When he isn’t busy pardoning fraudsters whose family members donate money to him, Donald Trump has the wrecking crew he assembled as a cabinet working to destroy this country.

Commercially exploiting federal land. Denying the effectiveness of vaccination in combatting disease and illness. Pissing off our traditional allies. Attempting to destroy one of the world’s most prestigious universities.

It’s like what the team the arch-villain in a superhero movie conjures. Except I don’t see any Bruce Waynes or Clark Kents in the neighborhood.

And the Democratic Party, the force best suited in this moment to fight back, is engaged in circular firing squad mode.

But Elissa Slotkin, the recently elected junior senator from Michigan, has one idea that might start to turn things around.

Slotkin suggests that the Democrats form a shadow Cabinet – a team of experts that mimics the roles of the actual team of horribles Trump assembled.

While a shadow Cabinet would have none of the enforcement power of its MAGA stooge counterpart, it would help give the Democratic Party something it needs desperately: a plan.

The “secretaries” would help to develop policies – in the same way the party develops a platform just before the quadrennial convention. Those policies would serve as alternatives to what Trump and his henchpeople are doing to America’s government and image.

For instance, with the Republicans seemingly determined to undermine Medicaid and strip it away from millions of people who need it, a shadow Health and Human Services Secretary could propose an expansion of the Affordable Care Act – aka Obamacare. That would further reduce medical costs for all Americans and stand in stark contrast.

Put that out there and see what happens. There’s a chance it could force the MAGA idiots to reconsider their plan – they’ll argue it’s socialism or whatever, but they’ll feel some pressure. As opposed to now, when all they’re hearing is that what they’re doing is bad.

Come up with an alternative that someone articulate can sell – and it doesn’t look like “he said, she said” politics as usual.

That’s the thing. The Democrats have an advantage in that most of the people who speak as leaders of the party can do so in complete sentences. From Barack Obama to AOC to Pete Buttigieg to Tim Walz, the party knows how to communicate effectively.

But a shadow Cabinet should not contain people who might be running for the White House in 2028. Or, obviously Obama – unlike the Republicans, Democrats take Constitutional term limits seriously.

Not sure exactly who that is just yet. But it could be AOC, Buttigieg, maybe Walz, Gretchen Whitmer, Gavin Newsom or Kamala Harris.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t talent to make the Democrats’ case.

Politico recently gave 21 names for a Democratic shadow Cabinet. Some of them are outright silly. Ben Stein is a hardcore Republican and I’d bet money he voted for Trump; just because his character in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” bemoans tariffs doesn’t mean he’ll stand up against them in real life. He’s also 80 years old.

And Jon Stewart, while incredibly potent as an advocate for veterans, is much more effective as a nonpartisan lampooner than serving as a party spokesman.

But some of the other names are interesting. 

Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, has stood up to Trump before and even won a civil fraud case against him and his company. She is a no-nonsense law enforcement advocate and – as a native Brooklynite – isn’t afraid to speak her mind.

Samantha Power knows how foreign aid makes our country safer. She headed USAID when it was giving money to fight disease and hunger around the world – something Trump and Marco Rubio, his Secretary of State, feel is too “woke.” Having her out front as a defender of America’s generosity and compassion is a visual I’d be proud to see.

However, the personalities aren’t important. As I’ve said since January 20, the Democrats can’t just be against Trump. They have to stand for something more than returning to the status quo. They need to understand that people are frustrated with the direction of the country and want their lives to be easier.

Joe Biden understood that, but his limitations made that hard to sell – he couldn’t go to a lot of college campuses or big stadium rallies the way Barack Obama could. The Democrats need a plan of action and a bunch of articulate leaders of all varieties to go out and spell out a better future – and then watch Trump stew as those plans catch fire with the public.

It’ll take some work. But it’ll be worth it. Often bad things lurk in shadows, but they provide shade from a burning sun. And right now, the America we love is getting scorched – a little Democratic shadowing could help.