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Mia, 7, holds a sign reading "Trump Is Over" as she sits on the shoulders of her father, Todd, during a demonstration at the Black Lives Matter Plaza in front of the White House on November 6, 2020 in Washington, DC.
(Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
We Must Refuse to Roll Over for Trump's Destructive Agenda
People aren’t just going to accept all this. Our politics are a mess right now. But our country isn’t “lost” — only our leaders are.
Jan 20, 2025
On the one hand, there’s no sugarcoating how progressives feel as President Trump retakes office: rough.
Trump and his allies in Congress are already rolling out plans to cut taxes for billionaires, slash services for the rest of us, pollute the planet, and deport people who’ve lived here their whole lives.
But if you look closely, you’ll see signs people aren’t just going to accept all this. Here are five that caught my eye from this past election year.
1. Populist anger is boiling over.
Americans have had it with economic elites. Union activity has been on an upswing for a few years running now, with union petition filings in 2024 significantly up over 2023.
After a successful national strike in 2023, the United Auto Workers won an election in Tennessee in 2024, a major breakthrough in the traditionally anti-union South. And more Amazon warehouse workers and drivers are pushing to unionize, breaking open one of America’s most anti-union corporations.
Also last year, communities in places like Wisconsin fought back against a private equity takeover of nursing care. And nationally, popular anger positively exploded over the greed of health insurance companies.
Trump likes to play a populist on TV. But if he moves to slash workers rights, cut taxes for CEOs, and erode health care access and other services, he’ll have a fight on his hands.
2. The peace movement is back.
The movement for a ceasefire in Gaza drew support from a vast, diverse coalition of young people — with support from different faith communities (including many Jewish groups), as well as unions, environmentalists, and many others.
They haven’t succeeded yet. But they’ve won broad, bipartisan public support for a ceasefire, an arms embargo on Israel’s extremist leaders, and a foreign policy informed by human rights. Politicians won’t be able to avoid this issue anytime soon.
3. Climate wins are slowly adding up.
Our leaders continue to fail us on climate, with the fires in Southern California driving that point home dramatically. But an alternative vision is slowly taking shape.
The Biden administration’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, is unleashing record investments in green jobs, fueling unprecedented growth in renewable power across the United States. The more local support initiatives like these win, the harder they’ll be for Trump and his allies to reverse.
4. Most people support their immigrant neighbors.
One of the worst moments of the 2024 campaign was the ridiculous slander of Haitian Americans in Springfield, Ohio by Donald Trump, JD Vance, and other right-wing figures.
But Springfield natives showed up to support their Haitian neighbors, most of whom are in the country perfectly legally and have revitalized the community. Locals flocked to Haitian restaurants, churches, and community centers to show their solidarity, prompting even state and local Republicans to speak out against their leaders’ dangerous lies.
There’s a lesson here. While hardline immigration measures can poll well in the abstract, people feel much differently when members of their own communities are affected. When it comes down to it, most people don’t want their neighbors deported.
5. Even where Democrats lost at the polls, progressive issues won.
Forget “red states” and “blue states” — there’s support for progressive ideas in all 50 states.
In the last election, several states that voted for Trump also passed ballot measures to raise the minimum wage, guarantee paid leave, protect abortion access, and liberalize their marijuana laws.
It’s a trend that’s been building for years. Once you filter out the noise around candidates and just ask people about progressive policies directly, even “red state” voters tend to say yes. The key is to make candidates themselves run on those policies — without watering them down.
In short, our politics are a mess right now. But our country isn’t “lost” — only our leaders are. When Americans organize around our common decency, it’s going to get a lot harder for bullies like Trump to walk over us.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
This column was distributed by OtherWords.
On the one hand, there’s no sugarcoating how progressives feel as President Trump retakes office: rough.
Trump and his allies in Congress are already rolling out plans to cut taxes for billionaires, slash services for the rest of us, pollute the planet, and deport people who’ve lived here their whole lives.
But if you look closely, you’ll see signs people aren’t just going to accept all this. Here are five that caught my eye from this past election year.
1. Populist anger is boiling over.
Americans have had it with economic elites. Union activity has been on an upswing for a few years running now, with union petition filings in 2024 significantly up over 2023.
After a successful national strike in 2023, the United Auto Workers won an election in Tennessee in 2024, a major breakthrough in the traditionally anti-union South. And more Amazon warehouse workers and drivers are pushing to unionize, breaking open one of America’s most anti-union corporations.
Also last year, communities in places like Wisconsin fought back against a private equity takeover of nursing care. And nationally, popular anger positively exploded over the greed of health insurance companies.
Trump likes to play a populist on TV. But if he moves to slash workers rights, cut taxes for CEOs, and erode health care access and other services, he’ll have a fight on his hands.
2. The peace movement is back.
The movement for a ceasefire in Gaza drew support from a vast, diverse coalition of young people — with support from different faith communities (including many Jewish groups), as well as unions, environmentalists, and many others.
They haven’t succeeded yet. But they’ve won broad, bipartisan public support for a ceasefire, an arms embargo on Israel’s extremist leaders, and a foreign policy informed by human rights. Politicians won’t be able to avoid this issue anytime soon.
3. Climate wins are slowly adding up.
Our leaders continue to fail us on climate, with the fires in Southern California driving that point home dramatically. But an alternative vision is slowly taking shape.
The Biden administration’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, is unleashing record investments in green jobs, fueling unprecedented growth in renewable power across the United States. The more local support initiatives like these win, the harder they’ll be for Trump and his allies to reverse.
4. Most people support their immigrant neighbors.
One of the worst moments of the 2024 campaign was the ridiculous slander of Haitian Americans in Springfield, Ohio by Donald Trump, JD Vance, and other right-wing figures.
But Springfield natives showed up to support their Haitian neighbors, most of whom are in the country perfectly legally and have revitalized the community. Locals flocked to Haitian restaurants, churches, and community centers to show their solidarity, prompting even state and local Republicans to speak out against their leaders’ dangerous lies.
There’s a lesson here. While hardline immigration measures can poll well in the abstract, people feel much differently when members of their own communities are affected. When it comes down to it, most people don’t want their neighbors deported.
5. Even where Democrats lost at the polls, progressive issues won.
Forget “red states” and “blue states” — there’s support for progressive ideas in all 50 states.
In the last election, several states that voted for Trump also passed ballot measures to raise the minimum wage, guarantee paid leave, protect abortion access, and liberalize their marijuana laws.
It’s a trend that’s been building for years. Once you filter out the noise around candidates and just ask people about progressive policies directly, even “red state” voters tend to say yes. The key is to make candidates themselves run on those policies — without watering them down.
In short, our politics are a mess right now. But our country isn’t “lost” — only our leaders are. When Americans organize around our common decency, it’s going to get a lot harder for bullies like Trump to walk over us.
On the one hand, there’s no sugarcoating how progressives feel as President Trump retakes office: rough.
Trump and his allies in Congress are already rolling out plans to cut taxes for billionaires, slash services for the rest of us, pollute the planet, and deport people who’ve lived here their whole lives.
But if you look closely, you’ll see signs people aren’t just going to accept all this. Here are five that caught my eye from this past election year.
1. Populist anger is boiling over.
Americans have had it with economic elites. Union activity has been on an upswing for a few years running now, with union petition filings in 2024 significantly up over 2023.
After a successful national strike in 2023, the United Auto Workers won an election in Tennessee in 2024, a major breakthrough in the traditionally anti-union South. And more Amazon warehouse workers and drivers are pushing to unionize, breaking open one of America’s most anti-union corporations.
Also last year, communities in places like Wisconsin fought back against a private equity takeover of nursing care. And nationally, popular anger positively exploded over the greed of health insurance companies.
Trump likes to play a populist on TV. But if he moves to slash workers rights, cut taxes for CEOs, and erode health care access and other services, he’ll have a fight on his hands.
2. The peace movement is back.
The movement for a ceasefire in Gaza drew support from a vast, diverse coalition of young people — with support from different faith communities (including many Jewish groups), as well as unions, environmentalists, and many others.
They haven’t succeeded yet. But they’ve won broad, bipartisan public support for a ceasefire, an arms embargo on Israel’s extremist leaders, and a foreign policy informed by human rights. Politicians won’t be able to avoid this issue anytime soon.
3. Climate wins are slowly adding up.
Our leaders continue to fail us on climate, with the fires in Southern California driving that point home dramatically. But an alternative vision is slowly taking shape.
The Biden administration’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, is unleashing record investments in green jobs, fueling unprecedented growth in renewable power across the United States. The more local support initiatives like these win, the harder they’ll be for Trump and his allies to reverse.
4. Most people support their immigrant neighbors.
One of the worst moments of the 2024 campaign was the ridiculous slander of Haitian Americans in Springfield, Ohio by Donald Trump, JD Vance, and other right-wing figures.
But Springfield natives showed up to support their Haitian neighbors, most of whom are in the country perfectly legally and have revitalized the community. Locals flocked to Haitian restaurants, churches, and community centers to show their solidarity, prompting even state and local Republicans to speak out against their leaders’ dangerous lies.
There’s a lesson here. While hardline immigration measures can poll well in the abstract, people feel much differently when members of their own communities are affected. When it comes down to it, most people don’t want their neighbors deported.
5. Even where Democrats lost at the polls, progressive issues won.
Forget “red states” and “blue states” — there’s support for progressive ideas in all 50 states.
In the last election, several states that voted for Trump also passed ballot measures to raise the minimum wage, guarantee paid leave, protect abortion access, and liberalize their marijuana laws.
It’s a trend that’s been building for years. Once you filter out the noise around candidates and just ask people about progressive policies directly, even “red state” voters tend to say yes. The key is to make candidates themselves run on those policies — without watering them down.
In short, our politics are a mess right now. But our country isn’t “lost” — only our leaders are. When Americans organize around our common decency, it’s going to get a lot harder for bullies like Trump to walk over us.
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