Just three days until President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House, but California-based company Democrats, who specialize in providing on-demand crowds for protests, saw a surprising drop in enthusiasm compared with just a few years ago.

Adam Swart, CEO of California advocacy firm Crowds on Demand, said it's a stark contrast from previous election cycles.

"We're getting fewer inquiries than we were in 2017 when Trump was first elected to his first term, and I attribute that to a real lack of enthusiasm right now from a lot of Democratic donors and staff," he told Fox News Digital.

"A lot of them are frustrated, they understand that the strategies they tried ultimately didn't work out, and they're trying to recalibrate their approach as we move into the second Trump era."

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By the nature of the business, the losing side (or the opposing side) tends to turn to Crowds on Demand, which means Democrats typically flock to the company in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump's decisive victory and the inauguration approaching. .

But residual uneasiness from Democrats' November loss, and a desire to chart a path forward with a message that resonates, may be partly to blame.

Swart attributes much of that to a shift in "angry tactics" that, in his words, have largely "failed" Democrats.

“I’ve been telling my Democratic friends for a long time, the so-called Trump Derangement Syndrome, where you will vehemently and angrily oppose everything he does, and you will object to everything he says. Things that were outraged ultimately didn't work out, as evidenced by Trump's landslide victory," he said.

"He didn't win a landslide because people didn't know who he was. People knew who he was."

He cited Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who in June 2018 called on the public to publicly confront and harass members of the Trump administration.

"They won't be able to go to restaurants, they won't be able to stop at the gas station, they won't be able to shop at department stores," Waters Said at that time. "People are going to attack them, they're going to protest, they're absolutely going to harass them."

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Swart said the strategy worked for Democrats during Trump's first administration, when many members of the administration were "socially ostracized."

"They are not allowed to enter restaurants. They are not allowed to enter social clubs. They are not invited to important gatherings," he said.

"Inherent in this strategy is the idea of ​​paying a social cost to being associated with Trump. Now, when you see the titans of Silicon Valley and Wall Street openly engaging with Trump in a way that you've never seen, it's unprecedented. To the extent that it is no longer possible for Trump supporters to pay a social price.”

While Waters later denied she encouraged violence against Trump officials, other Democrats have faced similar scrutiny for inflammatory rhetoric, including when multiple party members called Trump a "threat to democracy." . For example, Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman of New York once said that Trump was "dangerous" to democracy and "had to get rid of him," but he quickly apologized for this remark.

Swart warned Democrats that if Waters-like rhetoric continues, the party will only "lose more" in the next election, pushing moderate Republicans further to the right and pushing moderate Democrats further to the left.

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“My advice to Democrats when it comes to protest and advocacy in the Trump era is to be very specific in your advocacy and be proactive in your focus. Given the fact that Democrats are in the minority in both the Senate and the House, representatives, There is an opportunity to get moderates or like-minded Republicans on both sides of the aisle to adopt their way of thinking, but the strategy of anger, aggression and social ostracism is not going to work,” he said.

"The better strategy is to be very focused on their constituents and what the constituents want, number one. Number two, make an emotional but positive appeal. Number three, relentless but respectful pressure. I mean you're out there and you're out there every day Smile to make your point, but you're not creating any threat in any way atmosphere. Let's go, what we find is that our most effective activities are those where we apply positive pressure and we keep a good sense of humor but we persevere and that's the strategy that works because that's what will Those independents — Republicans are willing to vote with Democrats.”

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Fox News' Yael Halon, Greg Wehner and Emma Colton contributed to this report.