A FEW WEEKS INTO Donald Trump's second term, a MAGA-supporting acquaintance asked me why the left seemed "so unbelievably demoralized." He was not (merely) gloating; he was curious. "I'm sure it won't last," he told me, "but for now it's just sort of a bewildering sensation to feel like you're doing politics with no opposition." There was a note of pity in his voice.

He wasn't wrong. The first signs of life from the dazed Democrats following the inauguration were not exactly encouraging: Joining a protest outside the Treasury on February 4, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer held hands with California representative Maxine Waters—an icon of the resistance to Trump's first term—and chanted "We will win!" several times before seeming to realize the implausibility of his boast. Interrupting himself, he leaned into the mic and rephrased: "We won't rest! We won't rest!"

Shortly after, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries waved the white flag. Smug, offended, and baffled all at once, he asked reporters, “What leverage do we have? Republicans have repeatedly lectured America: They control the House, the Senate, and the presidency. It’s their government.” As if we hadn’t noticed.

Rarely inspiring, party leaders are selected for their capacity to find consensus, manipulate parliamentary machinery, and fundraise. Ask anyone why Jeffries is minority leader: He brings home the bacon. Schumer once had a salty, outer-borough pique that did some work to counter Trump, but his mien today is weary and distracted. In the middle of a January presser charging the president with having “plunged the country into chaos,” Schumer turned his attention to his ringing cell phone, then told the crowd that his grandson had lost a tooth. “It’s a very big occasion,” he said.