Resisting Trumpism 2.0
Image by René DeAnda.
Millions of people are disappointed that Donald Trump is back in the White House. Many of those millions are indeed quite angry about this fact. Some of us are—dare I say—just plain pissed off. From these tens of millions, there are many responses. Let me do my best to list the primary reactions I have heard. Firstly, there is the question how did this happen? Quite often, the next turn in the unfolding conversation is to blame someone. The list of those getting the blame includes Black people (especially Black men) who voted for Trump. Next in line are Latino and Hispanic men who voted for Trump. Next on the list as being blameworthy are young voters—either because they didn’t vote at all or because they voted for Trump. Some folks looking for people to blame might even include white women who voted for Trump. From there the list of the potentially blameworthy groups of US voters shrinks rather rapidly.
Some of those lamenting Trump’s return don’t seem to find this list of people to blame very convincing. In their search for reasons for Trump 2.0 they look at the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. Their reasons to blame her for her defeat include the idea that Biden should have remained the candidate to her campaign’s lack of substantive policy ideas. Others say it is the Biden administration’s disgusting support for Israel’s genocidal slaughter in Gaza that alienated voters. Still others will argue that it was the mainstream media that insisted that it was Harris’s failure to address the price of eggs that cost her the election. This latter claim is also one made by some on the “left” side of the Democratic Party. Personally, I believe there’s a bit of truth to each of these possibilities. Yet, I remain convinced that each of these reasons ignore the essential misogynistic and racist nature of the Trump campaign once Harris was appointed as the Democratic candidate. That campaign message is why the majority of white voters (yes the majority) voted for Trump. The essential racism of the US nation, combined with a more general misogyny found around the world, convinced the majority of the white citizens to vote for the most racist and misogynist candidate available. When combined with the fact that millions of people who voted in 2020 to toss Trump out stayed home, the return of Trump was assured.
The reader may disagree with my opening paragraphs but still be against Trump. That’s cool, because the focus of this pamphlet is not why Trump is back in the White House but how those who oppose him and his trumpist minions can and should oppose them. I mention his minions because it is the forces behind Trump—the ones that prop him up with money, massage his ego and run his government—whose powers must be opposed and curtailed, if not eliminated completely. Trump is the figurehead, the mouthpiece of a malevolent marriage of white supremacy, christian nationalism, libertarian capitalism motivated by extreme greed, imperialist war and virulent misogyny. He might not even believe every thing the groups and individuals espousing these views but he’s more than happy to take their money and do what they ask. Politics and power are purely transactional in much of Trump’s world.
The forces behind him, whom I will call trumpists from now on, are different. Most if not all are ideologues of one variety or another. Let’s look at some of the more obvious case. Stephen Miller, who Trump will have as an advisor, is a racist whose hatred of immigrants is commonly understood. It was Miller who instituted the Muslim ban and other such policies during Trump’s first time around. Together with “Border Czar” Tom Homan and the head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Kristi Noem, one can be fairly certain that the trumpist immigration policy will be racist, probably illegal and certainly immoral. One can sense the growing fear in immigrant communities and among those churches, non-profits and individuals that work with those communities.
The men and women Trump hopes to install in government departments that deal with the military, diplomacy and intelligence continue the trend of ideology prevailing. Suffice it to say that the potential Secretaries of State and Defense are best known for their hardcore belief in the right of the US to intervene wherever it sees fit. Of course, this is not that different from any previous administration. However, what is different is the seeming willingness of both to use the forces at their disposal to enforce the supremacist ideals they both hold.
When it comes to those agencies that are supposed to regulate corporate America, the only thing I can say is that there will be very little regulating going on. Every single nominee is a true believer in unbridled neoliberal capitalism and the belief that profit trumps everything else, including honesty.
What Are We Up Against?
I have tried to describe the ongoing situation with what I’ve written so far. To say the least, it’s not looking good. But, what can we do about it? In the face of a seemingly hopeless future, how can we oppose the oncoming fascism? If the authorities reject the law as anything but a tool to oppress their opponents and enforce the wishes of their paymasters, what options exist for those of us in opposition?
Recently, Robert Reich, who served as Labor Secretary during Bill Clinton’s time in the White House, shared an essay by former Turkish journalist Asli Aydintasbas, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C., on how to oppose Trump and his regime. The essay is addressed to Democrats and Trump critics. I would like to take a few words to respond to his essay.
The essay begins with a few simple and obvious suggestions: Don’t panic, don’t disengage, don’t fear infighting amongst the opposition and find a charismatic leader to oppose the appeal of Trump. Then the suggestions turn toward what I can only call defeatist—“Skip the Protests and Identity Politics.” To begin with, linking these two things together diminishes the former and misrepresents the latter. In addition, the advice makes no sense. Aydintasbas (and Reich, apparently) explain their opposition to street protests like this: “Street protests and calls to defend democracy may be inspirational, but they repel conservatives and suburban America.” The essay continues by stating that any grassroots organizing must include an economic message and “showcase the leadership potential of Democratic” politicians. Identity politics alone, writes the author, will not be enough. It is my position that the Democrats are not enough.
So, what is to be done? To repeat myself, what can we do about Trumpism—the US version of fascism? A fascism that is covered in the US flag, hung on the cross of the right-wing evangelical Christian church, and championed by the capitalists whose monetary success is accompanied by a hatred of labor unions and the very workers who made them rich. It didn’t just happen when Trump got elected in 2016. In fact, it’s been developing for some time. One of the more obvious indications of this truth is the volume of literature opposing the fascism of the 1930s, a time when fascists had their greatest successes worldwide. A time when fascists filled Madison Square Garden for a rally whose spirit the Trumpists summoned forth in October 2024, and the fascist Catholic priest Father Coughlin poisoned the radio waves in a manner quite similar to the Fox News and One America television commentators do today. Of course, it was also a time when the novelist Sinclair Lewis published his antifascist novel It Can’t Happen Here, which captured the essence of what a particular US fascism would like. It is eerily similar to the so-called MAGA movement, the movement I call trumpism.
This is an excerpt from an essay featured in Fomite Press’s Instigations series of tracts responding to the trumpist return to power.
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