New Wave progressives on their dual challenge: Trump and the Democratic Establishment

A city councilmember, a Democratic party official, and an activist-turned-candidate gathered in New York this week to discuss the dual challenge they currently face: opposing the Trump administration while taking on the party establishment.

The event, hosted by digital media company COURIER, capped off a three-month docuseries project profiling Gen Z activist Deja Foxx’s run for US Congress. REPRESENT follows behind-the-scenes as she jumps into a contentious special election for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, positioning herself as a voice of change against two longtime, well-known local politicians. Despite entering the race with no major financial backers and no campaign experience, Foxx outperformed analyst expectations, and believes what she’s learned from the experience can help future challenges to the Democratic establishment succeed. 

Foxx was joined for the REPRESENT: Leading Voices event by fellow Gen Z progressive leaders New York City Councilmember Chi Ossé and North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton. Throughout the night, the trio shared with the audience what they thought of their predecessor’s attempts to rein in the next generation, and what growing up during the first Trump administration taught them about opposing him during his second.

Power players from all across the political ecosystem were invited to participate in the event, including Run For Something Founder Amanda Litman and “How is This Better?” host Akilah Hughes, as well as influential content creators Suzanne Lambert, and Keith Edwards. 

The event was sponsored by People First, The Bench, and Grassroots Analytics.

“I thought about how much this campaign would mean to those 15 and 16-year-old girls who have watched Donald Trump breaking every rule in the book…this is her Democratic Party, just as much as it belongs to any senator or party official. This is a party that belongs to our voters.”

– Deja Foxx, Gen Z activist and former congressional candidate

“Yes, I was a 15-year-old organizer. But also organizing while being raised by a single mom, and having your neighbor come over to babysit while she’s at work, or inviting someone over for a meal when they’re short on food, or the people who drove me to school when we didn’t have a car — that is organizing. We’re not going to change the system things overnight, but we can make our lives a little better along the way, and the work really is to just make sure that we get through this.”

– Deja Foxx, Gen Z activist and former congressional candidate

“I think many other Congress members who are especially afraid of the change that is coming to this party, the good change that is coming to this party, should step aside and let others fill those [seats] – that’s my political answer. The real answer is many of them are extremely embarrassing.”

–  New York City Councilmember Chi Ossé

“A lot of the incidents that we see when it comes to crime in the city — and sometimes in this country — stem from the mental health crisis that exists. So I’ve been super excited to support Zoran and his plan to create community safety teams across the city, another agency that will tend to some of these mental health crises within our city.

– New York City Councilmember Chi Ossé

“We don’t want more politicians in office right now, to be honest with y’all. I want people that actually want to do the jobs that they’re there to do, which is serve the people that you are supposed to represent. And newsflash: everybody in this audience that knows that, right? It ain’t an easy job, but I think there is a way for us to be able to speak to communities and also get people in office that can do that easier than what we’ve done so far. And that means we have got to equalize and make a fairer playing field for anybody that wants to run for office right now.”

– Anderson Clayton, Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party

“One of the leading political questions of 2025 is about the Democratic Party’s reckoning over what kind of opposition party do they want to be: will power remain in the hands of those who place seniority over meritocracy and defend archaic procedural precedents over bold, effective leadership? Or does it shift to those who are willing to take their gloves off, communicate authentically and go on offense to fight fire with fire? Millions of young people, are seeking answers and COURIER is meeting them where they are in our day-to-day coverage, and through events like this one where a new generation of changemakers are rising to the occasion to help make sense of this moment and lay out their visions for the future of the Party.” 

– Tara McGowan, COURIER Founder & Publisher