Neera Tanden on the difference with Trump 2.0: “Trump number two is far scarier. All of the consequences are more grave. The genuinely scary thing to me is how many independent institutions are bending the knee, and nobody really did that before.”
— The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) April 14, 2025 at 5:00 PM
NEERA TANDEN’S LIFE TODAY looks eerily similar to how it did eight years ago: Donald Trump is president, Republicans control Congress, and she is leading one of the most influential institutions in Democratic politics, the Center for American Progress.
Except, of course, nothing is quite the same.
As Tanden sees it, everything is a lot more terrifying. Independent institutions like universities and law firms are bending the knee to Trump in ways that never happened the first go-round; there aren’t any Republican officials willing to stand up to the president like Sen. John McCain did; and the Democratic party’s brand, she believes, is in even more trouble now.
Tanden, who served in senior roles in the Biden administration, including as the director of the Domestic Policy Council, has at times been a divisive figure in her own party, primarily for her pugnacious posts on social media and willingness to scrap with progressives. After grueling confirmation hearings, then-West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin tanked Tanden’s 2021 nomination to lead Biden’s Office of Management and Budget over her social media posts.
Yet four years later, Tanden’s give-no-fucks attitude seems to be what Democratic voters are craving. After staying quiet online during her White House tenure, she is roaring again, earning adoration from some members of the party for viral blowups on CNN with Republican strategist Scott Jennings and for calling out members of her own party—whether it be Sen. Chuck Schumer for his handling of budget negotiations or Doug Emhoff for not quitting his law firm after it struck a deal with the Trump administration…
I sat down with Tanden last week to get a better understanding of how she views the state of the Democratic party and the role she and CAP are trying to play as the party regroups from 2024. That conversation, which has been lightly edited for length and clarity, is below.
LAUREN EGAN: How are you thinking about this moment for the Democratic party?
NEERA TANDEN: I think it’s an existential moment for both the party and the country. In my optimistic moments, I think Trump is over-reading his mandate. I think the opportunity is there [for Democrats] to capture a broad swath of the country. It just requires us to offer an alternative…
EGAN: Democratic voters want the party to “fight” right now. What does that mean to you?
TANDEN: I think people confuse ideology and approach. When people are scared, they want protection and they look to leaders to protect them.
If you walk around saying ‘Donald Trump is an existential threat, and I’m gonna fight tooth and nail to stop him’ then people are gonna expect you to do that. It’s a little hard to understand that you’re at a rally saying ‘Donald Trump is an existential threat and I gotta do everything I can as a leader,’ and then two weeks later hand over your votes for a concurrent resolution on the budget.
I think one of the grave mistakes some of our congressional leaders make is to think that we’re dealing with normal politics. I don’t think we’re dealing with normal politics…
TANDEN: The thing that Trump has—although I think he’s a megalomaniac, narcissistic fascist—people think he means [what he says] because no sane person would say it otherwise. There’s no political handler.
I obviously think he’s awful in every way. But I think that one of the things to learn from it is that people want some level of deep candor.
EGAN: It seems like there’s a fear within the party about saying the wrong thing and getting roasted online. And it’s made officials less willing to be themselves.
TANDEN: When you’re in opposition, your job is to add people to your coalition, not subtract them. This effort at purity-testing people—I think that’s unhealthy to learning. You have to learn from what your opposition thinks or what people in the middle think. It actually makes you worse at your job if you think everyone who disagrees with you is some kind of bad person.
Donald Trump is a monster, but it’s important for me to understand what the impulse is behind his policies so that we can counter that…
The only cabinet position of Biden’s that republicans successfully blocked was Neera Tanden because Bernie Sanders sided with republicans
— This Machine Kills Malarkey (@lavendesic.bsky.social) April 4, 2025 at 7:51 AM
The Audacity of Krope
Note: certain thoughts, if acted upon, do make you a bad person.
craigie
What was Bernie’s objection to her?
kindness
Neera Tandem may be divisive in Democratic politics. Easy to do now days. I just prefer the heat of arguing differences be saved Republicans who are the ones actually threatening us all. No reason to beat ourselves up just to watch them win.
Another Scott
@craigie: She said some “mean” things in a blog post or few.
IIRC.
Water under the bridge.
Forward!!
Best wishes,
Scott.
The Audacity of Krope
@kindness: Eh, some Democrats are coming with “we’ll beat up some of you but not as many as the Republicans.” Not a compelling argument.
Gavin Newsom, in particular, can go to hell with his arguments we’re wasting our time on due process and commiserating with Republicans how it just isn’t fair to allow trans women to compete in sports.
FTR; if your strongest opinion about trans people involves women’s sports and your strongest opinion about women’s sports involves trans people, you don’t care about either but do care about controlling people.
Anne Laurie
She said nasty (much-deserved) things about particular Repubs, which proved she was not only ‘partisan’ but…. untrustworthy.
Baud
People want to be lied to in a style that doesn’t make it seem like they’re being lied to.
The Audacity of Krope
@Anne Laurie: Comity is a nasty, brutal weapon when one wants to employ it that way.
Baud
I don’t think the she was up for was a cabinet position.
The Audacity of Krope
Lies that they already believe. Conventional wisdom shibboleths that counter-intuitively prove one’s free-thinking bona fides.
HopefullyNotcassandra
“This machine kills” got our current history wrong. We just lived through this one folks!
That is right. Joe Manchin blocked Joe Biden’s appointment of Neera Tandan to OPM.
Senator Sanders did criticize Neera Tandan. Nonetheless, he took “no position” on her nomination.
schrodingers_cat
@Anne Laurie: She would also go toe to toe with BS bros and sisters on Twitter. If you are not white you last in the Bernieverse only if you are a Gungadin
schrodingers_cat
@HopefullyNotcassandra: Manchin and Sanders together killed her nomination. BS was the committee chair.
HopefullyNotcassandra
@Baud: She was up for the Office of Personnel Management, the place we now have the whited sepulcher named Russ Vought.
Baud
@HopefullyNotcassandra:
Office of Management and Budget
Important post, but I don’t think it’s technically part of the cabinet. But too lazy to look it up.
Baud
@The Audacity of Krope:
Agreed.
HopefullyNotcassandra
@schrodingers_cat: Senator Sanders took no position that is true.
Senator Manchin worked to convince the semi-sane gop caucus to spike her nomination. So, there was no chance of Senators Romney or Collin’s voting for her. Senator Sanders had no sway with that crowd. Senator Murkowski said she was never asked, which is a pity if she could have been a yes.
We just lived through this. Senator Sanders and Senator Manchin were never the two amigos.
Ken B
One thing I’ve been starting to think is that it might be a good thing that Columbia and some of the white shoe law firms folded, so long as others stood tall.
Because the places that folded got nothing for it. Trump just keeps upping his demands. Others that are faced with the choice to fight or surrender should see that surrendering gets you nothing, that it costs you, because Trump isn’t interested in making deals, he wants dominance.
So there’s no reason to fold. Better to fight back.
HopefullyNotcassandra
@Baud: independent agency, Human Resources. I think you are right that it is not a cabinet position.
matt
@craigie: Probably because she was on HIllary Clinton’s campaign team. Here’s something: In 2016, blogger Matt Bruenig, a supporter of Bernie Sanders, was fired from the think tank Demos after tweets that called Tanden and Joan Walsh “geriatrics” and Tanden a “scumbag”. Demos cited a past pattern of “online harassment of people with whom he disagrees” as the reason for his dismissal, but some commentators suggested Tanden was involved in his firing, allegations she denied.[30][31][32][33
I think this shows that Tanden was particularly targeted by the Sanders folks, and as they say the cossacks work for the czar.
Wapiti
then-West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin tanked Tanden’s 2021 nomination to lead Biden’s Office of Management and Budget over her social media posts
iirc, Tanden had used social media to call out Manchin’s daughter, Heather Bresch, then CEO of Mylan, for Mylan jacking up the price of epipens.
Baud
@Ken B:
Good point.
HopefullyNotcassandra
@Wapiti: that I remember in living color.
Rusty
@Ken B: When your every word is a lie, then their can’t be any trust in a deal. Nothing is done in good faith. There are still lots of folks that need to figure this out.
p.a.
Fascism can be difficult to define in particulars, but in overarching features that is one of the bullet points.
mrmoshpotato
@Ken B:
So are you for fighting or folding?
BellyCat
Good reminder about who Bernie really is beneath the progressive veneer.
BellyCat
@BellyCat: while I see now that it was Manchin who blocked her nomination, Bernie at least could’ve taken a supportive position. At least he’s being vocal about protest now.
different-church-lady
Trump: his first time was for kicks. This time is for revenge. That’s the difference.
schrodingers_cat
@HopefullyNotcassandra: Believe whatever you want he was chair of the committe that oversaw the nomination. The buck stops with him. Whatever his official position to give him plausible deniability
I get it, Bernie is never wrong he can only be wronged
Matt McIrvin
@craigie: Neera Tanden was a friend and associate of Hillary Clinton–I remember that being the main reason the Bernie left hated her. They saw her as part of Clintonworld.
different-church-lady
@Ken B:
Apparently the people who run Columbia never got bullied on a playground.
different-church-lady
GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR… the Pope is dead, yet in the mind of the WaPo’s editors it’s still all about Trump at the funeral. He’s like a fuckin’ brain eating virus.
lowtechcyclist
@schrodingers_cat:
Maybe you should read up on the difference between the executive and legislative branches, and why “the buck stops here” isn’t generally an applicable phrase with respect to the latter.
The Audacity of Krope
Maybe they appreciated the help bullying their students, taking their place as the primary bully’s loyal hench-institution.
Ken B
@mrmoshpotato: Fighting.
I’m hoping some people on the fence will draw the right conclusions.
The Audacity of Krope
@Ken B: There’s a reason people still talk about Neville Chamberlain and it pretty much comes down to one decision in his entire career.
Indycat32
@different-church-lady: Did he make that stupid thumbs up gesture in front of the casket?
Harrison Wesley
@Indycat32: I think he was respectful enough to just do the accordion hands thing.
The Audacity of Krope
@Indycat32: You mean the one that has the vibe of old-timey advertising campaign?
schrodingers_cat
@Matt McIrvin: She was an uppity woman. How dare she stand up for herself when Berners bullied her online.
schrodingers_cat
@different-church-lady: He is their orange golden goose.
NotMax
@Indycat32
“When do we sing YMCA in unison?”
//
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
Yes
Matt McIrvin
@The Audacity of Krope: Ayyy! Sit on it, Potsie!
The Audacity of Krope
@Matt McIrvin: Fonzie deserves better than to be associated with Trump by extension of his preferred gesture.
zhena gogolia
@Baud: I agree.
HopefullyNotcassandra
@schrodingers_cat: I am neither now, nor ever have been a supporter of Senator Sanders for president. I just learned how to properly spell his name last month.
I just watch(ed). I like to watch (?) The direct reference there to Being There may be intentional.
That Senator Sanders chaired that committee might tell one something quite different. Seems doubtful President Biden would have nominated someone he knew was opposed by Senator Sanders.
My clear recollection of responsibility (proudly accepted) for this blocked nomination is the GOP managed it with a healthy assist from Joe Manchin. Thou shall not win a debate snarkily against any Republican elected was the lesson those folks were trying to enforce against everyone, everywhere, all at once.
Why you and I should be tussling about that nonsense, with which we both vehemently disagree, yes?, I have no notion.
However, if you can find a reputable source contradicting my memory of this shameful moment in our current affairs, I will not hold it against you. I might hold it against my memory, though.
HopefullyNotcassandra
@Indycat32: oh, I do hope not!
RevRick
@Baud: IIt’s Cabinet level and therefore requires Senate confirmation
WaterGirl
@RevRick: Thanks for that bit of info. I kind of remembered that but wasn’t sure enough to write that.
Mai Naem mobile
I don’t remember Bernie being involved. I remember it being Manchin. l’ve thought for a while Joe Manchin is racist towards South Asians. He also opposed the nomination of a judge of South Asian descent for no legit reason. I vaguely remember another low level position that a South Asian was nominated for who he also didn’t support.
Matt
Shorter Neera Tanden: Fascism is bad, but the real threat is people to my left. Also, boot leather is delicious!
Pathetic.
Soprano2
@Baud: People want you to say that the things they believe are true, and if that means lying that’s ok with them. The hardest thing to teach about fact vs opinion is that just because you believe something is true doesn’t mean it’s a fact.
MN Grubert
I am about as non-flamey on Blue Sky as anyone can be.. my worst sin is to ask questions.
I’ve been blocked by “This Machine Kills Malarkey,” and have no idea why.
looking from the outside, seems pretty hyperbolic.. I don’t think I ever interacted with this individual
Addendum: I see a bit below the fold, TMKM sez “beware of Hogg bots.” Yeah, I was saying a lot of young people support what Hogg is doing.. and said it twice. Guess TMKM felt that was some kind of trolling.
It was on a thread by “Ragnarok Lobster,” who is very flamey.. also got blocked by him/her.