Democrats are tortured by what they should stand for now and heading into the 2028 elections. But a number of current trends suggest a likely answer: their own version of a populist, anti-establishment, MAGA-like makeover, Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write in a "Behind the Curtain" column.

• Why it matters: The debate is usually framed as liberal vs. centrist, Rahm versus AOC. But big, fast changes in AI, media habits and general public angst point to a more sweeping shift in ideas and attitude.

Four megatrends that are already shaping Democrats' efforts to remake their image and rewrite their agenda:

1. Media: MSM is fading in its mesmerizing hold over liberals. At the same time, the emerging media of podcasts, YouTube and TikTok favor the new and edgy.
2. Mood: You see it every day, from California Gov. Gavin Newsom's foul-mouthed declarations of redistricting wars to Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) mocking her state's Republican governor, Greg Abbott, for using a wheelchair. Dems are tired of looking and feeling like chumps. They want to brawl, politically and verbally.
3. AI: Some level of job devastation is coming. Championing the worker will be too appealing for Dems to resist — a chance to win back the base, at a time when Rs are all-in with Big Tech, like Dems were during the rise of the internet.
4. Attention: The attention economy favors the bold — see New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, or the democratic socialist candidate for Minneapolis mayor, State Sen. Omar Fateh.

🔎 Between the lines: Democrats say the grassroots energy is with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) — not necessarily because they agree with her on everything, but because she's so adept at communicating in this era.

• AOC, drawing huge crowds along with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on the Fighting Oligarchy Tour, raked in more grassroots donations in the first half of the year than the DCCC (Democrats' House fundraising committee) or any other Democrat in Congress, progressive strategist Tim Tagaris noted on X.

Mamdani, Axios' Marc Caputo noticed, is in many ways a leftist version of Trump when he started running a decade ago: a product of New York ... a social media sensation ... the media can't stop talking about him ... opponents loathe him as an extremist.

How it works: Democrats look at the GOP's 2024 gains and realize they'll be left behind if they don't abruptly change how they communicate. Suddenly, everyone's a brawler:

• In the New York mayoral race, Andrew Cuomo was outhustled by Mamdani in the Democratic primary. Cuomo has revamped his strategy for November's general election to try to be more relatable and ubiquitous — and is picking fights on social media.
• Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker gave refuge this month to Texas Democratic legislators who were fleeing the statehouse to avoid voting on redistricting. The two-week walkout ended Monday.
• Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) told The New York Times that her party needs "alpha energy ... speaking about your gut and your emotion. I think Democrats have lost that. We respond to people's pain with a long list of wonky policies."

Potential Democratic candidates are more likely to sit down with explicitly partisan spaces like Pod Save America or Ezra Klein's podcast than they are with the longtime national political reporters who long dominated presidential-campaign coverage during the hot-stove season.

• Alex Bruesewitz — a top Trump digital adviser, and architect of the 2024 campaign's bro-heavy podcast strategy — told us he's not worried about Democrats trying to replicate his recipe. He says it only works with a charismatic candidate, not ones who are "boring, stiff and scripted."

Case in point: Democrats' rising MAGA energy is being showcased in their ferocious response to Trump's effort to make the Texas congressional map even redder. Democrats are trying to replicate his audacious move coast to coast — even though Republicans have a clear advantage over Democrats in states that could redraw their lines before next year's midterms.

• James Carville told us: "I'm afraid map-drawing is [a] most valuable political skill. There is no way off this hamster wheel."

🥊 Reality check: Matt Bennett, co-founder of the center-left think tank Third Way, told us Democrats need "combative centrists," and said it would be a huge mistake for the party to overread the attention the left is currently getting.

• "The very online left are the only ones who actually believe that kind of politics can flip seats and win the White House," Bennett said. "We've got to appeal to the gigantic group of voters who've left Democrats in the last 10 years. Those people are not looking for socialism. They're looking for fighters — but only ones who share their values."

The bottom line: Trump's suit fits Trump uniquely. Others who try to don it can wind up looking like clowns.

• Share this column ... Alex Thompson and Marc Caputo contributed.

The White House wants a meeting between Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky to take place before the end of the month, a source with knowledge tells Axios' Barak Ravid.

• Why it matters: Trump said on Truth Social that he'd called Putin yesterday and "began the arrangements for a meeting" between Putin and Zelensky, to be followed by yet another summit, this time also including Trump.

The call took place while Zelensky and seven European leaders were gathered in the White House for a hastily arranged meeting after Trump and Putin's Alaska summit, two sources familiar with the call tell Axios.

• Russia didn't confirm a meeting with Zelensky but only said that Trump and Putin had discussed "the idea of raising the level of Russian and Ukrainian representation in the negotiations."

🔭 Zoom in: The on-camera parts of both of yesterday's meetings were friendly in tone, particularly compared to Zelensky's disastrous visit in February. The Ukrainian president described it as his "best" meeting with Trump so far.

• The European leaders praised Trump's efforts for peace while prodding him to reconsider his decision to stop pushing Putin for a ceasefire, and instead jump straight to negotiating a comprehensive deal.
• Trump said the U.S. would "be involved" in providing post-war security guarantees for Ukraine. He didn't rule out sending in U.S. troops, though he said the Europeans would be the "first line of defense."
• The discussion around security guarantees seemed to strike a nerve in Moscow. The Foreign Ministry said it "categorically" rejects the possibility of "a military contingent with the participation of NATO countries" inside Ukraine.

👀 What we're watching: Security guarantees for Ukraine and territorial claims by Russia will be two of the thorniest issues if Putin and Zelensky do end up at the negotiating table.

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Steve Bannon, in a late-night text message to me, captions this behind-the-scenes photo of European leaders in the Oval Office yesterday: "Truants called to headmaster's office."

Another memorable image posted by the White House.

• See all 4.

New graduates are having an especially tough time landing a job right now: The share of unemployed Americans who are new to the workforce is at a 37-year high, Axios' Emily Peck writes.

• Why it matters: It's a sign of how reluctant companies have been to hire amid ongoing economic uncertainty over tariffs and policy.

🧮 By the numbers: 13.4% of unemployed Americans in July were "new labor force entrants," those looking for jobs with no prior work experience, including new high school and college graduates.

• It's the highest number since 1988, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Between the lines: The frozen hiring market is a "double-whammy" for Gen Z, says John O'Trakoun, an economist at the Richmond Fed who did the research.

• Many of these job hunters entered college at the height of pandemic lockdowns.

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Fully adopting AI could save corporate America $920 billion annually — savings that could come from employing a lot fewer people, Axios Markets author Madison Mills writes from new Morgan Stanley data.

• Why it matters: As investors worry about lofty valuations, this data backs the bulls: AI could boost productivity and supercharge earnings growth, leading to corporate profits that could justify current multiples.

🔬 Zoom in: The $920 billion in annual savings from AI adoption represents over 40% of what S&P 500 companies spend on compensation, signaling job cuts could be coming.

• This could show up as companies not replacing workers lost to attrition, rather than doing sweeping layoffs.

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Nearly half of non-immigration-related arrests during President Trump's D.C. takeover have taken place in two of the city's most crime-ridden areas, according to an analysis the White House shared with Axios' Cuneyt Dil and Marc Caputo.

• Why it matters: The figures refute critics who claimed the takeover was all for show or was not targeting high-crime areas, according to a White House official who crunched the numbers this weekend.

The big picture: Trump's D.C. takeover is unprecedented, as is the use of White House staff to analyze metropolitan crime data.

• Images of National Guard troops patrolling touristy areas, protesters chanting at police and masked agents arresting people on the streets have dominated headlines and chatter on social media for days.

🚓 By the numbers: 212 people have been arrested for various crimes during the federal takeover since Aug. 8, according to White House data that excludes immigration-related arrests.

• 101 of those arrests, or 48%, took place in Wards 7 and 8, home to many low-income and working-class majority-Black neighborhoods of Washington. They have long experienced the most violent crime in the city.

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Clear and the TSA are piloting biometric "eGates" at three major U.S. airports ahead of a nationwide rollout, the identity verification company told Axios' Kelly Tyko.

• The opt-in pilot program, available only to Clear members, begins today at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson, next week at DCA, and later this month at Seattle-Tacoma.

💡 How it works: Travelers step into an eGate that conducts real-time biometric verification, matching a traveler's face to their ID and boarding pass.

• Once cleared, passengers move directly to screening and bypass the TSA podium.

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Here's a pro tip from the Phillie Phanatic for staying fresh during summer heat waves: vodka and water.

• Tom Burgoyne, the man behind the Phanatic mask, told AP that a spray bottle of the cocktail — not for hydration — is the big thing for mascots.

⚾ How it works: Burgoyne mixes half water and half vodka in a squeegee bottle and sprays it on his head.

• The mixture helps take that smell away during the dog days of summer.