Liberal NYT columnist Ezra Klein declares Trump ‘vibe shift’ dead

Liberal New York Times columnist Ezra Klein declared in an op-ed published Sunday that the “weather shift” against President Donald Trump is “dead” and said Democrats could start winning the “battles for attention.”

“Trump’s shift in mood is over. And there are already glimmers of what will follow.” he wrote. “A year ago we were hearing that Trump was now calm. Does anyone say that now?”

Klein wrote in a January column that Trump’s cultural victory had overshadowed his political victory, and noted the president’s social media success in the 2024 campaign. “I suspect we are at or near the peak of Trump excitement,” he wrote at the time.

In his Sunday column, Klein noted Trump’s decline in popularity due to economic concerns and Democrats’ victories in several off-year elections.

WHILE TRUMP FALLS AND DEMOCRATS RISE, REPUBLICAN POPULISM Craters

New Jersey Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill, Virginia Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger, and Democratic socialist New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani won elections in November focused on economic anxiety and affordability. They were all favored to win their races in blue-leaning states and districts, but Democrats’ victories across the country still stunned Republicans.

“Now Trumpism is disappointing both voters and sentiment. It’s disappointing voters in the most obvious ways: Trump ran for office promising lower prices. But he’s also implemented policies (tariffs and deportations) that raise prices by increasing the cost of goods and labor. Nor has Trump tried to convince Americans that they need to put up with higher prices to subsidize domestic production or raise native-born wages or isolate China,” Klein said. he wrote.

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a rally with Harris County Democrats at the IBEW local 716 union hall on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Houston. (Karen Warren/AP Photo)

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Klein argued that Trump was lying to voters and expressed hope that Democrats could start winning the “battles for attention.”

“A year ago, Democrats understood MSNBC and The Washington Post but seemed overwhelmed by YouTube and TikTok. But younger, less cautious Democrats — Zohran Mamdani of New York City, James Talarico of Texas, Gavin Newsom of California — are showing Democrats can win the attention wars,” he wrote.

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One during a flight from Andrews Joint Base to Avoca, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)

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He noted California Governor Gavin Newsom’s podcast conversations last year with unexpected guests like Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk.

Klein concluded: “The political response always looks for a force against the current regime. The closed and tyrannical ones are on the way out. I think what comes next will present itself as open, friendly, and assertively moral. But it will also have to convincingly present what Trump and Trumpism cannot: real solutions to the problems Americans face.”