Where does the fightback against Trump stand today?

Sharon Smith concluded an important overview of the Trump administration by quoting Ellie Mystal, “The only thing that can save us is us”. The purpose of this article is to examine how “we” are doing at this job. Where does the popular fightback against the new government stand today?

Recent protest activities mainly fall into three main categories: liberal and Democratic Party, federal government workers, and immigrant rights. Let’s examine each category in turn.

Liberal and Democratic Party activities

An introductory comment needs to be made. This article deliberately puts the slew of court cases against the administration’s measures to one side. While they might be able to block some of Trump’s proposals, they are not examples of mass organizing that socialists are able to participate in.

There have been a number of protests organized by what might be termed the left wing of the Democratic Party and NGOs. Two organizations formed by supporters of Bernie Sanders’s presidential runs, Indivisible and Political Revolution, have been among the main organizers. This part of the movement has put together:

The January 18 Peoples March in Washington DC. This was proclaimed to be a new version of the huge January 2017 Women’s March. However, only about 5,000 people participated, a miniscule proportion of the 2017 numbers. This reflects a very sharp demoralization in this milieu.
The 50501 protests. This name comes from the organizers’ objective of having fifty demonstrations in all fifty states on one day. These demonstrations have generally had a pretty modest turnout and been a politically mixed bag. They have not had a sharp focus and did not receive a great deal of attention. A second round of these demonstrations is being held on February 17, Presidents Day around the theme, “Not My President”. There have also been pickets of Tesla dealerships protesting Musk’s role in the massive cuts to the federal government.
Photo-op staged confrontations. The most prominent of these was an attempt by Maxine Waters to enter the Department of Education building on February 7. While activities like this look dramatic, with a prominent politician shouting at the security guards, they really have no lasting impact. They are just publicity events for the politicians concerned.
A large proportion of liberal anti-Trumpists seem to have retreated into internet activity. The internet can provide an excellent means of rapidly spreading information. However, it can also become a simulacrum to activity in the real world. A humorous anti-Trump meme may give us a minute’s grin but has no effect on the course of the administration. Endless repetitions of how unhappy we are with the present course of events just foster a mood of introspection and hopelessness.

The actions sponsored by the left wing of the Democratic Party and the NGOs have been lethargic and unfocused. We are going to have to look elsewhere for viable resistance.

American Federation of Government Employees

A different approach has been offered by the American Federation of Government Employees. This union is obviously deeply impacted by the mass dismissals of federal employees. It organized a well-attended demonstration in Washington DC on February 11. There are plans for another demonstration on Wednesday, February 19. Some locals such as in Chicago have also planned local events this week. AFGE has reached out to other unions for solidarity. The union has been particularly active in helping members navigate their way through the nightmare of threatening edicts and attacks.

The teachers’ unions have similarly organized their own demonstrations at the Department of Education. Street demonstrations by workers’ organizations are obviously a tactic that socialists strongly support and hope to see multiplied in the coming days.

The immigrant rights movement

Without a doubt the new immigrant rights movement is the centerpiece of the anti-Trump resistance. Trump’s threats against immigrants have sparked a mass response. The turnout for the early February Day Without Immigrants shows this. For example, there were business closures or street demonstrations in Aurora and Denver in Colorado, Nashville in Tennessee, Gresham, Portland, Hood River, and Salem in Oregon. Actions also took place in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio in Texas. Pride of place probably goes to California with demonstrations in Los Angeles, Fresno, and the Bay Area. There were closures of immigrant owned stores and restaurants in too many cities to list.

Some reports put the LA demonstration numbers as large as 15,000. This demonstration led to marchers blocking the 101 Expressway for five hours. This received massive national publicity. Other examples of particularly large demonstrations are the marches in Aurora, Colorado and Dallas, Texas. The well-respected Immigrant Solidarity DuPage has had a particularly successful series of demonstrations in Chicago’s far western suburbs. Turnout at all these demonstrations has been both youthful and working class.

Demonstrations have not been the only form of activity taken by this rising movement. There has been a focus on informing immigrants of their rights and providing a course of action when faced with ICE raids. For example, here in Chicago, there has been a flood of workshops and open houses giving legal advice. Well organized teams of young activists have worked their way down the street in Latino neighborhoods. They have been ringing home doorbells and going into any location they can from laundromats to restaurants. They offer legal information and explain how to contact rapid response networks.

The unions have stepped up and played an important role in this activity.

Palestine solidarity and other fronts of struggle

The street demonstrations and well-organized outreach of the immigrant rights movement provide the best example of fightback in this country today. But they are not the only example. Trans rights activists have recently demonstrated on Christopher Street, scene of the 1969 Stonewall rebellion in New York City, and outside Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital.

Palestinian demonstrations have continued despite campus repression. They will probably see an uptick due to Trump’s provocations on Gaza and Israeli impulses to end the ceasefire. Palestine solidarity will continue to be an important priority.

The reality is that there have been few actions specifically defending abortion rights. Similarly, there has not been much activity by the Black movement despite provocations such as the revoking of the historic 1965 order prohibiting racial discrimination by federal contractors.

There were some marches mainly organized by the left in the days immediately after the election. They were generally considerably smaller than their 2017 counterparts. All in all, we have to face the situation that the resistance to Trump’s tidal wave of attacks has been far smaller than what is needed.

Way forward

There’s no doubt that the overall situation is very unfavorable for socialists. This site and the other publications of the revolutionary left have already carefully charted and assessed Trump’s offensive. The question now becomes what do we do about it?

We have to find the issues and movements which are most likely to break the log jam and open the way to building a powerful resistance. Our assessment of the situation shows that government workers unions, Palestine solidarity, and immigrant rights are the three sectors where there is some momentum and struggle actually taking place. Obviously, the largest of the three sectors is the immigrant rights movement.

This means that the task of the hour is for socialists to roll up their sleeves and participate in these campaigns. In doing so, we can create a political climate where the fightback on other issues can then develop.

Revolutionary socialist outlook

Once we have developed credibility in these movements by our practical activity, we can open discussions on our full perspectives. We can stress the following points:

Mass demonstrations are one of the most successful tactics that the movement has. They boost the self-confidence of the participants and are an easy way for new supporters to join in. They are a very public way of showing the vitality of our movement. In general, they will be the most effective way to build the struggle against the Trump administration.
However, demonstrations are not the only tactic. For example, legal information and rapid response networks are key means of defending immigrant workers.
We should stress precise goals and objectives. A demonstration for Palestine or the rights of workers from other countries has much more effect than one on a vague and diffuse anti-Trump basis. In the same vein, we should not make impossible projections. “No spending for 24 hours” or “National 24-hour strike” are just not realistic in the current political situation. The foreseeable failure of such events just creates demoralization.
Socialist politics are not limited to being against the actions of the current administration. We have to raise in the movement the full gamut of our perspectives: that Trump is only one manifestation of our overall enemy- the entire capitalist system, that the Democratic Party is an integral part of the capitalist system and our irreconcilable opponent, and that a working class socialist revolution is the only way to save humanity from ecological barbarism and many, many more Donald Trumps.