When playing nice is the new Trump resistance strategy

As Democratic governors game out how to deal with a second Trump administration, one thing is clear: It's not 2016 anymore.

Governors face a more politically sophisticated version of Donald Trump, and are calculating that they need to choose their battles more carefully — and find ways to cooperate — after their anti-Trump strategy led to a nationwide shellacking.

Facing a more politically sophisticated version of Donald Trump — and calculating that they need to choose their battles more carefully after their anti-Trump strategy led to a nationwide shellacking — Democratic governors are willing to find ways to cooperate with the incoming president.

That openness is a noticeable shift in approach from Trump's first presidency, when Democratic state leaders clashed with the Republican over everything from the environment to immigration. And it suggests a recognition among Democratic governors that new political pressures may force them to tweak their resistance playbook.

"You've got to be willing to fight the fight when it needs to be fought and find common ground when that's what circumstances dictate," New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat who has long had a less adversarial relationship with Trump than other Democratic governors, said in an interview with POLITICO.

Other Democratic governors are beginning to echo that sentiment. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who launched a program dedicated to addressing "policy and regulatory threats" from the incoming Trump administration, also said she told the president-elect in a private phone call that "there are areas where we can work together." In Maryland, where Wes Moore's administration has been preparing for Trump's potential return since February , the governor said "We are ready to push back on this new White House when necessary. But where we can find common ground, we will." And in Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, loathed by Trump during his first term, said "we have worked with a Trump administration before. We'll figure out how to work with a Trump administration" again.

Then there's Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who on Thursday went even further than his Democratic counterparts when he praised Trump's selection of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. In a long post on X , Polis noted Kennedy's involvement in defeating vaccine mandates in Colorado, and he said he's optimistic about Kennedy's stated ambitions with "taking on big pharma and the corporate ag oligopoly to improve our health."

Polis' comments caused a stir online, and he quickly walked back some of those compliments. Polis, who was recently named chair of the bipartisan National Governors Association, clarified through a spokesperson that he's against Kennedy's opposition to vaccines and fluoridated water, but "he would appreciate seeing action on pesticides and efforts to lower prescription drug costs."

And in Michigan, where Trump attempted to punish Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Democrat said Tuesday that "we have worked with a Trump administration before. We'll figure out how to work with a Trump administration" again.

Democrats' new strategy reflects the markedly different political reality the party faces heading into Trump's second term than his first. Democrats boast more governors now than they had in 2016 — and therefore more firepower against the incoming Republican trifecta in Washington. But they must reconcile those gains with the fact that Trump leveraged an electorate enraged over the economy to sweep all seven battleground states, improved his margins in blue states and did so with the backing of a diverse coalition that pulled from Democrats' core constituencies. And they are weighing their next steps against the political backdrop of a wide-open presidential race in 2028.

"Every politician is likely treading lightly right now because voters are pissed and scared and there are no easy solutions to their problems," said Corey Platt, a former political director for the Democratic Governors Association. "And on the other side of it, there is going to be backlash to Trump. ... [Governors can] sit back for a minute and let the house of cards collapse on itself."

Unlike in 2016, when Democrats at all levels of government were caught flat-footed by Trump's ascension, the party's governors are heading back to the battlefield armed with experience. Some tangled with Trump in his first term over the pandemic, immigration, environmental regulations and health care. Others cut their teeth taking his first administration to court as attorneys general — and then leveraged those legal challenges to win their states' highest offices, like Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

"The approach is probably more informed this time around," said Jared Leopold, a former communications director for the Democratic Governors Association. "In 2016, there was a question of how he would govern and whether it was all bluster or backed up by far-right policy. ... Democratic governors are going in eyes wide open now."

But their more balanced approach is not entirely novel.

Murphy, who was elected in 2017, cultivated a better working relationship with the president than many of his colleagues — one he leveraged to win the Republican's support for replacing a century-old rail bridge leading into Manhattan. Over the past week, Murphy has telegraphed he's prepared to work with Trump again, particularly on infrastructure, while also vowing to "fight to the death" on other issues such as abortion rights and preventing mass deportations.

"If there is any attack on the Garden State ... I will fight back with every fiber of my being," Murphy said in a post-election press conference. "But just as it is our responsibility to continue to stand up against any threat to our state, to our people, it is also our responsibility to take any opportunity that presents itself to work with the president."

Other Democratic governors appear to be emulating his model as they confront a Republican sweep of Washington that could threaten federal funding for key projects in their states. And some, including Whitmer and Shapiro, will have to navigate divided legislatures at home.

"I know that some of my colleagues have staked out some pretty aggressive strategies," Whitmer told reporters on Tuesday , adding, "As I'm thinking about what a Trump administration will mean for our work, I'm trying to focus on where we can find some shared priorities."

In Maryland, which is home to one of the highest concentrations of federal workers in the country and is reliant on federal funding for major infrastructure projects such as the replacement of Baltimore's Key Bridge and proposed light-rail line, Moore said his administration has "pressure-tested countless scenarios" for what Trump's policies could mean for his state. But he also, in brief remarks before a Cabinet meeting last week, pledged to find areas to work with the incoming administration, because "Maryland and the federal government are deeply intertwined."

And in New York, Hochul held what she described as a "cordial" and "very productive" phone call with the president-elect last week in which she pressed her case for federal funding for a semiconductor plant near Syracuse and subway upgrades in Manhattan. Trump, she told reporters afterward, "seems to share my priorities."

Trump said in a statement Thursday that he has "great respect" for Hochul and that he looks "forward to working with her to Make New York and American Great Again" — even as he went on to bash her congestion-pricing plan .

Not every Democratic governor is treating Trump in a conciliatory manner. California Gov. Gavin Newsom called a special legislative session to shore up his state's liberal policies against Trump. And Newsom met with the Biden administration earlier this week in a bid to lock in federal approvals on climate regulations and disaster aid as Trump's return to power threatens both. Polis — despite his Cabinet member endorsement a day later — joined with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday to launch a new group aimed at safeguarding democratic institutions in the states from the next Trump administration.

Pritzker and Healey also vowed noncompliance if Trump tries to proceed with the large-scale deportations of undocumented immigrants he promised on the campaign trail — and has tasked the immigration hard-liners he is stacking his second administration with carrying out.

And if past is precedent, Democrats' more acquiescent approach to Trump may not last. In 2016, for instance, then-California Gov. Jerry Brown pledged in the wake of Trump's shock win that "we will do our part to find common ground wherever possible" with the Republican — only to end up battling him over everything from the environment to the southern border .

In the days after Trump took office in 2017 — and issued a flurry of executive orders targeting the Affordable Care Act, undocumented immigrants and more — Democrats quickly and broadly settled on a scorched-earth strategy against him. The Republican and his administration "were entitled to a grace period," Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said at the time. "And they blew it."

Trump, for his part, has already begun to move beyond the calls for unity that peppered his closing campaign speeches and victory address. He attacked Newsom — or "Newscum," as he calls the Democrat — for "trying to KILL our Nation's beautiful California" by calling a special legislative session. And Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who Trump tapped on Tuesday as his Homeland Security secretary, criticized Democratic governors' opposition efforts as "extremely irresponsible."

As Democrats weigh how closely they want to work with the new Trump administration, their political ambitions — and, in some cases, reelection odds — are an unspoken part of their calculus. Taking on Trump the first time around helped make some Democratic governors household names and gave others launching pads for higher office. But his surge in popularity also has a sobering effect on that front.

And there's the fact that states that depend heavily on federal investments — or unexpectedly encounter a major natural disaster — will need to be able to call on the White House, said former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, a Democrat who ran for president in 2004.

"You just have to play it straight: Trump will be the president, and we don't like that and all that, but the fact is — you need to run things the way they need to get run," he said. "So you don't want to give in to ridiculous things he's going to ask, but you also don't want to say terrible things about him for the sake of saying terrible things because he's president of the United States and you're going to need his help sometimes."