During her town hall on Saturday, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) answered questions about Democratic messaging and pushback against the Trump Administration.
00:00Hi, everyone. Thanks for meeting me today. I have a really tough message. I want you to know how to come from a place of support and love. And I like the fire that I'm doing here, but I'm not getting that same fire from the party. And I am cut up and pissed off with what's going on in this country. And I know I'm not alone.
00:22You're not.
00:52And organizing into action. And now is the time to strike hard. I want you to attack constantly, every day, on every issue, every moment, at every level of government.
01:05Trump is unpopular, as you said, and we need to remind people that he's a weak, reined up. And he's only getting weaker. They fear him, but they need to be reminded that he is a weak, reined up, and that this era will come to an end at some point.
01:19I want you to use leverage and promise accountability. And this is really important. You mentioned that people fear businesses' appearance eating out because they fear Trump.
01:30Well, we need to remind them that there's accountability for accommodating him now. For these tech billionaires who are pouring money into Trump's pockets and then using his platforms to corruptly amplify his message,
01:43do they not understand that a future Democratic administration will control the FTC, will control the SEC, will review their mergers and acquisitions, control tax policy and the Department of Justice?
01:56They need to understand that. They need to understand that. Does this president of El Salvador not understand that the vast majority of Americans want to do that in this trial in a concentration camp,
02:08and that a future Democratic administration will control trading policies, can impose sanctions, can enforce the Mediancy Act, can freeze assets and add to the list of state sponsors of terrorism?
02:20He needs to understand that. He needs to understand that. These bureaucrats who are issuing illegal orders, these ICE agents making warrantless arrests, these pilots flying people in chains against court orders to other countries in the middle of the night,
02:36do they not understand that just following orders is not an excuse for their own illegal behavior?
02:42They need to understand that. They need to understand that. And the great thing is, you guys might not have a majority, but you can make them understand that at the end of this sad chapter, there is a reckoning coming.
02:55And they will be held accountable for their actions now. And the best part about that is that they know that that doubt is in the back of their mind.
03:04It might change their behavior now. And they might choose to do the right thing and remember their duty under the Constitution while there is still time.
03:13I urge you, urge you to make these consequences clear to the people who have power right now.
03:20Please show us that the Democratic Party can be tough and focused and determined and energetic, that you know how to drive a message, and that you know how to use leverage.
03:31Prove to us that we have the right team on the field, that you all understand the fight that we are in.
03:38And please recognize the righteous enemy that is out there, that is in this room, and represent it.
03:44Please, I urge you, thank you for your time.
03:52So, it's a really good speech, and it's really important. It's true. It's all true.
03:57Except this is probably the biggest fighter we have, so thank you.
04:01We are, look, I want to say, what you just said, I hear it every town hall.
04:07People want to see Democrats fighting back.
04:10I am going to tell you that I think we've got to be smart.
04:13I think he was creating absolute deliberate chaos.
04:17So people don't know where to look, they don't know where to focus on, and we've got to be smart, targeted, and effective.
04:23We've got to stand up strong when it matters.
04:26We are winning in the courts.
04:28You didn't ask me this question.
04:29I get this question, so if somebody has this in mind, I'll get ahead of it.
04:33What do you do if the president doesn't listen to the courts?
04:37And then what's going to happen?
04:38We've got to be prepared.
04:39We've got to be prepared for everything.
04:41Are you prepared?
04:42Let me tell you that we are having discussions should it happen.
04:47And I'm not going to discuss everything publicly.
04:50There's media here, and you've got to be smart, and you've got to be ready.
04:54But we are not being silent.
04:56One of the top constitutional scholars in the country, J.B. Raskin, mayor, has got the lead for us on the litigation side of it.
05:04And I've been, I'm not going to get into details here, but there are other things that are, we have something that will happen in the 6th District that will probably go to the Supreme Court.
05:17And got the top law firm in the country forum.
05:21And it's, you know, I'm not, if you really need the news, you might figure out what it is.
05:27But we are doing that.
05:29And I am, anybody invites me to a rally, I try to make it, even when there are 10 of them on the same day in the same three-hour period.
05:38I made seven of them.
05:39But that's part of it.
05:41It's part of speaking up.
05:42But you've got to be smart and effective at fighting back.
05:45There's some people who say Medicaid's going to be cut.
05:48And I'm like, like hell it is.
05:50And you've got to be ready to fight in the Congress, too, and go into those committees and get people online.
05:56And then take those amendments and hold people in their districts accountable about what the impact is going to be on them.
06:04And you get up every day and you say, how am I going to make a difference today?
06:09Where do you make it?
06:10And you do it.
06:11And we're not hiding.
06:12Your elected officials in this district are not hiding.
