The editorial board of the New York Times has published a lengthy essay warning readers against complacency and prodding them to show "courage and resilience" during President-elect Donald Trump's second term.
The editorial begins by showing the ways that Trump has sought to use fear to cow his critics and political opponents over the years, all with the goal of removing roadblocks to using the office of the presidency to enact his will unchecked.
"The goal is broadly the same: to deter elected officials, judges, executives and others from exercising their duties in ways that challenge him or hold him accountable," they argue. "He wants to make dissent so painful as to be intolerable."
However, the Times editors argue that such fear cannot be allowed to impede checks and balances.
ALSO READ: Trump facing 'consequences' for how GOP treated Biden's nominees: report
"America’s leaders and institutions must remain undeterred," they write. "They will need to show courage and resilience in the face of Mr. Trump’s efforts as they continue to play their unique roles in our democracy. Vigilance is everything: If institutions surrender to the fear and coercion — by bending the knee or by rationalizing that the next right actions aren’t worth the fight, stress or risk — they not only embolden future abuses; they are also complicit in undermining their own power and influence."
The editors also warn business and government leaders against thinking that paying fealty to Trump will save them from his vengeance.
"Despite Mr. Trump’s transactional nature, no one can count on remaining in his good graces without continued unconditional fealty," they write. "(Ask those in his own inner circle who justified or turned a blind eye to misbehavior again and again, only to be cast out for a single episode of standing up to his excesses.) Any advantage gained may be fleeting; any risk overcome may return."
