Former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Wednesday that Democrats in Washington, D.C. appear to be more prepared to fight after President Donald Trump threw the government into disarray this week with an executive order that shut down Medicaid portals.
On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Inslee argued that Trump truly stepped in it when he issued a broad executive order freezing all government loans and grants.
In addition to causing significant backlash when vital services like Medicaid and Head Start appeared to be jeopardized, Trump’s actions appeared to shake Democrats out of the complacency that had plagued the party since Trump won the 2024 election.
“Now is the time to get up there on our hind legs and confront this guy every single place we can,” he told us. “And, honestly, my party has been a little too passive and quiet in this regard. I believe we have woken up in the last 24 hours.
You can hear Senator Patty Murray’s voice, who is fighting this. You are seeing our attorney general, who is the first in the country to obtain an injunction against this clearly unconstitutional effort to repeal birthright citizenship. I believe you are witnessing the awakening of a sleeping giant here, and we need to keep that giant active.”
Then Rev. Al Sharpton echoed Inslee’s sentiment, saying Democrats needed to give up on the idea of working constructively with Trump.
“I mean, does somebody have to slap you in the face before you realize that they are really wanting to fight?” he was asking. “You fight back and I think that we have got to wake up our base… in order to give them something to rally around.”
