As Donald Trump’s second term fades into the rearview mirror, the Democratic Party is facing a profound foreign policy rupture, one that could reshape its identity for years to come. At the heart of this upheaval is the war in Gaza, which has exposed deep divisions within the party and sparked a debate over the future of U.S. foreign policy.
Matt Duss, a former foreign policy adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders and now executive vice president at the Center for International Policy, argues that Democrats cannot avoid a reckoning over Gaza. “It reminds me of the Iraq war, which remade the Democratic Party and paved the way for Barack Obama’s 2008 primary victory,” Duss says. “Gaza is becoming the center of a similar rupture.”
The signs of discord are unmistakable. Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii, often mentioned as a potential future Senate Democratic leader, tweeted that it’s time for “a whole new crop of foreign policy staffers” in the next Democratic administration. Senator Chris Van Hollen wrote an op-ed in The New York Times, arguing that the party’s policy on Israel needs a dramatic overhaul and that primary voters will reject candidates who fail to show “moral and strategic clarity” on the issue.
This tension has already played out in several Democratic primaries. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed leads the Senate primary race by heavily criticizing the war in Gaza. In New Jersey, Dr. Adam Hamawy won his House primary on a platform of spending on health care instead of bombs. In New York, Brad Lander is challenging incumbent Dan Goldman, focusing on Goldman’s support for Israel. “You’re watching Democrats bend over backwards in the most pretzel-like way to justify the war,” El-Sayed remarked.
Duss contends that the Biden administration’s approach to Gaza was marred by what he calls a “campaign of disinformation.” He points to officials who repeatedly declined to assess whether Israel had violated international humanitarian law. “It was clear that they were choosing not to see things that were happening,” Duss says. “Everyone else in the world could see it.”
Looking ahead, Duss believes the party will not revert to Bidenism or replicate Trumpism. Instead, he calls for a new vision that goes beyond Gaza—one that rethinks America’s role in the world, prioritizes diplomacy, and holds allies accountable. As the 2028 primary approaches, the question of what a left foreign policy actually looks like may well define the race.