John Kiriakou offered a 2025 snapshot of Democratic Party weakness across several fronts. He cited a poll putting the party’s approval rating at 24% — the lowest ever recorded, he notes, since the Democratic Party’s founding in 1820 and since public-opinion polling began in 1890.[1]
On a government funding standoff, Kiriakou describes seven Senate Democrats joining Republicans for a total of 64 votes to pass a six-month spending bill after President Trump refused to negotiate and effectively dared Democrats to force a shutdown; Democrats received no concessions in return.[2]
Kiriakou also flags California Governor Gavin Newsom’s decision to deny parole to a large group of long-incarcerated, parole-eligible inmates — some who had served 20, 30, or 40 years — as a striking break from typical progressive positioning. He reads it as evidence that Newsom, widely seen as eyeing a future presidential run, is “playing the long game” politically.[3]