The Democrat Party is panicking. They don’t know how to fix their major issues.
And a top Democrat is scared beyond belief thanks to this one Republican.
In a series of electrifying speeches this week, California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna has set his sights on Vice President JD Vance, positioning himself as a leading voice in the Democratic Party’s resistance to the Trump administration’s agenda.
With potential aspirations for a 2028 presidential run, Khanna is sharpening his critique of Vance, the presumed successor to President Donald Trump, in a calculated effort to redefine the Democratic narrative.
Khanna delivered his pointed remarks in two high-profile venues: Ohio, Vance’s home state, on Monday, and Yale Law School, where both men earned their degrees, on Tuesday. In these speeches, Khanna accused Vance of working to “win public adulation by stoking anger and treating legal limits as nuisances to be ignored.” His words were a direct challenge to Vance’s growing influence within the Republican Party.
The congressman zeroed in on a social media post by Vance from two months ago, where the vice president criticized federal judges for blocking Trump’s aggressive push to shrink the federal workforce. Vance claimed the judges were attempting to “control the executive’s legitimate power.”
Khanna seized on this, arguing in his Yale speech that “Vance says the president, elected by the people, should tell the court what the Constitution means, and if the court disagrees, let them try to enforce their ruling — that the president, as a co-equal, may simply ignore the court’s judgment of the law.”
Khanna also highlighted a controversial deportation case involving a Salvadoran citizen, allegedly an MS-13 gang member, who had lived in Maryland for 15 years. The Justice Department cited an “administrative error” in the deportation, but Vance’s response drew Khanna’s ire. “Let me say this as clearly as I can: JD Vance, your cold indifference to the lives of vulnerable immigrants betrays every principle that this law school was built to uphold,” Khanna declared. “Your affiliation with this law school is now a stain on the degree of every Yale graduate.”
Vance’s team brushed off the attacks with casual dismissal. A senior adviser, speaking to Fox News, called Khanna an “ankle biter” and yawned at the congressman’s remarks, suggesting they were little more than a nuisance.
Khanna followed his Yale speech with an economic address at the City Club of Cleveland, where he outlined his vision for America’s “new economic patriotism” in contrast to Vance’s leadership of the GOP. Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou fired back, labeling Khanna a “far-left socialist from one of the wealthiest and wokest congressional districts in America” and dismissing the speech as a “desperate plea for attention” from an out-of-touch elitist.
While many Democratic leaders have criticized Trump’s sweeping reforms and billionaire adviser Elon Musk’s role in dismantling federal bureaucracy, Khanna stands out for framing Vance as the Republican Party’s antagonist.
When asked if he was baiting Vance, Khanna told Fox News Digital, he’s “trolling all of us. He’s the one who has made the argument that the court should not be listened to.” He further condemned Vance’s “dangerous attacks on universities, the Supreme Court and the rule of law.”
Amid economic turbulence and a stock market dip tied to Trump’s global tariffs, Khanna suggested Vance’s path to the 2028 GOP nomination is far from secure. “Well, after the markets and the economy and the tariffs, I’m not sure he’s going to get the nomination. I think that others may emerge,” he speculated, positioning Vance as the intellectual architect of Trump’s MAGA philosophy.
When pressed on whether his attacks were a strategic move for 2028, Khanna deflected, saying, “What I’m doing is providing an intellectual foundation for the Democratic Party.” He stressed the need for a “rebrand” of the party with a forward-looking platform driven by new leaders.
Khanna has been tirelessly traveling the country, amplifying Democratic resistance to Trump’s policies and urging party leaders to speak out boldly. “If you’re not willing to speak up about someone being snatched away from their home and deported without due process, you probably shouldn’t be in elective office as a Democrat right now,” he stated.
Khanna praised recent efforts by Democratic colleagues, including Sen. Cory Booker’s marathon Senate speech and rallies led by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Looking to the 2026 midterms, he vowed to campaign aggressively in Republican-leaning districts, citing strong turnout at recent events and confidence in flipping the House.
Back in California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom is term-limited, Khanna endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris for a potential 2026 gubernatorial bid. “I think she would do well in California. She was attorney general. She was a district attorney. A lot of people care about public safety in California, we have to tackle building housing,” he said, noting her strong credentials and potential appeal.
As Khanna continues to challenge Vance and rally Democrats, his high-energy campaign signals a bold new chapter for the party.
But will this new chapter actually amount to any success for the Democrats? That still remains to be seen.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
