No Kings 2.0 was a huge success. More than 7 million (by some estimates, more than 8 million) showed up. We were peaceful. We were patriotic (many of us waved American flags). We stuck to one message: that we refuse to live under a dictator. We had fun (the costumes and signs were fabulous). We felt powerful in our solidarity.
And we are powerful.
What’s next? How do we use that power? What should we do now? I’ll leave to others bigger or more dramatic suggestions. Mine boil down to a dozen simple ones:
Millions of us just participated in one of the largest demonstrations in American history. The most important thing we do with that power is wrest back control of Congress from zombie Republicans who are rubber-stamping whatever Trump wants. Otherwise, we will continue to lose our democracy and rule of law to this tyrant. We must:
This is an urgent moral call to action. As Trump’s ICE continues its vicious roundups and deportations, many of our neighbors and friends are endangered and understandably frightened.
If you haven’t done so already, consider forming an unofficial “sanctuary community” that widely shares information about where ICE agents are located, where ICE raids are occurring, and how ICE is violating the rights of people here legally as well as the undocumented, and that takes videos of what ICE is doing and provides those videos to local and national media.
It’s especially important to protect access to schools, public hospitals, and courthouses. Undocumented parents should not feel afraid to send their children to school. Undocumented people who are ill, including those with communicable diseases, must not be afraid to go to clinics and hospitals for treatment. People who believe they are here legally should never be afraid to report to court.
If you trust your mayor or city manager, check in with their offices to see what they are doing to protect vulnerable families in your community.
If you haven’t done so already, I recommend you order these red cards from Immigrant Legal Resource Center and make them available in and around your community: Red Cards/Tarjetas Rojas. You might also find this of use: Immigration Preparedness Toolkit.
Tump’s cruel budget is eliminating food stamps for hundreds of thousands of Americans and reducing or eliminating health insurance for millions more by cutting Affordable Care Act subsidies and making it harder for people to qualify for Medicaid.
The federal government shutdown gives Democrats bargaining leverage to extend the expiring Obamacare premium subsidies in order to head off a spike in insurance premiums for more than 22 million Americans.
But the shutdown is creating its own hardships — such as eliminating paychecks for two million federal workers. Trump is also using the shutdown to fire tens of thousands of federal workers.
As a result, our generosity is needed now more than ever — to support community food pantries, local food banks, community charities, and shelters.
Phone your representative and your two senators. If they’re Democrats, tell them that as their constituent you support the shutdown as a way to extend Obamacare subsidies, and ask them to hang in there.
If they’re Republicans, tell them that as their constituent you demand they join Democrats to extend the Obamacare subsidies, and also stop doing whatever Trump wants.
Never underestimate the power of a constituent phone call. Every office keeps track of how many there are and what they’re supporting or opposing.
The Capitol Hill switchboard number is (202) 224-3121. The switchboard operator will connect you to your representative or senators.
Trump and his lapdogs are already making life more difficult for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other people — through executive orders, changes in laws, alterations in civil rights laws, and changes in how such laws are enforced.
The Trump regime is also changing laws to favor white people and disfavor people of color. He is prioritizing white refugees over refugees of color. He is strong-arming corporations to eliminate programs that have fostered diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Trump’s rhetoric is encouraging hatefulness.
Please be vigilant against prejudice and bigotry, wherever it might break out. When you see or hear it, call it out. Join with others to stop it. If you trust your local city officials, get them involved. If you trust your local police, alert them as well.
Never underestimate the effectiveness of consumer boycotts. Corporations invest heavily in their brand names and the goodwill associated with them. Loud, boisterous, attention-getting boycotts can harm brand names and reduce the value of corporations’ shares of stock.
Some of the most important measures for resisting Trump are occurring in the federal courts. Groups behind this litigation include the American Civil Liberties Union, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Defense Fund, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Common Cause. They deserve your support.
In addition, Lowell & Associates, Democracy Defenders Fund, and the Washington Litigation Group are representing clients battling to get their jobs back, avoid prosecutions, and recoup millions of dollars that Trump has illegally blocked.
Get accurate news through reliable sources, and spread it. If you hear anyone spreading lies and Trump propaganda, contradict them with facts and their sources.
Here are some of the sources I currently rely on for the truth: Democracy Now, Business Insider,The New Yorker,The American Prospect,The Atlantic, Americans for Tax Fairness,Economic Policy Institute, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, The Guardian,ProPublica, Labor Notes, The Lever,Popular Information,The Bulwark, Heather Cox Richardson, and, of course,this Substack.
If you work for a university, law firm, media company, museum, or any other organization that is being pressured (or could be) by the Trump regime to surrender its autonomy to the regime, urge them not to.
Join with your coworkers, colleagues, and alumni to pressure boards of directors and trustees, explaining that it’s impossible to appease a dictator. Join with other organizations or companies in the same industry to demand resistance. Most labor unions are on the right side — seeking to build worker power and resist repression. Support them by joining picket lines and boycotts and encouraging employees to organize in places you patronize.
Local and state governments retain significant power for good. Join groups that are moving our cities and states forward, in sharp contrast to regressive moves at the federal level by Trump and his lapdogs.
Lobby, instigate, organize, and fundraise for progressive leaders and legislators. Support higher taxes on the wealthy and on big corporations to finance affordable housing, health care, child care, and elder care.
Remember, Trump won the popular vote by only 1.5 points. By any historical measure, this was a squeaker. In the House, the Republicans’ lead is the smallest since the Great Depression. In the Senate, Republicans lost half of 2024’s competitive Senate races, including in four states Trump won.
America has deep problems, to be sure. Which is why we can’t give up on it — or give up the fights for social justice, equal political rights, equal opportunity, and the rule of law. The forces of Trumpian repression and neofascism would like nothing better than for us to give up. Then they’d win it all. We cannot allow them to. We will never give up.
Just as it’s important not to give up the fight, it’s critically important to take care of ourselves. If we obsess about Trump and fall down the rabbit hole of outrage, worry, and anxiety, we won’t be able to keep fighting.
Be careful. Be strong. Hug your loved ones. We will win this.