Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., speaks at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on Aug. 29. | Jeff Chiu/AP Trump remarks backfire on Feinstein

OAKLAND, Calif. — It was a relatively innocuous remark, one that likely would have gone unnoticed with any other president. But this is California in the Donald Trump era, where antipathy toward the president runs deeper than almost anywhere else. The mere suggestion that voters should be patient, or that Trump might evolve into “a good president” was enough to land Sen. Dianne Feinstein in hot water.

The Democratic senator drew gasps, and some boos, in an appearance at the Commonwealth Club of California this week, when she insisted that Trump may need time to develop into a leader — a distinctly unpopular opinion in a solidly blue state where the president’s approval ratings are in the cellar.


"Look, this man is going to be president most likely for the rest of this term," Feinstein said Tuesday before an audience of 800 in San Francisco. "I just hope he has the ability to learn and to change, and if he does,he can be a good president. And that's my hope."

Noting that Trump has only been president for eight months, Feinstein insisted that Trump deserves some time and "some patience" from voters. "We’ll have to see if he can forget himself and his feelings about himself enough to be able to have the empathy and direction that this country needs,” she said.

The reaction to her remarks was swift. In addition to widespread local coverage of Feinstein’s seemingly conciliatory comments, state Senate Leader Kevin de León issued a blistering response Wednesday about the potential of Trump to be a leader.

“We don’t have much patience for Donald Trump here in California. This president has not shown any capacity to learn and proven he is not fit for office. It is the responsibility of Congress to hold him accountable — especially Democrats — not be complicit in his reckless behavior,'' said de Leon, who is considered a potential future candidate for statewide office — possibly U.S. Senate.

Feinstein sought to clarify her position later in the day, issuing a statement that noted her many criticisms of his administration and its policies in the past eight months.

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“During this tumultuous time, I’m working to protect the progress we’ve made and find a way to get things done for Californians during a period of total Republican control of Washington. I’ve been strongly critical of President Trump when I disagree on policy and with his behavior,'' she said in her statement.

“Most recently, I was appalled by his comments in response to Charlottesville and the pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. President Trump said that there were ‘very fine people’ in a crowd chanting ‘Jews will not replace us.’ There’s nothing ‘fine’ about white supremacists, Nazis or the KKK,'' Feinstein wrote.

"The duty of the American president is to bring people together, not cater to one segment of a political base; to solve problems, not campaign constantly. While I’m under no illusion that it’s likely to happen and will continue to oppose his policies, I want President Trump to change for the good of the country.”

For Feinstein, the episode served as another reminder of the charged politics surrounding Trump. Her brand of moderation is out of favor in the California Democratic Party, and progressives have been frustrated by her skeptical view of single-payer health care and support for some of Donald Trump’s earliest nominees.

Sen. Kamala Harris — while never directly criticizing her senior Democratic colleague — nevertheless made clear she fundamentally disagreed Wednesday.

“I’m not going to speak for Sen. Feinstein ... but I will say that everything that this president has done in the last eight months leads me to believe that he has spoken his intentions,’’ Harris said, in response to questions from reporters following a town hall in Oakland. “He has spoken his values, he has spoken his style of communicating and boundaries, or lack of boundaries, on many issues — and I have no reason to believe that he will change course.”

Feinstein, 84, ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is up for reelection in 2018. While she has not definitively said she will run again, she is widely believed to be preparing to seek another six-year term.

Yet her comments underscore the growing concerns from some in the party that the venerable legislator, now the oldest member of the U.S. Senate, may be increasingly out of touch with younger voters.

"The time to root for President Trump and his success is over,'' said veteran Democratic strategist Mac Zilber. "Donald Trump has failed as a presidential leader time and time again. He has poured gas on the wildfire that is the American political agenda,'' while failing to deliver any meaningful legislation, he said.

Up against this "barbarous" leader, he said, "Democrats ought to draw a line in the sand."

Zilber, co-founder of the Southern California-based Jacobson and Zilber Strategies group, said that like many California Democrats, he maintains a "deep respect" for Feinstein's long tenure and record in office.

"[But] she was out of step with California's progressive movement" in making the comments about Trump. Noting the pushback from prominent Democrats like De Leon and Harris, he said, "I applaud Democrats who are taking a stand."

