DNC Vice Chair Calls Trans-Identifying Male “One of Our Best Messengers”; Sen. Booker Appears to Give HEIL Salute to California Delegates; Walz: “Bully the Sh*t Out of Him Back” (Trump); “Nothing Moderate About Caving to Trump” (Susan Collins); MAGA Minute: Consumer Confidence Surges, $14B Steel Deal, Skittles Removes Titanium Dioxide

Several June 2025 Democratic moments exposed the party’s messaging failures. DNC Vice Chair praised a transgender-identifying male as “one of our party’s best messengers” for taking “complex issues to people who aren’t thinking about politics every single day.” Senator Cory Booker appeared to give what looked like a “Heil” salute to California Democratic Party delegates. Tim Walz called for aggressive Democratic response: “Maybe it’s time for us to be a little meaner. Maybe it’s time for us to be a little more fierce… When it’s an adult like Donald Trump, you bully the shit out of him back.” Walz on Republican moderates: “Here’s the thing that really gets me, the ones who’ve tricked the press into calling them moderates. You know they get Susan Collins on TV and she’s always deeply concerned about things. Well, do something then! There’s nothing moderate about caving to Donald Trump every single time.” The Press Secretary’s MAGA Minute covered the week: Consumer confidence surging (biggest monthly jump in 4 years), new home sales highest since 2022, majority believing country on right track for first time in Rasmussen polling history, Skittles agreeing to remove titanium dioxide, West Point commencement, $14 billion steel deal with 70,000 jobs.

The DNC Vice Chair’s Endorsement

The DNC Vice Chair had praised a transgender-identifying male interview subject.

“One of the reasons I was really excited to talk to you is that I think you’re one of our party’s best messengers in the way that you take issues that can and are complex to people who aren’t thinking about politics every single day.”

The statement was revealing:

• DNC official endorsing transgender speaker as “best messenger”
• Framing transgender identity as qualifying for enhanced messaging role
• Prioritizing identity over message effectiveness
• Confirming Democratic emphasis on gender identity politics
• Demonstrating continued focus on issues that had alienated voters

The Hygo framing captured the political response: “DNC Vice Chair says a man who thinks he is a woman is one of the Democrats’ ‘best messengers.’ HOLY CRAP! Was he in the closet this whole time?”

The Messaging Problem

The DNC’s celebration of transgender messengers illustrated ongoing Democratic strategic confusion:

2024 election evidence: Democratic losses had been driven partly by voter alienation over:

• Transgender participation in women’s sports
• Hormones and surgery for minors
• Male prisoners identifying as female
• Pronoun requirements
• K-12 gender identity curricula

The tone-deaf response: Rather than addressing voter concerns, Democrats were doubling down by:

• Promoting transgender messengers
• Continuing identity-focused politics
• Ignoring working-class voter concerns
• Maintaining alienating positions
• Celebrating the identity dimensions

The electoral consequences: Voters who had defected to Trump in 2024 showed no signs of returning. Continuing the identity politics emphasis ensured continued voter defection.

The DNC Vice Chair’s statement perfectly captured this strategic failure. By prioritizing a transgender messenger for supposed communication effectiveness, the DNC was selecting for identity rather than actual persuasive capability.

Booker’s HEIL Salute

Senator Cory Booker’s gesture at California Democratic Party delegates was captured on video.

The Hygo framing: “Senator Cory Booker just issued what looks like a HEIL salute to California Democratic Party delegates.”

The context was:

• Booker speaking to California Democratic Party event
• Raising his arm in a specific gesture
• The gesture appeared similar to Nazi “Heil Hitler” salute
• The imagery was widely shared

The significance:

• Democrats had repeatedly compared Republicans to Nazis
• Democrats had accused Elon Musk of Nazi gestures
• Democrats had used Nazi imagery against Trump
• Booker’s gesture using similar imagery was politically ironic
• The double standard was obvious

Whether Booker had intended the gesture or it had been inadvertent was unclear. But the visual was politically damaging for a party that had been aggressive about “Nazi” accusations against opponents. The image demonstrated that what Democrats called Nazi salutes when Republicans made them were actually common gestures that could occur inadvertently.

Walz: “Bully the Sh*t Out of Him”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz delivered a remarkable response strategy.

Walz described his reasoning: “I called out on this because I called Donald Trump a wannabe dictator. It’s because he is. It’s because he is.”

He rejected criticism of his style: “The governor’s being mean and the governor’s speaking out on that.”

He advocated aggression: “Well, maybe it’s time for us to be a little meaner. Maybe it’s time for us to be a little more fierce.”

He identified the method: “Because we have to ferociously push back on this.”

He connected to his teaching background: “And again, I’ll speak to my teacher colleagues in here. The thing that bothers a teacher more than anything is to watch a bully, to watch this bully and to stop it.”

He made the pedagogical distinction: “And when it’s a child, you talk to them and you tell them why bullying’s wrong.”

He delivered the key strategy: “But when it’s an adult like Donald Trump, you bully the shit out of him back.”

He concluded: “You push back. You make sure they know it’s not there.”

The Walz Problem

Walz’s strategy had multiple problems:

Strategic incoherence: Walz claimed to oppose bullying while advocating bullying. This was internally contradictory:

• If bullying was wrong, Walz shouldn’t do it
• If Walz was using the term loosely, “bullying” didn’t really describe what Trump did
• The logical resolution required either rejecting both or accepting both
• Walz’s approach was selective — bullying bad when Trump, good when Democrats

Political strategy failures: Trying to out-Trump Trump had never worked:

• Hillary Clinton had tried aggressive tactics against Trump in 2016, losing
• Republican primary opponents had tried aggressive tactics, losing
• The Biden-Harris campaign had tried aggressive tactics, losing
• Democrats trying “meaner” tactics had consistently backfired
• The electorate’s preference was not the issue; the Democratic message was

Rhetorical counter-productivity:

• Profanity alienated religious voters
• Aggression signaled defensiveness rather than strength
• Calling Trump a “bully” while proposing bullying revealed bad faith
• The stage-managed anger performed weakness rather than strength
• Walz’s 2024 VP performance had been poor

Walz on “Moderates”

Walz attacked Republican moderates.

“And here’s the thing that really gets me, the ones who’ve tricked the press into calling them moderates,” Walz said.

He cited specifically: “You know they get Susan Collins on TV and she’s always deeply concerned about things.”

He challenged her to act: “We’ll do something then instead of being deeply concerned.”

He delivered the judgment: “Because there’s nothing moderate about caving to Donald Trump every single time he asks. Every single time.”

The Moderate Attack

The “moderate” label had become contested terrain:

Susan Collins’s position: Maine Senator, longest-serving Republican woman senator, known for cross-partisan relationships and positions that often differed from Republican orthodoxy.

Her voting record:

• Voted against ACA repeal in 2017
• Voted for Trump’s Supreme Court nominees
• Voted against some Trump policies
• Maintained close working relationships with Democrats
• Genuine independent judgment rather than party line

Walz’s critique: That Collins’s “moderation” was actually just pretense — that she ultimately supported Trump policies while claiming independence.

The reality: Collins had voted against Trump positions on several significant issues. Her “deeply concerned” framing had been criticized as insufficient action, but she had actually taken action on specific occasions.

The larger point: Walz was articulating a Democratic strategy of delegitimizing any Republican who maintained working relationships with Democrats. If Collins couldn’t be attacked as a Republican, she would be attacked as a fake moderate.

This was politically strategic but morally problematic. Destroying cross-partisan relationships damaged the institutional health of the Senate, but it might serve Democratic political interests by:

• Preventing Republican legitimacy
• Forcing Republican polarization
• Creating clearer partisan lines
• Eliminating Democratic vulnerabilities
• Making bipartisan compromise impossible

The Press Secretary’s MAGA Minute

The MAGA Minute provided weekly summary for May 31, 2025.

“It’s the weekend, so it’s time for another MAGA minute. Let’s roll through it,” Leavitt said.

She delivered the economic headlines:

• “Consumer confidence surged in May with its biggest monthly jump in four years.”
• “U.S. new home sales jumped to its highest rate since 2022 as home prices continue to fall.”

She noted the remarkable polling: “And for the first time in the history of Rasmussen polling, a majority of respondents said the country is on the right track.”

She covered the MAHA victory: “In a huge win for the MAGA movement, Skittles agreed to remove titanium dioxide from their products as a result of the administration’s hard work.”

She listed major executive actions: “The president signed several executive orders this week to restore the gold standard of science and reinvigorate our nuclear energy industry.”

She covered the ceremonial events: “President Trump also gave the commencement address at West Point, and on Memorial Day he visited Arlington National Cemetery to pay tribute to the fallen heroes whose sacrifice has kept our nation free.”

She addressed Harvard: “The administration also sent a letter calling on all federal agencies to cancel their wasteful government contracts with Harvard University as Harvard continues to engage in nonsensical race-based discrimination.”

She covered Musk’s farewell: “The president hosted a press conference with Elon Musk to celebrate the rooting out of fraud, waste, and abuse in our government led by Doge.”

She highlighted the steel deal: “And the president traveled to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to announce a planned partnership between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel that will create at least 70,000 jobs and equates to a $14 billion investment in Pennsylvania.”

The Right Track Metric

The “majority on right track” polling result was historically significant.

Rasmussen had been polling “right track vs wrong track” for decades. The question was a standard measure of national mood:

Historical context:

• Majority “wrong track” had been the norm for most of the 21st century
• Exceptions had been brief moments during specific positive periods
• The Biden administration had seen persistent “wrong track” majorities
• Early Trump second term had begun with mixed results

The historic first: Majority “right track” for the first time in Rasmussen’s polling history was extraordinary. This suggested:

• Americans were actually more optimistic than they had been
• Administration policies were resonating with voters
• Economic improvements were being noticed
• Cultural changes were being welcomed
• Direction was perceived as positive

Political implications:

• Strong support for continued administration policies
• Base mobilization for policy support
• Weak position for Democratic opposition
• Economic confidence supporting political confidence
• Second-term mandate validation

The Skittles Victory

The Skittles titanium dioxide removal was a specific MAHA victory.

What happened: Mars Inc. (maker of Skittles) agreed to remove titanium dioxide from Skittles as a result of MAHA administration pressure.

What titanium dioxide is: Food coloring/whitening agent that:

• Creates bright white colors
• Makes candies appear glossy
• Is classified as possibly carcinogenic by some research
• Had been banned in the EU as a food additive in 2022
• Continued in U.S. products until Trump administration pressure

The significance:

• Major American food company responding to federal pressure
• Specific ingredient removal ahead of regulatory action
• Example of MAHA producing market-based results
• Industry responsiveness to consumer pressure
• Practical improvement in American food supply

The Skittles victory demonstrated that MAHA’s market-based approach was working. Rather than requiring new regulations, the administration was achieving food supply reform through:

• Public attention to harmful ingredients
• Consumer pressure on companies
• Regulatory threat of future action
• Industry self-regulation responding
• Specific product improvements

The $14B Steel Deal

The Nippon Steel investment had clarified the specific numbers.

Investment: $14 billion total Job creation: 70,000 jobs (updated from earlier 100,000 figure) Location: Pennsylvania plus other American facilities Timeline: Largely within 14 months

Historical significance:

• Largest single industrial investment announcement in years
• Steel industry revival after decades of decline
• Pennsylvania economic boost
• Political validation of Trump’s industrial policy
• Model for other major deals

The Week in Review

The MAGA Minute captured an extraordinarily productive week:

Economic wins:

• Consumer confidence surging
• New home sales highest since 2022
• Right track majority (first time)
• Income numbers strong

Policy wins:

• Skittles MAHA victory
• Gold Standard Science EO
• Nuclear renaissance EOs
• Harvard pressure

Political wins:

• Musk DOGE farewell celebration
• West Point commencement
• Memorial Day observance
• Pennsylvania steel announcement

Public mood:

• Broadly positive
• Administration-aligned
• Economically optimistic
• Culturally supportive

Key Takeaways

• DNC Vice Chair calls transgender-identifying male “one of our best messengers” — continuing 2024 losing strategy.
• Sen. Booker appears to give HEIL-like salute to California Democratic delegates.
• Walz: “Bully the shit out of [Trump] back” — strategic incoherence combined with profanity.
• Walz on Susan Collins: “Nothing moderate about caving to Trump every single time.”
• MAGA Minute: Right track majority (first in Rasmussen history), $14B steel deal, 70K jobs, Skittles MAHA win.