How a Red-District Democrat Is Navigating Trump
About this episode
Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez explains how a Democrat survives — and thrives — in a district Donald Trump won. The Washington auto-shop owner argues Democrats need a positive economic agenda, not just opposition: her philosophy prizes durability over cheapness, domestic manufacturing, and the right to repair, including a bill requiring lifespan labels on appliances. She says tariffs raise prices on everything and critiques both Trump's dealmaking and her own party's EV tax credits as lacking pragmatism. On the Blue Dog revival, she preaches loyalty to soil and community over party agendas. She discusses immigration and fentanyl — due process for deportees, cartels and precursor chemicals, interdiction plus treatment — and closes with her creed: 'Being angry, being loud feels good. But is it productive?' Curiosity, humility, and relationships, she says, are the way out.