Millions of Americans marched against their president this weekend but around the world, Donald Trump is swinging from win to win. Democratic leaders have tried to negate his role in ending Israel’s war with Hamas. But the president has remained unphased, bringing his signature “never-take-no-for-an-answer” diplomacy to Ukraine, Venezuela and beyond.

Make no mistake: with both ongoing attacks and Israeli hostage bodies still in Gaza, the Trump-led peace plan is far from guaranteed. But even Democratic stalwarts such as Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton have applauded the president’s nous. Younger party members, however, have been far less generous. Prominent figures, including senator Mark Warner of Virginia and New York congressman Hakeem Jeffries, praised the cease-fire but left out any mention of Trump. Now, as that peace process gears up for phase two, the silence by many progressives regarding the president’s undeniable successes is becoming both deafening and potentially self-defeating. 

There can be little doubt that Trump has taken to his role as an unlikely and unbridled global enforcer. How else to describe the orgiastic affirmation demanded by him from more than a score of international leaders at last week’s Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit? Forget the chants of “king” from Trump’s detractors this weekend – his reach now feels downright imperial. 

It appears that the US president is only getting started, with his sights fixed most stridently on Ukraine. In a White House meeting last week, Trump reportedly screamed at president Volodymyr Zelensky, inveighing upon him to surrender the Donetsk region or face certain destruction by Russia. Such a move, demanded by Vladimir Putin, is a red line that Ukraine refuses to consider. But Trump, perhaps peeved by his loss of the Nobel Peace Prize last week, is well aware that adding Ukraine to his ceasefire portfolio could push him over the line to win the award next year. 

Far closer to home, Trump’s motives are more hegemonic as he pummels alleged narcotics-laden speed boats in the Caribbean. Having branded global drug syndicates as “terrorists”, the US military has now attacked about half a dozen light watercraft convoys – most of them originating from Venezuela but also more recently from Colombia. Leaders of both nations have not been shy to blast the US president for violating their sovereignty; Trump has responded by actively encouraging regime change in Venezuela and threatening to cut aid and impose tariffs on Colombia. 

Unsurprisingly, Democrats have framed the White House’s military campaign against the Trump-described “narco terrorists” as fundamentally unconstitutional. And they have actually found support among Republican counterparts, such as Kentucky senator Rand Paul, to prevent any major, wide-scale action against Caracas without Congressional approval. “It’s clear that there’s no congressional authorisation for this action,” says Virginia’s Democratic senator, Tim Kaine.

But with the 2026 midterm elections rapidly descending upon the US, the Democratic Party must evolve its strategy away from an approach that attacks, prevents and denies Trump’s every move and shift into a more congratulatory (or at least conciliatory) mode when warranted. There are plenty of American voters – notably centrist Latinos – who support military action against drug traffickers in Latin America, with or without Congressional sanction. With Latinos being the fastest-growing Republican demographic, Democrats risk alienating a crucial voting bloc if they continue to paint the president’s foreign exploits as illegal. 

Pretending that Trump is failing won’t stop him, especially amid dramatic wins such as the Gaza ceasefire. Mired in outdated thinking and plagued by incoherent leadership, progressives must work to make the 47th president’s wins their own if they want any chance of winning Washington next year, let alone in 2028.