Senate Democrats released a video on Thursday outlining their priorities ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. The video featured Senate Democrats speaking directly to the camera, promising to work with anyone who would make life better for Americans but vowing to oppose Trump and Republicans if they “do things to hurt” Americans.
However, the video was met with widespread criticism on social media, with many calling it “out of touch” and “cringe-worthy.” Some of the negative reactions came from conservatives, but also from progressives who felt that the video did not effectively communicate the Democratic message.
Several Democratic senators who are from close states or are up for re-election were noticeably absent from the video, including Sens. John Fetterman, Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan, Ruben Gallego, Mark Kelly, Jon Ossoff, Gary Peters, and Chris Murphy.
Despite the backlash, some supporters of the video emerged, including a progressive commentator who praised the effort and encouraged the Democratic Party to make more videos like it.