The first 100 days of Trump 2.0 have seen important high points in the anti-Trump struggle. Millions protested on the April 5 and 19 “Hands Off” national days of action led by 50501, a decentralized grassroots organization that was launched after the election. After a series of initial smaller protests between the election and inauguration, these “Hands Off” actions showed a huge step forward in standing up to Trump, as the largest protests since the George Floyd rebellion of 2020. Socialist Alternative members have been out across the country building for these protests and talking to people about next steps for the movement.

To successfully challenge Trump’s attacks, the movement urgently needs to take up clear, unifying demands, expand its reach, and escalate its tactics. In order to do so, the anti-Trump movement needs to break from the politics and structures of the Democratic Party and bring the broader working class into the fight, with the labor movement in the lead. Ultimately, we must fight for a program and strategy that go beyond the framework of the existing capitalist system.

Democrats & The Courts Can’t Save Us!

With no other alternative, many working people at protests appeal to the Democrats to “do something” to fight Trump or are putting their faith in the courts to stop him. The courts have temporarily stalled some of Trump’s attacks, but not stopped him decisively. Meanwhile, many Democrats’ current strategy is to “play dead” (or worse, if you’re Chuck Schumer), while moving decisively to the right.

50501 has unfortunately largely adopted the logic of the Democrats and capitalist courts. Broadly speaking, 50501 sees the protests as a vehicle to funnel our anger into the narrow goals of “ending executive overreach” and “upholding the constitution.” While the overwhelming majority of local protests are genuinely grassroots initiatives, without clear political demands and an escalation strategy, the movement nationally has been left open to co-optation by the Democratic Party and their NGOs, like Indivisible.

Large sections of the working class—including young people, trans people, immigrants, and people of color—watched Biden and Harris spend the four years between Trump 1.0 and 2.0 supporting genocide, deporting in record numbers, abandoning trans rights, and gaslighting us about the economy. For many people, a strategy that relies on the Democrats and their institutions doesn’t resonate. This is a key reason why 50501 protests have leaned more middle class, older, and whiter, and have struggled to involve the wider working class.

This isn’t a new strategy, and its cost can be measured by the outcome of Trump’s first term, when the grassroots organizations leading the anti-Trump protests were thoroughly co-opted by the Democratic Party. The 2017 Women’s March—the largest single day of protest in US history, at the time—was turned into a “march to the polls” to mobilize “blue no matter who” votes in the midterms, and again for Biden in 2020. While this did get Trump voted out, it was Biden’s term which has prepared the ground for Trump’s return to the White House, even more determined than last time. Trump 2.0 is the direct result of the Democrats’ co-optation of the anti-Trump movement, and today’s movement is at risk of falling into the same trap.

Instead of relying on the courts or Democrats, the movement needs to use the protest movement as a springboard for further escalation—occupations, walkouts, and strikes. This is the type of action that worked in Trump’s first term, and history has demonstrated many times over that these tactics, which interrupt business as usual for the billionaires, are what is needed to win real gains for the working class. This is also the type of struggle that the Democratic Party, a party backed by the same billionaire class and corporate interests as Trump and the Republicans, are deathly allergic to.

Most crucially, to lead the way toward the type of escalatory tactics that can really challenge Trump, the labor movement needs to fully enter the fight, as the force in society that has the most power and is best organized to shut down business as usual. May 1st included some protests co-organized by the AFL-CIO and 50501, but the movement needs to go much farther—and urgently, before the momentum of the protests dies down. Unions in particular need to escalate the struggle and could organize walkouts, sit-ins, and a national one-day strike to begin to really challenge Trump and chart a clearer path forward for the movement.

Anti-Trump, But What Are We Fighting For?

The anti-Trump movement needs a program of clear demands to outline what we stand for, rather than only what we’re against. Demands should include points like a $25/hr federal minimum wage; free universal healthcare that includes reproductive and gender-affirming care; immediate legalization and equal rights for all undocumented immigrants; an immediate end to US military aid to Israel; tuition-free public college and the cancelation of all student debt; and a massive green, union jobs program to expand public transit and affordable housing.

Demands like this are not only more inspiring and speak to the actual needs of working-class people of all backgrounds, they’re also demands that point toward the need for greater unity and connection in our struggles. Ultimately, the anti-Trump movement needs to advocate that all working-class people—even those who may have misguidedly voted for Trump out of disgust with the status quo— join together to fight for our common interests.

Under capitalism, a key function of US presidents is to uphold the interests of US imperialism. Many in the protests condemn the weakening of US imperialism on the world stage and “abandoning our allies”—referring to Canada, Europe, and NATO. However, NATO, a thoroughly imperialist institution designed to uphold the dominance of Western capitalist countries, led by US imperialism, is no friend to the working class here, in Ukraine, or anywhere. Workers have no common interest with the billionaires of our own countries, who use nationalism to protect their profits. Instead, we have common interests with workers globally. We should oppose NATO’s existence not on a nationalist, protectionist basis, but on the basis of working-class internationalism. Support for NATO at 50501 rallies helps allow Trump to falsely pose as anti-war, when in reality, it has historically been the left internationally that has led mass protests against NATO, which needs to urgently be brought back.

Strengthen The Movement Against Trump 2.0

While seeing 50501 groups popping up in cities and towns in every corner of the country has been very inspiring, there are real limits to its lack of any formal (and therefore democratically accountable) leadership and a common political program. Whether it comes from 50501 or not, the movement will need to organize real democratic structures like mass assemblies and local chapter meetings to discuss and debate what the movement should be fighting for and its next steps. Out of this, tens of thousands of anti-Trump activists could adopt a clear political program and elect leadership that’s accountable to the wider movement. In an example that points to what’s needed on a bigger scale, in many cities Socialist Alternative built for action conferences out of the April 19 50501 national day of action to help build for May Day demonstrations and openly discuss next steps for the movement, some of which were co-hosted by local 50501 chapters.

By decisively rejecting both corporate parties, the anti-Trump movement can take meaningful steps to escalate the struggle and organize walkouts, sit-ins, and a strong call on unions for a one-day strike. A movement like this can also serve as a jumping off point for a new political party that actually represents working-class people and breaks the rule of the two corporate parties.

To fight against Trump and the capitalist system of exploitation, oppression, and war, we need to build a movement to fight for a society that eradicates oppression and exploitation and is based on the common interests of humanity as a whole—a socialist society!