DNC chair says he’s tired of Democrats bringing ‘pencil to a knife fight’

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin says President Trump is a “dictator-in-chief” whose agenda is “fascism dressed in a red tie” and his party must fight back against his policies.

“Now look, folks, I’m sick and tired of this Democratic party bringing a pencil to a knife fight,” Martin said. “We cannot be the only party that plays by the rules anymore. We’ve got to stand up and fight. We’re not going to have a hand tied behind our back anymore.”

Speaking during the first session of the DNC’s summer meeting in Minneapolis on Monday, Martin said the Democratic Party has to stop trying to win arguments over policy and politics and do more to win future elections.

“You know what winning the argument gets you? A nice round of applause and a few likes on Instagram,” Martin said. “But the reality is it doesn’t make life any better for any person. We have to stop settling

on winning arguments with each other. We have to win elections.”

Six months into his job as DNC chair, Martin has served as an unassuming figurehead atop a Democratic Party that is unpopular with voters and largely without power in Washington and in many states across the country.

The former Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chair has emphasized sending resources and attention to state and local parties and has largely operated behind the scenes and outside of the spotlight.

Monday’s general session saw Martin and other Democrats take a more aggressive and provocative tack in responding to Trump’s policies, including the DNC chair calling the president an “orange bastard” before introducing Oakland, Calif., Mayor Barbara Lee.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said if the country elected him and his 2024 running mate, former presidential nominee Kamala Harris, “we wouldn’t wake up every day to a bunch of s*** on TV and a bunch of nonsense” and touted his state’s work on things like free school lunch.

Texas House Minority Leader Rep. Gene Wu talked about his caucus’ efforts to delay passage of the redrawn congressional maps designed to give Republicans more seats and how the DNC was instrumental in supporting those efforts.

Wu said that the experience showed him that Democrats are “igniting the hearts of Americans” with their message. “We’re being asked by our followers, we are asked by our supporters, we’re asked by our donors, we’re asked by our advocates, what are you doing?” Wu said. “What are you going to do to resist? What are you going to do to stand up? What are you going to do to fight for our nation? And what we have to tell them is we’re going to do everything. We’re going to do everything that we can because it doesn’t have to just come from us, it can come from others.”

Democrats face an uphill battle to gain more power in Washington during the 2026 midterm elections, including a tough Senate map with fiercely contested races expected in Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina.