say Democrats have failed to produce a single breakout figure capable of restoring trust, commanding attention, or articulating a post-Biden vision.
Voters across the spectrum, including disaffected Democrats, Independents, and younger progressives, are expressing frustration at the party’s lack of direction. The absence of any coherent succession plan only amplifies concerns that the party is relying on inertia to carry itself to a future victory.
- Kamala Harris remains deeply unpopular and is rarely invoked in positive terms. Her visibility has decreased, reaching an average of less than 500 mentions in MIG Reports data over the last 30 days.
- Gavin Newsom and Pete Buttigieg receive occasional speculation, but with no enthusiastic base. They're seen more as media constructs than organic leaders.
- Some mention AOC, but there is not enough momentum to bring hope to the party writ large.
- Independent and swing voters see the party’s leadership apparatus as lifeless—more interested in managing decline than winning hearts.
Instead of an internal reckoning, the party projects manufactured enthusiasm. Voters suggest celebrity commentary fills the space where leadership should be. The sentiment is increasingly that political energy has shifted toward Trump’s movement. Even among younger liberals, attention is fragmented, with no figure commanding serious loyalty.
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Institutional Disintegration and Cultural Drift
The whole picture for the Democratic Party suggests structural freefall. Despite protests from partisan loyalists, this isn't a messaging problem. Democrats are suffering from a credibility collapse. Voters no longer see Democrats as capable of leading the country.
- Executive power is perceived as vacant. Biden’s autopen controversy serves to symbolize the view that Democrats no longer govern but submit to the hivemind.
- Communication is performative. Jean-Pierre, once touted as a historic press secretary, only serves to deepen skepticism of authenticity among leaders.
- Cultural proxies have replaced political leadership. Voters see Democrats' reliance on celebrity surrogates like Clooney as desperate, not inspiring.
- There is no future figure. Sentiment suggests voters are resigned to a sense that the party may not produce a credible successor by 2028.
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