# Democratic Party 2025 Political Snapshot

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "Democratic Party 2025 Political Snapshot," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/democratic-party-2025-approval-decline/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's 2025 assessment of Democratic Party weakness — a record-low 24% approval rating, seven Senate Democrats crossing over to hand Trump a spending-bill win with no concessions, and California governor Gavin Newsom's surprising denial of parole to a large group of long-incarcerated eligible inmates, which Kiriakou reads as Newsom "playing the long game."*

- **Approval rating cited:** 24% — the lowest ever recorded since the party's 1820 founding and since polling began in 1890
- **Shutdown vote:** 7 Senate Democrats joined Republicans for 64 votes, passing a 6-month spending bill with no Democratic concessions
- **Newsom parole denials:** Denied parole to a large group of long-incarcerated eligible inmates, a break from typical progressive positioning

[John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/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]

## Silence on Gaza, and the photographs

In October 2025 Kiriakou volunteered the party's conduct on Gaza as a separate failure from its lack of programme. *"I am colossally disappointed in the leadership of the Democratic Party. Some of them talk a good game. Most of them remain silent in the face of this genocide in Gaza. But then when [Netanyahu](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/benjamin-netanyahu) comes to the United States, they literally run. There are films of them running to the room where Netanyahu was appearing so they could take a picture with him. It makes me sick to my stomach to think of it."*[4]

He pairs the criticism with the electoral point he makes elsewhere: a party without *"a program or a policy or strategy"* had a direct stake in the silencing of the man recruiting young voters away from it.[5]

## See also

- [Kamala Harris](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/kamala-harris)
- [Joe Biden](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/joe-biden)
- [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)

## Sources

1. Ex-CIA Spy on Torture, Trump & How Australia's Intelligence Ran (2025-04-11), at 09:53. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQNedgdX0oM&t=593s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-04-11-the-clear-signal/
2. Ex-CIA Spy on Torture, Trump & How Australia's Intelligence Ran (2025-04-11), at 11:27. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQNedgdX0oM&t=687s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-04-11-the-clear-signal/
3. Ex-CIA Spy on Torture, Trump & How Australia's Intelligence Ran (2025-04-11), at 21:53. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQNedgdX0oM&t=1313s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-04-11-the-clear-signal/
4. Charlie Kirk's Story Crumbles — Iran (2025-10-11), at 33:37. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V5GlZ4IodQ&t=2017s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-10-11-dialogue-works-charlie-kirk-s-story-crumbles-iran/
5. Charlie Kirk's Story Crumbles — Iran (2025-10-11), at 09:14. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V5GlZ4IodQ&t=554s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-10-11-dialogue-works-charlie-kirk-s-story-crumbles-iran/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/democratic-party-2025-approval-decline/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt