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Sen Van Hollen, a vocal Trump critic, on how the Democrats get back in the fight
In a clip from GZERO World’s latest episode, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen lays out what Democrats must do to reclaim political momentum—and it starts with ditching reactive politics. “Voters don’t like people who always seem to have their finger to the wind,” he says. “Probably if I’d done that, I wouldn’t have gone to El Salvador.”
Van Hollen argues that while opposing Trump’s policies is important, Democrats also need to offer a proactive alternative that resonates with working Americans. A central piece of that, he says, is countering Trump’s tax agenda, which he calls “the great betrayal.” “He’s throwing working people under the bus to help the Elon Musks of the world,” Van Hollen warns, pointing to tax cuts for the wealthy at the expense of middle- and low-income Americans.
He believes the party’s path forward should include targeted tax relief, expanded access to healthcare, and a stronger focus on economic security—issues that speak directly to voters who once backed Trump but may be open to change.
Watch full episode: Why Sen. Chris Van Hollen stood up to Trump
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
After Sen. Van Hollen's visit to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, what's next?
Ian Bremmer sits down with Senator Chris Van Hollen in the US Capitol Complex in the latest episode of GZERO World to discuss his high-profile trip to El Salvador and what comes next. Van Hollen's visit was intended to draw attention to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident wrongfully deported and held in a Salvadoran prison. But despite the media splash and a unanimous Supreme Court ruling demanding his return, the senator says the Trump administration has done nothing: “The Vice President of El Salvador made it clear repeatedly that the ball was in the Trump administration’s court… They’re only holding him because the Trump administration is paying them to do so.”
So what’s next? Van Hollen is pursuing a three-pronged strategy. First, he’s relying on a federal judge to compel the administration to comply with the court order. Second, he and Senator Tim Kaine are introducing a resolution requiring a public accounting of the administration’s actions and of El Salvador’s human rights practices. And third, he’s turning up the heat on Senate Republicans: “We’re trying to shame our colleagues into standing up for the Constitution. So far, there seems to be no bottom to which they will sink.”
Even after the trip, Van Hollen insists the fight isn’t over—but with Trump’s open defiance of the judiciary, he warns, the rule of law itself may be what’s really on the line.
Watch full episode: Why Sen. Chris Van Hollen stood up to Trump
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
- HARD NUMBERS: Maryland senator flies to El Salvador, Russian journalists jailed, California sues Trump admin over tariffs, EU tilts right on asylum, Peru’s ex-president guilty of money laundering ›
- El Salvador's Bukele refuses to return wrongly-deported Maryland man, and offers to jail US citizens too ›
- The Graphic Truth: How does El Salvador's prison rate stack up? ›
Why Sen. Chris Van Hollen stood up to Trump
In the latest episode of GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks with Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen about his recent trip to El Salvador and his broader concerns over the Trump administration’s abuse of executive power. Van Hollen visited Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man legally residing in the United States (though who initially entered illegally) who was wrongly deported to a prison in El Salvador. Despite a unanimous Supreme Court ruling ordering his return, “the President admitted that he could get him back by simply picking up the phone,” Van Hollen says. “They are in violation of a nine-to-nothing Supreme Court order.”
Van Hollen accuses the Salvadoran government of detaining Abrego Garcia only because “the Trump administration is paying us money to do so.” And while Republicans have remained largely silent, Van Hollen reveals that privately, “they have conceded that we are at risk… when we have a lawless president.”
Then the conversation turns to foreign policy and trade, where Van Hollen criticizes deep State Department cuts and Trump’s sweeping tariffs. “This tariff chaos is hurting our economy,” he says, adding that lawsuits are already challenging what he calls an abuse of emergency powers. On domestic politics, Van Hollen argues that Democrats need to offer a clear economic vision: “Trump’s tax plan… is what I call the great betrayal.”
Finally, the senator reflects on the future of the Democratic Party. He urges fellow Democrats to be more than just “no on Trump,” calling for clear alternatives—especially when it comes to taxes, healthcare, and economic policy. He sees Trump’s tax cuts as “exhibit A of the great betrayal” of working Americans and calls for a plan that benefits those left behind.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
- Trump versus the courts ›
- El Salvador's Bukele refuses to return wrongly-deported Maryland man, and offers to jail US citizens too ›
- HARD NUMBERS: Maryland senator flies to El Salvador, Russian journalists jailed, California sues Trump admin over tariffs, EU tilts right on asylum, Peru’s ex-president guilty of money laundering ›
- What does Trump’s mass deportation mean for Canada — and immigration policy? ›
- Trump’s immigration plan faces hurdles ›
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen on why he went to El Salvador and what's next
Listen: In the latest episode of the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen to unpack what he calls a constitutional crisis unfolding under the Trump administration. At the center of the conversation is the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father of three who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador and remains imprisoned in a maximum-security facility known for human rights abuses. Van Hollen recently traveled to El Salvador to visit Abrego Garcia and pressure local authorities, telling Bremmer, “I asked [them] whether or not El Salvador had any independent basis for holding him. His answer was, ‘No… the Trump administration is paying us money to do so.’”
The conversation also turns to broader concerns about America’s global posture. Van Hollen argues the administration has gutted the State Department and abandoned U.S. leadership abroad: “What we are witnessing is America in retreat. Our adversaries, like China, are all too happy to fill the vacuum.” He critiques Trump’s sweeping tariff policies as chaotic and harmful to small businesses, saying they’re driven more by political theater than economic strategy.
With due process under threat and American institutions under pressure, Van Hollen calls on Democrats to fight back not just with opposition, but with an alternative vision: “We should point out the betrayal, but also present a plan that helps working people—the people Trump claims to stand for.”
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