Former Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan says party needs 'rebrand' following Trump win

Former Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) appeared on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” on Saturday where he criticized the current structure of the Democratic Party.  

“We need a rebrand. I think you and I have been talking about this since 2016,” Ryan said in a clip highlighted by Mediate. “Like, our brand is toxic in so many places and it is like, you are a Democrat? That’s the stuff we get like in Ohio.”

Ryan was a representative from Ohio from 2003 to 2023. In 2022 he ran against then-Senator and now Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, and lost.

He called for a “reboot” for the party after their resounding defeat in the November election, in which Republicans won back control of the Senate and the White House, and barely kept control of the House.

“We need a complete reboot. We need a complete reboot with the DNC. We need a complete rebranding. We got to get back established into our values,” Ryan said, according to The Hill. 

“What does it mean to be a Democrat? People want to trust us. They don’t want to go to Donald Trump.” He said “middle of the road” voters needed to hear more about reindustrialization and bolstering America’s competitiveness. 

Ryan said the party’s narrative of raising taxes on the rich while waging war with the cryptocurrency leaders drove supporters away from the party. 

“We have to lead with growth. The other thing that I think is really big, we can’t be for solely redistribution. We are going to tax the bad guys who are rich, which we want people to aspire to make money in America,” Ryan mentioned. 

“We will tax them because they’re really bad people and we’re going to give you money,” he said. “No, it is about growing the pie. It is about getting back to — it is the Bill Clinton campaign. It is the modern Democratic campaign.”