WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Senate Majority Leader John Thune laid out what many conservatives have been thinking for months: the Democrat Party is falling apart, gripped by a full-blown identity crisis and a dangerous obsession with former President Donald Trump.
“They are a hot mess,” Thune said bluntly in a sit-down conversation filmed inside the historic Strom Thurmond Room of the U.S. Capitol. His comments didn’t hold back, painting a picture of a Democrat Party that has veered so far left, it’s become unrecognizable to average Americans.
“They are really floundering right now and struggling to find an identity,” Thune explained. “I think that the base of their party demands complete fealty to their positions. Their positions are so far left of the American mainstream.”
Thune pointed to the Democrat Party’s increasing embrace of radical ideas that many Americans find not just extreme, but outright nonsensical. He highlighted issues like biological males competing in girls’ sports as just one example of how out-of-touch Democrat leaders have become.
“I think the Republican Party now, we kind of have the mantle of common sense,” Thune said. “People are looking at us and saying, okay, you at least don’t think biological boys ought to be competing against girls in girls’ sports.”
He continued, “There are just issues like that where the Democrats have staked out a position that makes them not a viable alternative for most Americans. We just need to make sure we deliver on the things we committed to and promised the American people.”
The Republican senator’s remarks come at a time when multiple high-ranking Democrat senators have announced they will not be seeking reelection in 2026. That list includes Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, as well as Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Gary Peters (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Michael Bennet (D-CO).
That’s not just a coincidence—it’s a red flag.
“They’ve given us some opportunities,” Thune noted. “That’s why failure is not an option. We have to get done what we said we would do and deliver on the agenda and work with President Trump and our counterparts in the House.”
Thune believes Democrats are jumping ship out of sheer frustration—not just with their leadership, but with the direction their party is heading.
“Honestly, I can’t blame them,” he said. “The majorities they’ve had for the last few years, especially the last couple years, didn’t do anything in the Senate. I think there’s a high level of frustration on their side. They don’t feel led.”
The Republicans, on the other hand, Thune says, have a clear vision and a real opportunity to take the fight to even traditionally blue states—especially as the far-left “Bernie wing” continues to dominate the Democrat Party’s platform.
“That presents all kinds of problems for them electorally down the road,” Thune warned. “It’s going to be very hard for them to appeal to the middle of the electorate—to independent voters and even moderate Democrats—because this is a party that’s been taken over by the far-left progressive wing.”
At the heart of it all, according to Thune, is one driving force behind the Democrats’ actions: an unshakable, irrational obsession with Donald Trump.
“I think that is the only thing they have going for them,” he said. “It really is nothing more, nothing less, nothing else than Trump Derangement Syndrome that’s animating a lot of that behavior.”
From impassioned speeches to late-night filibusters, Thune says Democrat senators are still raging over Trump’s decisive 2024 victory.
“They are filled with anger. They can’t believe—they are still overcoming the disappointment of having gotten clobbered in the 2024 election,” he explained.
Just recently, Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) introduced articles of impeachment against President Trump—again. It’s an effort Thune sees as proof that Democrats have nothing to offer voters except more political theater.
“If we don’t hang on to the House in 2026, the chief objective of the Democrats obviously is going to be to try to impeach him again,” Thune warned.
He continued, “You have started seeing some of these crazy statements about that out there already among Democrats, and it’s almost like they are in a competition to see who can make the most extreme, crazy public statement.”
In Thune’s view, Democrats have abandoned any pretense of governing. Their agenda is no longer about helping working families, securing the border, lowering prices, or defending American values.
“It’s unfortunate. It’s good for us, obviously, but they do not present a viable alternative for the American people right now because their agenda is so absent anything that resembles common sense and what is clear to most Americans.”
For Thune and Republicans, the path forward is clear: get results, follow through on promises, and keep working with President Trump to deliver for the American people.
“If we deliver on our agenda, and working with the president, I believe we’re going to be really well-positioned come the 2026 elections,” he said. “We need to hang onto the House and onto the Senate.”
He emphasized that Republican leadership must remain focused on real issues that matter to Americans—from inflation to parental rights to border security—while Democrats continue to spiral into chaos.
“It’s vital for us as Republicans, as I said before, to demonstrate that we will follow through on the things that we committed to do,” Thune concluded.
