“They’ve got their heads in the sand and are absolutely committed to their own ideas, even when they’re failing,” said one focus group participant. Or, according to another, they are like koalas: “complacent and lazy about getting policy wins that we really need.”
Participants characterized the party as weak, overly focused on diversity and elites, and “not a friend of the working class anymore.” The nationwide poll also found that Trump’s approval rating is at its highest since he left office, at 47%.
While the research showed that the Democrats could capitalize on issues like abortion, health care, taxing the rich, and a fear that Trump may go too far on tariffs, it also indicates that the party has deeper perception issues that may take more than one election cycle to fix. Around the world, support for strongmen (or strongwomen – we see you, Giorgia Meloni) is surging, a current Trump has ridden back back into the White House. Democrats may struggle to make gains in the 2026 midterms if they can’t overcome their perceived weakness and other issues revealed in this research.
Two months into the Iran war, the shooting has stopped … for now. In Quick Take, Ian Bremmer explains that the fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran is holding, with both sides avoiding direct confrontation while continuing to apply pressure in other ways. The US blockade remains in place, and Iran is still disrupting key shipping routes, underscoring just how tenuous the situation really is.
The Iran war just proved Kim Jong Un right. His grandfather wanted the bomb, his father built it, and now the world has stopped pretending it can take it away. Ian Bremmer explains how North Korea got here, and what comes next.
At the 2026 World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings, CFA Institute former President and CEO Margaret Franklin joined GZERO’s Tony Maciulis to discuss how investors are adapting to a world where disruption has become the baseline.