There is optimism. “It’s looking pretty bleak for Democrats right now, but America goes through these cycles,” Mr. Bergmann said. In 1976, Ronald Reagan lost the primaries to incumbent president Gerald Ford, but four years later he returned with an overwhelming mandate that ushered in a new era of Right-wing politics that would dominate the electoral landscape for 12 years.

The certainty that Mr. Trump will have to resign within four years (he will serve two terms) and that his particular brand of populism cannot be transferred to Trump so easily favors the Democrats. heir apparent J.D. VanceHe may be smarter than Mr. Trump, but he lacks his humor and ability to connect with disenfranchised voters.

Meanwhile, state governors will use clashes with the new Trump administration as a platform to reshape the party and influence its support base. In Congress, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (assuming Republicans retain the House) will be front-runners, along with Chuck Schumer, who has now been demoted from Senate majority to minority leader.

There is already a backlash against pursuing a woke agenda. Matthew Yglesias, a political commentator and “critical friend” of the Democrats with more than half a million followers, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, a sort of manifesto for Democrats that includes an edict that the American government “must put interests first.” A warning that “American citizens” and “language policing alienates normal people and diminishes the quality of thinking.”

Progressive California congressman Ro Khanna has emerged as a possible future leader, calling for a new, younger generation to take charge. “I think there needs to be a cleaning of the house… There needs to be new thinking, new ideas, a new direction. “And you know, this order has created a disaster,” he said.

Lots of ‘introspection’

Congressman Shri Thanedar, whose district includes Detroit in Michigan, the lost state, said: “In the coming months, our party will do a lot of introspection, a lot of thinking. Democrats focused on Trump’s character. He has legal problems such as being a criminal. But most of the people who were suffering economically, who felt they were worse off economically, did not pay much attention to his character.”

The New York Times, quoting top party strategists and officials, “lamented that the Democratic Party brand has become toxic in many parts of the country.” pointed out that Nebraska The independent candidate for the Senate seat here polled 14 percentage points ahead of Ms. Harris.

Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton told the newspaper that it needed to distance itself from its own politics. Attitudes towards transgender issues. “Democrats spend too much time trying not to offend anyone, instead of being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face,” Mr. Moulton said. “I have two little girls, I don’t want them to get run over by kids on the playground.” “I’m a male or former male athlete, but as a Democrat, I shouldn’t be afraid to say that.”

Democrats will hope and pray that in four years they find a candidate (almost certainly Mr. Vance) who will lead the fight. They hope Barack Obama or Bill Clinton, both once-in-a-generation leaders, will emerge from this fight. There is already one of them: Michelle Obama, but she has so far refused to run. “What’s pretty clear is that he doesn’t want to be president or get involved in politics. But if he does, that’s a door that will be kept wide open for him,” one senior Democrat said.