'Bafflingly absent': Analyst warns resistance that hounded Trump in 2016 has disappeared

Donald Trump's rise to power in 2016 spurred a huge wave of activism that ultimately was labeled "The Resistance." But as the prospect of Trump's return to the White House becomes more of a reality, the wave of activism that emerged in 2016 is "bafflingly absent from many conversations among groups that channeled the wave of energy seven years ago," writes Politico's Michael Schaffer.

According to Schaffer, the potential lack of response to another Trump presidency is likely more psychological than anything else.

"Humans respond to a sudden threat with a fight-or-flight instinct. For a lot of people, the string of jolts that accompanied the first Trump months of 2017 — the Muslim ban, the firing of James Comey, Charlottesville — spurred an impulse to fight," Schaffer writes.

"But a second Trump win, which for many folks will amount to evidence that all that fighting wasn’t enough, could just as easily be met with avoidance, listlessness and apathy. In other words, flight."

Speaking to Politico, Smith College psychologist said at issue is the concept of "political self-efficacy" where a person feels making a political donation or protesting can change anything.

Also read: Alina Habba 'did the seemingly impossible' and made Trump's 'position worse': expert

“You can have all sorts of opinions,” Duncan said. “But if you don’t think that what you do makes a difference, then you’re probably not going to do it.”

Nevertheless, Duncan doesn't think people are "going to roll over and give up."

“We’ve got fatigue to deal with, we’ve got burnout, but we also have a majority of Americans who are interested in maintaining a democracy."

As Schaffer points out, another sign that The Resistance might be on the wane is the fact that traffic to political websites has dropped and television ratings for the Iowa caucuses were "putrid."

The potential decline of enthusiastic adversarial activism against Trump is unfortunate, according to Schaffer, because the threat posed by Trump is higher than ever, and this time around he has a "more coherent and methodical plan for radically changing government."

"And if he does manage to win, it’s a pretty good bet the party he defeats will be rocked by the sorts of internal divides that were quickly papered over amidst the burst of resistance energy in early 2017."

Read the full op-ed over at Politico.