72% of Democrats Back a Harder Line Against Trump, Poll Finds

Only 28% of Democratic respondents backed a so-called moderate approach. Among all respondents, 53% favored politicians willing to work with Trump, a figure two percentage points lower than in the March Harvard-Harris survey.

The findings came as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., joined Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., at a rally in Nampa, Idaho. They criticized congressional insider trading, billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, and called for government-run healthcare. The source says federal job and spending cuts have affected Idaho’s recreation industry and veterans’ healthcare.

Ocasio-Cortez told the crowd, “We’re here to flip this state,” adding that people from different places shared many experiences. Sanders said, “We don’t accept this blue state, red state nonsense. We are one people.” The Ford Idaho Center crowd numbered 12,500, its full capacity, according to the venue’s general manager.

The tour began in Nebraska in February and has drawn more than 20,000 people to Salt Lake City, including 4,000 in an overflow area. About 30,000 attended a Denver rally last month, following a gathering of 10,000 in Greeley; thousands also turned out in Nebraska, Iowa and Michigan.

The rallies have contrasted with the approach of Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. Schumer backed a Republican spending bill that increased military spending and cut nondefense spending by $13 billion, saying his vote was needed to avert a shutdown. Jeffries has criticized advocacy groups including MoveOn and Indivisible, which have urged Democrats to challenge Trump more forcefully.

Basil Smikle, a former executive director of the New York State Democratic Party, told The Hill that Ocasio-Cortez “represents the next generation of Democratic politics.” Separately, a Data for Progress survey found she led Schumer by 19 points in a hypothetical 2028 New York Senate primary, with 55% saying they would support her.

In an Echelon Insights poll on possible 2028 Democratic presidential nominees, former Vice President Kamala Harris led with 28%, down from 33% in March. Sen. Cory Booker had 11%; former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Ocasio-Cortez each had 7%. Ocasio-Cortez was ahead of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.