It has been a head-spinning first six weeks of Trump 2.0. The billionaire president has signed 75 executive orders, the most in any administration’s first 100 days since Ronald Reagan. These orders range from attacks on trans people to the elimination of foreign aid to withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization. Trump has initiated a firing spree of federal workers, the economic ramifications of which will be felt well beyond the corridors of Washington D.C. And immigrants throughout the country are living in constant fear of deportation as Trump unleashes ICE raids on migrant families. More and more people are ready to fight back—on the streets, on campuses, and in the workplace—and many are desperately wondering why the Democrats are showing no sign of joining them.
The Democrats’ Unofficial Slogan: Don’t Fight–Turn Right
Still reeling from the election, the Democrats are in disarray. But to the extent the party has drawn political conclusions, it’s that they strayed too far left. From Kamala Harris promising to appoint Republicans to her cabinet—to Mark Warner saying that Trump has made “great progress” at the border—to dozens of Democrats, including Gavin Newsom, opposing trans people participating in sports, the Democratic Party keeps moving to the right.
A leaked document by the establishment think tank Third Way lays out their plan for a Democratic Party “comeback”. This includes abandoning the fight against oppression like racism, sexism, and transphobia; embracing individualism and masculinity; and preaching a “prosperity gospel” to working-class people. A majority of this group’s funders and board of trustees are connected to the banking industry—not exactly in touch with working people.
Do-Nothing Dems
So far the biggest fight the Democrats have picked is with their own base! When liberal groups MoveOn and Indivisible organized a calling campaign pressuring Democrats to actively fight Trump’s agenda, leading Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries took the opportunity to complain about the phone calls and to make excuses for their inaction. Meanwhile, longtime Democratic Party strategist James Carville thinks inactivity is the best strategy: “With no clear leader to voice our opposition and no control in any branch of government, it’s time for Democrats to embark on the most daring political maneuver in the history of our party: roll over and play dead.” Well, mission accomplished!
Even when presented with the opportunity to challenge Trump face-to-face at his address to Congress, all the Democrats could muster was symbolically dressing in pink and holding up little signs. This is performative nonsense and does not inspire anyone to fight.
But historically when the Democrats DO SOMETHING, they create the space for Trumpism to grow. The biggest accomplishments of the last three Democratic presidents bear this out: Clinton ended welfare, expanded mass incarceration, and passed NAFTA which severely undermined labor unions and the environment; Obama proudly expanded dangerous oil and gas production and bailed out the banks in 2009 while millions lost their houses or family savings; and Bidenomics told people the economy was great when working people were being crushed by inflation and low wages. Trump is the consequence of the repeated betrayal of working people by the Democrats.
Inept, or Something Worse?
What would an actual opposition look like? An opposition party could organize a series of town halls to gather support for a set of demands that address the interests of workers and young people: universal health care for all including gender affirming care and free, accessible abortion on demand; no immigrant deportations–immediate, unconditional legalization for undocumented immigrants; student loan cancellation and more! They could then marshal these supporters into escalating rallies, occupations, and strikes to both defeat Trump’s policies and win their own. But such a strategy would mean mobilizing the working class, the only class capable of fundamentally changing society and challenging the ultimate rule of the capitalist class. And that is the insoluble contradiction facing the Democratic Party: they cannot and will not endanger their capitalist class masters.
In the absence of any real opposition, Trump will continue his attacks on trans people and immigrants, and his assault on the working class generally.
Workers and Young People Must Rely On Our Own Power
So what force can not only stop Trump’s attacks, but bring him down? Mass action of workers and young people have historically won our biggest gains–civil rights, abortion rights, environmental protections, higher living standards–and we can win again.
We need to build a new mass opposition, based on the interests of the working class as a whole. Various protests have emerged and this is a positive sign. We need to link the struggles–the fight to defend trans rights, federal union workers resisting Trump’s firings, immigrants’ rights rallies, young environmental activists fighting Trump’s “Drill Baby Drill”, and the anti-war movement. In order to connect these struggles and build a real, consistent mass political opposition, we need a mass party of the working class: a party that can carry forward a socialist program of green transition, union jobs for all, permanently affordable housing, universal healthcare, and ultimately fight for an end to the rotten capitalist system that produces monsters like Trump.