Democrats keep winning at the ballot box as the party works to win back congressional majorities in this year’s midterm elections.

But despite a slew of electoral victories and overperformances in the more than 15 months since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, the party’s image remains well underwater in public opinion polling and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) finds itself badly trailing the rival Republican National Committee in fundraising, a crucial gauge of a party’s strength.

To make matters worse, the DNC is facing continued calls to release its internal autopsy of the party’s sweeping setbacks in the 2024 election, when Democrats lost the presidency and Senate majority and fell short in winning back control of the House.

Among those calling on the DNC to make public their report on what went wrong for the Democrats in 2024 is former Vice President Kamala Harris, the party’s presidential nominee two years ago.

DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE FLIP FLOPS, PULLS PLUG ON ITS 2024 ELECTION ‘AUTOPSY’

Harris, who is mulling making another White House bid in 2028, recently told donors she believes the DNC should make the autopsy public. The news was first reported by NBC News and confirmed by Fox News Digital.

A source with knowledge said that Harris had not discussed the autopsy with DNC Chair Ken Martin, and that the former vice president did not know in advance about Martin’s decision in December to keep the 2024 election postmortem under wraps.

Martin ordered the report soon after he was elected DNC chair early last year.

Democratic Party officials interviewed over 300 Democrats from all 50 states for the report, which Martin promised would examine the party’s mistakes in 2024 and offer a roadmap to victory going forward.

There was controversy surrounding the report as it was being compiled, after reports last summer said the autopsy would skip analyzing whether then-President Joe Biden should have run for re-election in 2024 and would pass on judging key decisions made by Harris and her team, after she replaced Biden as the party’s nominee with just over three months to go until the 2024 election.

Throughout the process, Martin repeatedly pushed back on calling the report an «autopsy,» since he noted that the Democratic Party wasn’t dead. He instead labeled the report an «after-action review.»

But in December, weeks after Democrats scored major victories in the 2025 off-year elections, the party announced it would not be releasing the report.

Martin, in a statement at the time, said releasing the report would be «a distraction» from the party’s «core mission» to win back congressional majorities in the midterms.

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Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin addresses party members at the DNC summer meeting in Minneapolis, Minn., on Aug. 25, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News)

In explaining his decision, Martin wrote, «We completed a comprehensive review of what happened in 2024 and are already putting our learnings into motion. And we’re winning again — even in places that haven’t gone blue in decades. In our conversations with stakeholders from across the Democratic ecosystem, we are aligned on what’s important, and that’s learning from the past and winning the future.»

«Here’s our North Star: does this help us win? If the answer is no, it’s a distraction from the core mission,» he emphasized.

But the DNC chair’s decision was criticized not only by Republicans but also by fellow Democrats.

«They are spiking an autopsy of the election that gave us Trump 2.0. If party leaders won’t take the steps required to rebuild ourselves into a winning coalition, we will take it into our own hands,» former DNC Vice Chair David Hogg warned in a social media post at the time.

Hogg, a gun-control crusader who was elected a DNC vice chair as Martin won election as chair, stepped down from his position last summer after upsetting party leaders for his efforts backing primary challenges against what he called «asleep at the wheel» older, longtime incumbents in safe, blue districts.

Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior advisor to then-President Barack Obama and a co-host of the popular progressive podcast «Pod Save America,» also took to social media to criticize the move.

«This is a very bad decision that reeks of the caution and complacency that brought us to this moment,» Pfeiffer wrote.

His podcast co-host and fellow Obama alum Jon Favreau called the DNC flip-flop «unreal» and «baffling.»

«The DNC’s actual position is that if the public knew more about what Democrats got wrong in the last election, it would hurt the party’s chances in the next election,» Favreau wrote on X. «How does this rebuild trust between the party insiders and grassroots activists and organizers?»

Martin last month made an appearance on «Pod Save America» to push back against the criticism.

DNC CHAIR GRILLED BY LIBERAL PODCAST HOST FOR NOT RELEASING 2024 POLITICAL AUTOPSY REPORT

«We’ve been releasing that,» Martin said when asked if the DNC would release a summary of the report. «The reality is we’re not hiding the ball on this. We have been sharing those things out. There’s no smoking gun here.»

Martin noted that «we’ve been providing briefings,» as he pointed to data from the report the DNC shared with Democratic stakeholders.

Harris isn’t the only potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender calling on the DNC to make the full report public.

«Yeah, release the autopsy,» Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said this past weekend in an interview on NBC’s «Meet the Press» on Sunday. «They should do that,» the senator added as he pointed to the DNC.

But Booker, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination won by Biden and who is mulling another run in 2028, said it’s imperative his party doesn’t dwell on the past.

Rotimi Adeoye, a former Democratic operative who is serving as a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, argued in a social media post that «the mistake the DNC made is they could’ve released the report earlier in the spring, whatever’s in it, you get two weeks of bad publicity, then Trump does something stupid and everyone forgets.»

«Now it feels like something’s being hidden, which makes it way more salacious,» he claimed.

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A person familiar with the DNC’s strategy told Fox News Digital because of all the attention on the autopsy, «they are going to be forced to release something.»

The person, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, said the ongoing storyline is a distraction for the DNC with the clock ticking towards the midterms, adding «it’s just not helping to be talking about this.»

The DNC pointed to Martin’s previous comments when contacted by Fox News Digital.

President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a moment when both Washington and Beijing are trying to stabilize one of the world’s most consequential rivalries without giving ground on deeper strategic disputes.

The two-day visit marks Trump’s first trip to China since 2017 and comes amid mounting tensions over trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan and the fallout from the war with Iran. While the White House is framing the summit as an opportunity for new economic agreements and «rebalancing» the U.S.–China relationship, analysts say Beijing’s priorities are far broader and more long-term.

«Trump arrives seeking headline deals and visible momentum ahead of the midterms,» wrote Zongyuan Zoe Liu, senior fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. «Xi is playing a longer game, focused on strategic patience rather than substantive compromise.»

TRUMP HEADS TO BEIJING FOR HIGH-STAKES XI TALKS AS TAIWAN TENSIONS, TRADE DISPUTES TEST US STRENGTH

Topics expected to be discussed during the summit include trade, aerospace, agriculture and energy agreements, and the creation of a U.S.–China Board of Trade and Board of Investment, according to the White House. 

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Trump’s goal is to «deliver more good deals on behalf of our country» while safeguarding U.S. national security.

Trump participated in a welcome ceremony and bilateral meeting with Xi Thursday morning local time in Beijing, followed by a tour of the Temple of Heaven alongside the Chinese leader and a state banquet later. 

Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said Beijing views the summit as an opportunity to stabilize ties between the world’s two largest economies. 

«Heads-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance for China–U.S. relations,» Liu said in a statement to Fox News Digital. «We welcome President Trump’s state visit to China. China stands ready to work with the U.S. to expand cooperation and manage differences in the spirit of equality, respect and mutual benefit, and provide more stability and certainty for a transforming and volatile world.»

For Xi, analysts say, the top priority likely is avoiding further escalation with Washington while buying time for China’s slowing economy, as it continues to struggle with weak domestic demand, deflationary pressure and industrial overcapacity. 

A recent report by the U.S.–China Economic and Security Review Commission warned that Beijing is doubling down on state-led industrial policy despite mounting structural weaknesses in the Chinese economy.

The commission said China is increasingly operating a «two-speed» economy, where much of the broader economy stagnates while sectors prioritized by the Chinese Communist Party receive massive state support and continue expanding beyond market demand.

The report also warned of a new «China Shock 2.0,» arguing Beijing’s excess industrial capacity and record trade surplus are disrupting global markets while increasing foreign dependence on Chinese-controlled supply chains in sectors ranging from batteries and pharmaceuticals to semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

«Chinese policy seeks simultaneously to reduce China’s reliance on foreign technology while increasing the world’s dependence on China,» the commission noted in its findings.

TRUMP TO CONFRONT XI AT HIGH-STAKES SUMMIT OVER CHINA BACKING FOR IRAN, RUSSIA

President Trump was greeted by a formal state welcome when he touched down in Beijing ahead of high-stakes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

At the same time, Xi is entering the talks with leverage stemming from the ongoing Iran crisis and global energy disruptions.

Trump has faced growing domestic pressure over rising energy prices tied to instability in the Middle East and shipping threats near the Strait of Hormuz. Beijing, meanwhile, remains one of Iran’s largest oil customers and maintains political ties with Tehran.

Susan Thornton, former acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs during Trump’s first term, said during a recent Stanford University Asia-Pacific Research Center interview that expectations for major breakthroughs should remain low despite the summit’s symbolism.

«The primary value lies in the act of meeting itself,» Thornton said.

She suggested Beijing may see a strategic advantage in America’s renewed focus on the Middle East. While China has made nominal peace proposals, it has not stepped up as a mediator.

«It seems like they are kind of hanging back and waiting to see what will happen,» Thornton said, arguing that from Beijing’s perspective, a U.S. entanglement in the Middle East may serve as a useful distraction, diverting Washington’s attention and pressure away from China.

One area where the two sides could announce tangible progress is agriculture. 

The White House is pushing Beijing for expanded purchases of U.S. farm products ahead of the summit, according to a Reuters report published Tuesday, particularly soybeans and grains. 

But traders and analysts told Reuters that China’s appetite for major new soybean commitments may be limited due to weak domestic demand and cheaper alternatives from Brazil. Instead, markets are watching for potential agreements involving corn, sorghum, wheat, beef and poultry, sectors viewed as less politically contentious in the broader U.S.–China relationship. 

More than a dozen U.S. business executives, including leaders from agricultural giant Cargill, are accompanying Trump during the visit.

PRESIDENT TRUMP MUST PUT AMERICAN HOSTAGES FIRST IN HIGH-STAKES BEIJING SUMMIT

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan welcome U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump at the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, in Beijing, Nov. 8, 2017.  (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi via Getty Images)

Despite the focus on trade and geopolitical tensions, survivors of China’s religious persecution are urging the administration not to sideline Beijing’s crackdown on religious groups and dissidents.

Ahead of the summit, Trump publicly pledged to raise the case of imprisoned Chinese pastor Ezra Jin following advocacy efforts by his daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, who has accused Beijing of persecuting Christians.

Former U.S. officials told Fox News Digital they are skeptical human rights concerns will play a central role during a summit primarily focused on lowering tensions and stabilizing economic ties between the two powers.

Taiwan and technology restrictions are also expected to loom over the talks. Beijing continues to oppose U.S. arms sales and support for Taiwan, while Washington has tightened export controls targeting China’s advanced semiconductor and AI sectors.

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For President Donald Trump, the summit offers an opportunity to showcase economic wins and diplomatic engagement ahead of the 2026 midterms (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo)

Still, despite the escalating rivalry, neither Washington nor Beijing appears eager for a direct confrontation.

For Trump, the summit offers an opportunity to showcase economic wins and diplomatic engagement ahead of the 2026 midterms. 

For Xi, analysts say, the goal is far more measured: preserve stability, avoid confrontation and continue positioning China for a prolonged strategic competition with the United States.