Pushing back, turning tides
The “first 100 days” of this administration has been the narrative hook of the week—even for the President, who held a fascist rally in Michigan to mark the occasion. (Providing another opportunity for Governor Whitmer to equivocate.)
Among the reflections are signs of growing pushback along multiple fault lines. Street protests are growing—including more scheduled for May Day this Thursday, as are town hall protests. Courts ruled against the administration in at least 11 lawsuits last week. A large coalition of labor organizations, non-profit groups, and local cities and counties filed a new challenge against the administration this week. This week’s edition of 60 Minutes ended with an on-air rebuke of CBS’ corporate owners over the resignation of executive producer Bill Owens.
These signs of resistance, combined with the president’s approval ratings (now below 40%, even in Fox News’ polling) led Josh Marshall (Talking Points Memo) to assert this week that “Trump’s Already Lost”.
I see the signs all around. He’s doubling down on things people don’t like. He’s fomenting a growing political backlash. The more signs we see of the limits of Trump’s power, the more people show signs of bucking that power. All power is unitary. We see signs of it everywhere. You simply cannot impose an autocracy if a clear majority of the country opposes what you are trying to do at the outset, when you are trying to do it.
Slate legal author Dahlia Lithwick also declared that “The Tide is Turning” (link requires a Slate Plus membership)
It’s not just that Trump is losing catastrophically in the courts, again and again, badly and unequivocally, although that actually matters a great deal. It’s not just that Trump has the lowest approval ratings in modern history, although that actually matters a great deal as well. It’s not just that the tariffs are an unmitigated train wreck and his Cabinet cannot stay on message, because the message is incoherent. It’s not just that Trump has helped the Canadian Conservative Party lose an election that was all but unlosable a few months ago. All of that matters. But what really matters—what is measurable and knowable now in a way that was not a few weeks ago—is that standing up to Trump is going to be worth it. Propping up the law and the courts and the Constitution is suddenly proving to be a good bet.
Today I was half listening to a performance by Gen Z old-time musicians Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman at the Kennedy Center last month. Seven minutes in, Brown paused to read a prepared statement decrying the administration’s changes to the Kennedy Center and its board. 35 minutes in, Coleman and Brown erected hand-drawn signs saying “REINSTATE QUEER PROGRAMMING” and “CREATIVITY AT THE KENNEDY CENTER MUST NOT BE SUPPRESSED” that remained up through their final number, in which they invited up members of the audience to hold up an additional protest banner.
Their political actions did not draw enough attention for them to be censored by the Kennedy Center (the concert has fewer than 8,000 views on YouTube), but did earn Coleman and Brown a guest spot on Democracy Now!, on which Amy Goodman celebrated their carrying on of the shared traditions of folk music and protest.
Courage can be contagious, if we each choose to let it.