While Many Liberals Warn Of Next Four Years, Some Signal Chumminess And Willingness To Work With Trump Administration

A number of high-profile Democrats and liberals have been showing a willingness to put politics aside to work with the new Trump administration.

Democrats like New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, as well as several big tech CEOs, are among those who have made public statements expressing their openness.

Murphy spoke out Monday in a social media post on X about his eagerness to address “New York’s congestion pricing scheme.”

“Congestion pricing is a disaster for New Jersey commuters and must receive the close look it deserves from the federal government,” he said. (RELATED: ‘I Don’t Give A F*ck’: New York City Makes Pathetic Attempt To Stop Lawless Hooligans)

Trump has been outspoken about his disdain for the measure implemented by Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, saying, “it will hurt workers, families, and businesses, but in particular, anything to do with jobs.”

In his letter to the president, Murphy rang a similar tone, saying, “I welcome any opportunity to work with you and your administration where we can find common ground. One area where I believe our priorities align is congestion pricing.”

Today I sent a letter to President Trump urging his Administration to reexamine New York’s congestion pricing scheme.

Congestion pricing is a disaster for New Jersey commuters and must receive the close look it deserves from the federal government. pic.twitter.com/rAX1WqrFjH

— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) January 20, 2025

“I don’t want to pretend we’re always going to agree, but I will always seek collaboration first,” Whitmer said Jan. 15 at a Detroit Auto Show.

“Michiganders elected both me and Donald Trump twice just two years apart. Everyone of us swore an oath to the people we serve, and the people expect us to find common ground. Especially when it comes to lowering costs, creating good-paying manufacturing jobs, boosting research and innovation, and cutting red tape,” she said.

Donald Trump won the swing state of Michigan by 1.4 percent in the 2024 presidential election.

Elon Musk, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, and Mark Zuckerberg are seated together at Trump’s inauguration.

Imagine telling someone this a couple years ago.

Wild. pic.twitter.com/8lAHB3W1Gu

— Courtney Holland 🇺🇸 (@hollandcourtney) January 20, 2025

Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams was a registered Republican from 1995 to 2002, according to Ballotpedia.

“I’m a part of the American party,” he stated in an interview in December when asked if he would “consider rejoining the GOP.”

🚨 #BREAKING: NYC Mayor Eric Adams does not rule out re-joining the Republican Party.

He was a Republican from 1997-2001. pic.twitter.com/O16WlJrLzt

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 6, 2024

In an interview Tuesday with Tucker Carlson, Adams said, “The party left me, and it left working class people,” referring to the Democratic Party.

BREAKING: NYC Mayor Eric Adams says the Democratic Party has left him and working-class people. pic.twitter.com/i2j5S247qH

— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) January 22, 2025

Adams goes on to say that the focus in politics should be about “the future of our families.”

Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman has also made known his optimism for working with Trump.

In a December interview with ABC’s Jonathan Karl, Fetterman said, “If you’re rooting against the president, you are rooting against the nation.”

“So country first. I know that’s become maybe like a cliche, but it happens to be true,” he continued.

Fetterman was one of twelve Senate Democrats who voted in favor of the Laken Riley Act. The bill, set to be signed Thursday by Trump, requires federal immigration authorities to detain illegal migrants who commit theft-related crimes in the U.S. The legislation would also allow states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for harm caused to their residents because of illegal immigration. Trump has been outspoken about the his intentions to address the southern border and the bill is expected to be one of the first he signs into law.

The Pennsylvania senator also expressed interest in the idea of the U.S. acquiring Greenland, which has been on the Trump agenda.

“I do think it’s a responsible conversation,” he said in an interview with Fox News.

He compared it to the Louisiana Purchase or America’s acquisition of Alaska.

“Remember the Louisiana Purchase? I think Alaska was a pretty great deal, too.”

NEW: Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) dismisses Democratic “freakouts” over Trump’s proposal to acquire Greenland.

“It’s a responsible conversation […] Remember the Louisiana Purchase? I think Alaska was a pretty great deal, too.”

“I mean – [I’m] open to having all kinds of… pic.twitter.com/QmSQzxMoOv

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 8, 2025

Multiple big tech leaders, like Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, made an appearance at the president’s inauguration Monday.

Zuckerberg announced the company’s switch to Community Notes on Jan. 7, as opposed to third party fact-checkers. The feature started after Elon Musk purchased Twitter and adds crowd-sourced context to posts that might mislead or be inaccurate.

The Washington Post did not support a candidate in the 2024 presidential election. Jeff Bezos, who bought the media outlet in August 2023, said, “presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election” in an op-ed in October.

Trump’s own cabinet is arguably a hodgepodge of political identities. The Department of Health and Human Services nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., started as an Independent candidate running against the president before dropping out to support him. Tulsi Gabbard, who Trump tapped to be the director of National Intelligence, endorsed Bernie Sanders in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020. Trump himself used to “identify” more as a democrat.

“It just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans. Now, it shouldn’t be that way. But if you go back, I mean it just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats,” he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in an interview in 2004.

One left-leaning pundit and writer, Zaid Jilani, summed it up by saying that “Democrats should be willing to step up and work with the administration and its allies in Congress to get things done for the American people.”

Former President Barrack Obama was seen talking and laughing with Trump during the funeral service for former President Jimmy Carter.

VIDEO: Watch how VP Kamala Harris reacts when she sees Donald Trump and Barrack Obama chatting at the funeral service of former US President Jimmy Carter.@EndWokeness pic.twitter.com/7p2sOZq5xo

— UG DIPLOMAT (@UGDiplomat) January 9, 2025

Other Democrats, like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, called for a “special session” of the state legislature in November to “safeguard California values and fundamental rights” in the wake of a Trump presidency, according to CNN.

“He is a threat. Period. Point Blank.”

Democrats double and triple down after 2nd assassination attempt: pic.twitter.com/rEWdoZAVev

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 20, 2024

Many Democratic politicians and liberals still refer to Trump as a “threat to democracy.”