MINNEAPOLIS, MN – As Democrats hunger for more forceful pushback against sweeping and controversial moves by President Donald Trump and Republicans, the party’s national chair stressed that it’s time to «stand up and fight.»

And in a fiery speech Monday, Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Ken Martin argued that the president is acting as «a dictator-in-chief» and that Trump’s second administration is «facism dressed in a red tie.»

«We are the only thing standing in his way,» Martin emphasized as he addressed the more than 400 elected party officials from all 50 states and seven territories, as the summer meeting kicked off at a downtown hotel in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

«Are you ready to take back our country from the wannabe-king in the White House,» he asked the audience, to loud cheers.

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Martin, pointing to the forceful response by Democrats to moves this summer by Trump and Republicans to create more right-leaning U.S. House seats in states across the country through rare mid-decade congressional redistricting ahead of next year’s midterm elections, said that he’s «sick and tired of this Democratic Party bringing a pencil to a knife fight.»

«We cannot be the only party that plays by the rules anymore,» he urged.

Democratic Party leaders and officials face a multitude of problems as they try to escape the political wilderness.

The party is trying to escape the political wilderness after last year’s elections, when Democrats lost control of the White House and the Senate and fell short in their bid to win back the House majority. And Republicans made gains with voters who make up key parts of the Democratic Party’s base.

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But the situation has only worsened for the Democrats in the 10 months since last year’s election setbacks.

The Democrats’ brand is deeply unpopular, especially with younger voters, as the party’s poll numbers continue to drop to all-time lows in national surveys. 

The DNC faces a massive fundraising deficit at the hands of the rival Republican National Committee (RNC), fueled in part by major party donors cutting back their contributions as they express their frustrations with the national party committee.

New voter data first reported last week by the New York Times showed Democratic Party registration plunging while GOP sign-ups were on the rise in the 30 states that register voters by party.

«There’s no doubt that … we have work to do,» Martin acknowledged in a sit-down interview this summer with Fox News Digital.

But seeing a silver lining, he added that «when you hit rock bottom, there’s only one direction to go, and that’s up, and that’s what we’re doing.»

On Monday, amid talk that Democrats remain divided over a slew of policy and political issues, Martin highlighted that «in this big tent party of ours, we are unified towards one single goal, to stop Donald Trump and put this country back on track.»

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Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota took aim at talk of the party’s divisions.

Klobuchar rejected the «we suck club» label and said «we’re not getting into it when they try to divide us on every single issue online. Complaining about each other to each other – it isn’t how we win again.» 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz took aim at media reports of the party’s divisions, saying «it boggles my damn mind that in the midst of a military takeover of our cities and the attempt to go into others, the flaunting of the rule of law, the coolness and the unconstitutional nature of the way they’re attacking our neighbors, that the press finds the need to talk about, ‘oh, there’s a division in the Democratic Party.’»

«There’s a division in my damn house, and we’re still married, and things are good,» Walz said. «That’s life. That’s life. We are strong. We are strong because we challenge each other.»

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz took aim at media reports of the party’s divisions at the annual DNC summer meeting, saying, «There’s a division in my damn house, and we’re still married, and things are good,» saying  (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News)

Walz, who served as then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate on the Democrats national ticket last summer and autumn, slammed Trump as «petty as hell.» 

And he said Americans wake each morning to «a man child crying about whatever’s wrong with him.»

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told the audience that he and fellow Democratic state attorneys general who’ve fought the Trump administration in court have «sued this dude 44 times and we’ll sue him 44 more and 44 more after that.»

«We have sued Trump for gender-affirming care. We are not going to scapegoat the transgender community.» Ellison highlighted.

While the 2024 election has faded in the rearview mirror, Republicans have been relentless in characterizing Democrats as extreme leftists.

Former RNC chair Michael Whatley, who formally stepped down last week as he runs for the Senate, argued in a Fox News Digital interview last week that the Democrats «are moving further and further and farther to the left. They are walking away from Main Street right now. They are beholden to left-wing radical woke policies.»

«They haven’t learned a single thing from their election losses in 2024,» Whatley claimed.

RNC communications director Zach Parkinson, responding to Monday’s DNC session, told Fox News that «under Ken Martin’s leadership, Democrats have sunk to their lowest approval rating in 35 years, the DNC is still paying off millions in debt from Kamala Harris’ failed campaign, and Martin himself is actively supporting a communist for mayor of New York City. As Republicans, we think he is doing a fantastic job, and we fully endorse him to stay on as DNC Chair.»

The «communist» reference points to Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, the Democrats’ nominee in this year’s New York City mayoral election.

But despite all the problems and setbacks facing the Democrats, they have enjoyed some victories of late.

Democrats have scored a slew of off-year and special election wins, ahead of next year’s midterm elections, when the GOP will be defending its majorities in the House and Senate as the party in power will likely face historical political headwinds.

Democrats have also landed some top recruits – former Gov. Roy Cooper in North Carolina and former Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio, in two of the most crucial 2026 Senate races.

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And while the Democratic Party’s poll numbers are in the gutter, the approval and favorable ratings for Trump and the GOP are nothing to brag about. Plus, polls indicate that the so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ which is the Trump-inspired massive Republican domestic policy, tax cuts and spending law, remains unpopular with Americans.

«We’ve already won, this year, 38 special elections…..We’re winning all across this country, including in many places that haven’t gone blue in generations,» Martin touted.

And he said that «not all of these elections make national news, but I know that every race matters. Every inch of ground that we gain matters. Every single inch.»

The Australian government says it is expelling two Iranian diplomats after alleging that the Islamic Republic was behind at least two antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne. 

Speaking to reporters, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the country’s main domestic spy agency, ASIO, had «gathered enough credible intelligence to reach a deeply disturbing conclusion.» 

«The Iranian government directed at least two of these attacks,» Albanese said, referring to recent attacks on a Sydney restaurant and a Melbourne synagogue. «Iran has sought to disguise its involvement but ASIO assesses it was behind the attacks.» 

The Australian government informed Iran’s ambassador to Australia shortly before Albanese’s announcement that they would be expelled. It also withdrew Australian diplomats posted in Iran to a third country.

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Antisemitic incidents in both Melbourne and Sydney rose steeply following the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre in Israel that triggered Israel’s ongoing offensive on Gaza. 

The prime minister also said Australia plans to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.

A member of the Jewish community recovers a Torah scroll from the Adass Israel Synagogue on December 06, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

The move comes after Australia announced earlier this month that it plans to recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly in September. 

A general view of the Iranian Embassy in Canberra, Australia, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023.  (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP)

The announcement triggered a scathing response from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who accused Australia of betraying Israel. 

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«History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews,» Netanyahu said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

El gobierno de Australia ordenó la expulsión del embajador de Irán y la suspensión de sus actividades diplomáticas en Teherán, tras acusar al régimen persa de estar detrás de ataques antisemitas contra objetivos judíos en Melbourne y Sídney.

Según informó el primer ministro australiano, Anthony Albanese, se trata de la primera vez desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial que Canberra adopta una medida de este tipo contra un representante diplomático extranjero.

Durante una comparecencia pública, Anthony Albanese afirmó que “los servicios de inteligencia llegaron a la conclusión profundamente inquietante de que Teherán dirigió al menos dos ataques antisemitas en territorio australiano”.

El jefe de gobierno detalló que los incidentes investigados incluyen un ataque incendiario dirigido en octubre de 2024 contra el Lewis Continental Cafe, una cafetería kosher ubicada en el suburbio de Bondi, en Sídney, y otro incendio intencional perpetrado en diciembre del mismo año contra la sinagoga Adass Israel, en Melbourne. “Se trata de actos de agresión extraordinarios y peligrosos orquestados por una nación extranjera en suelo australiano”, declaró Albanese ante los medios.

El mandatario subrayó que Irán buscó “socavar la cohesión social y sembrar la discordia en nuestra comunidad”, señalando que “es totalmente inaceptable” que un Estado extranjero impulse actos de odio en Australia.

Albanese advirtió que las autoridades de inteligencia consideran “probable” que Teherán haya coordinado además otros ataques antisemitas registrados en el país.

A raíz del informe de los servicios de seguridad, el embajador iraní en Canberra, Ahmad Sadeghi, fue declarado persona non grata, junto con otros tres funcionarios de la representación diplomática iraní. Todos ellos deberán abandonar el territorio australiano en un plazo máximo de siete días. El Ejecutivo también resolvió retirar a su embajador en Teherán y suspender todas las actividades de su misión diplomática en la capital iraní. Los diplomáticos australianos han sido ubicados “a salvo en un tercer país”, según confirmó el primer ministro.

En paralelo, el gobierno recomendó a todos los ciudadanos australianos que no viajen a Irán y pidió a quienes permanezcan allí que abandonen ese país en cuanto sea posible y seguro. Las autoridades consideraron que la situación actual representa un riesgo inaceptable para la integridad de sus ciudadanos y su personal consular.

La ministra australiana de Asuntos Exteriores, Penny Wong, calificó la decisión como histórica. “Es la primera vez en la posguerra que Australia expulsa a un embajador”, remarcó. Wong también precisó que, pese a la gravedad de los hechos, Canberra mantendrá relaciones diplomáticas limitadas con Irán para proteger intereses consulares y de ciudadanos en el extranjero.

“Irán ha intentado socavar la cohesión de nuestra sociedad, ha tratado de dividir a la comunidad australiana y lo ha hecho con actos de agresión que no solo buscaban aterrorizar, sino que además pusieron en riesgo vidas australianas”, sostuvo Wong.

La ministra enfatizó que el Ejecutivo prioriza la protección de los habitantes del país ante amenazas extranjeras. “Estos actos extraordinarios y peligrosos de agresión, orquestados por una nación extranjera en suelo australiano, han cruzado una línea”, añadió.

El gobierno australiano detalló que el Cuerpo de la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica de Irán (CGRI), institución encargada de la seguridad del régimen iraní y de operaciones en el exterior, será incluido en la lista oficial de organizaciones terroristas.

El ministro del Interior, Tony Burke, expuso el impacto que los episodios generaron en la sociedad australiana. “Hay antisemitismo en Australia. Es real, es debilitante, pero los ataques fueron impulsados por el antisemitismo originado en Irán. Dicho esto, nada cambia el hecho de que fue un ataque antisemita y nada cambia el hecho de que el impacto es idéntico”, señaló el ministro.

La investigación determinó que los responsables de los ataques ejecutaron instrucciones directas de Teherán, con el objetivo de sembrar temor y tensión en la comunidad judía australiana. Según el informe, ambos atentados buscaban “alterar la cohesión social, dividir a la sociedad y amenazar a ciudadanos australianos de fe judía”. Las autoridades australianas reiteraron su rechazo al antisemitismo y anunciaron medidas adicionales de seguridad y monitoreo en espacios sensibles de Sídney, Melbourne y otras ciudades.

(Con información de EFE y AFP)