Fighting fire with fire may deliver electoral wins, but risks hurting the party’s brand eventually, Chinese academic argues
2-MIN READ2-MINMeredith ChenPublished: 10:00pm, 2 May 2026The US Democrats have pursued “selective Trumpification” since losing power in 2024, but their strategy of borrowing from the president’s agenda and mimicking his abrasive style risks undermining their branding as guardians of American institutions, according to a Chinese academic.
Democrats were increasingly borrowing their opponents’ style and tactics, including strongman-style governance and economic nationalism, Gao argued in the CASS-sponsored journal Contemporary American Review.
Gao argued that this recalibration had been part of a broader effort to respond to the rise of right-wing populism.
The shift marked a break from the Democrats’ response to the 2016 election, which he described as “surface-level policy corrections”.
