The day after President Trump delivered the State of the Union to Congress and celebrated the successes of the country – to the thunderous applause of Republicans and the thunderously angry faces of Democrats – lawmakers from the Democrat Party convened in Leesburg, Virginia, for their annual three-day policy conference.
And House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) was ready to take a victory lap, claiming the president had given a "disgraceful performance" the night before and Democrats would be cakewalking their way to victory in the November midterms.
“House Democrats are on the verge of a takeover. The break’s over for these MAGA extremists,” Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said at the leadership press conference kicking off the retreat. “It’s over because people know that Donald Trump and House Republicans have failed the American people.”
Jeffries continued, "We believe that the best is yet to come in this country, but it won't be delivered by Donald Trump and Republican sycophants in the House and in the Senate. It will come when Democrats take back control of the House, laying a foundation to end this national nightmare in the United States of America and continue our country's march toward a more perfect union."
Jeffries takes aim at Trump’s “so-called State of the Union,” calling it a “disgraceful performance”
— Max Cohen (@maxpcohen) February 25, 2026
Jeffries says it will be a sprint to Nov. 3, arguing Rs have failed at governing
“House Democrats are on the verge of a takeover. The break’s over for these MAGA extremists.” pic.twitter.com/UeK5t4Ott5
Minority Leader Jeffries might want to slow his roll just a bit when he learns that a voting bloc that has traditionally been a key constituency for Democrats is giving a long second look at President Trump and his policies. A new study released Thursday shows that black voters who had mobilized against Trump in 2020 have softened their stances, which could mean big trouble for Democrats as the midterm races heat up.
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The year-long study of black voters was conducted by a consortium of leftist organizations called the Black Opposition Project, which includes groups like Way to Win and the SEIU. The study's conclusion, according to lead researcher Terrance Woodbury, was this: "Black people are pissed off."
That may not mean good news for Democrats, Woodbury warned, saying, "But them being pissed off won’t result in mobilizing action now and potentially on Election Day, unless we connect the dots to what the federal government is doing and how it is hurting them personally."
Woodbury said the share of Black people who took concrete action to resist Trump — including voting, protesting or signing a petition — had dropped from 2020, from 34% to 28%. That drop was concentrated among younger Black men, he said, an alarming trend for a group that showed a small but significant shift toward Trump in 2024.
According to the research, 41% of this group (defined as Black men under 50) thought Trump’s policies had hurt them. That’s a much lower share than other groups of Black voters, including men over 50, 68% of whom said the president had negatively affected them.
Nearly one-in-five young Black voters, or 17%, said Trump’s policies had helped them, more than double any other group surveyed.
The key thing to look at here – and the good news for Republicans – is the margins. While overall support from black voters is still relatively small for the president and the GOP, they only need to chip away just enough of the voting bloc to make a significant difference at the ballot box. The fact that the pendulum of support may be swinging back to the right is very bad news, indeed, for Democrats.
Ultimately, the winner will be the party that best convinces voters that they have the right policies to address affordability. The fact that Democrats chose Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger – who's overseeing her party's attempts to tax Virginians into oblivion – to deliver their State of the Union rebuttal shows there's a serious and persistent tone-deafness on the left. Whether Republicans will be savvy enough to capitalize on that weakness is the lingering question.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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