Seven years after Biden predicted a GOP ‘epiphany’ over Trump, Democrats are moving on

ElectionsSeven years after Biden predicted a GOP ‘epiphany’ over Trump, Democrats are moving onAfter buying into the failed prophecy, Democratic voters are now demanding less compromise and more combat against the GOP as they lose hope for a gentler politics.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks to voters in Nashua, N.H., on May 14, 2019.Spencer Platt / Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 14, 2026, 5:00 AM EDTBy Sahil KapurSeven years ago, on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, Joe Biden boldly proclaimed that Republicans would have an “epiphany” after they lost the 2020 election — they would move on from President Donald Trump and work cooperatively with Democrats.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Many Democrats bought into it then. But after Trump stormed back into the White House with a popular-vote win and an Electoral College thumping four years later, Democratic voters are abandoning that vision in favor of a more combative style of politics.“Every elected official who believed that has either retired, lost or is about to lose,” said Democratic strategist Rebecca Katz, who named her firm Fight Agency after the GOP sweep in 2024.At a campaign stop on May 14, 2019, Biden told voters, “The thing that will fundamentally change with Donald Trump out of the White House — not a joke — is you will see an epiphany occur among many of my Republican friends.”Biden, the longtime senator-turned-vice president who prided himself on working across the aisle, called the MAGA movement an aberration for a GOP that he insisted was ready to break with Trump but was too “intimidated” to do so.Biden speaks to voters in Nashua on May 14, 2019, the day he predicted Republicans would come to a post-Trump "epiphany."Spencer Platt / Getty Images file“With Donald Trump out of the way, you’re going to see a number of my Republican collea...