To repeat (one last time): For Democrats, and for anyone else who hoped to keep Trump out of the White House, November 5 was a crushing blow — both in terms of what it portends for the future of the Democratic Party and more generally for democracy itself. As the BBC wrote:
“Donald Trump swept to victory by chipping away at groups of voters which Democrats once believed would help them win the White House for a generation…’Demography,’ these left-wing optimists liked to say, ‘is destiny.’ Sixteen years later, however, that destiny appears to have turned to dust.”
The resistance takes shape…
Now, it’s time to move beyond lamenting the past — and toward preparing for the dangers that lie ahead. Unfortunately, Democrats are far from certain as to how best to proceed. As CNN wrote:
“In CNN’s conversations with two dozen top Democratic operatives and elected officials since Election Day, the fear isn’t just that no one knows the answer to what’s next – it’s that they don’t even know what the question is at this point.”
On a more optimistic note, there is an emerging Democratic consensus, as described in The New York Times, on what an “Anti-Trump Battle Plan” will look like.
And, as noted in USA Today: “The Donald Trump resistance is ready for when Democrats are done grieving.” Exactly what form Trump resistance will take remains a work in progress. One thing is clear: the old rules for opposing Trump and MAGA will not apply. This is not 2017. Trump 2.0 will be far worse and much more difficult — and risky — to navigate successfully.
…and so does the capitulation
That’s why one of the most troubling signs, as we begin the fight against the Trump agenda, is that people and institutions who actively fought against Trump in 2017 are now deciding to capitulate instead. Nowhere is this more evident than in the media.
Ominous warning shots appeared in the days before the election, when the publishers of The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post blocked intended endorsements for Kamala Harris — just before they were about to be printed. This was generally viewed as a shameful move to avoid a Trump retaliation, should he win. *
In the wake of the election, capitulations have begun to accelerate. Almost immediately, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski (of MSNBC’s Morning Joe) “went to Mar-a-Lago for a fence-mending meeting with President-elect Donald Trump.” It was widely panned as a sell out. Even staff within MSNBC viewed it as “a troubling early sign of capitulation to Trump. ‘Normalizing Trump is a bad idea,’ wrote Katie Phang.” **
A few days later, Comcast announced plans to “spin off its NBCUniversal cable TV networks, including MSNBC” within the next year. There is speculation that this could lead to the end of MSNBC altogether. Even worse: guess who half-joked that they might purchase the network? Elon Musk! [By the way, the ongoing right-wing takeover of mainstream media is very far from a joke. It’s happening.]
Of course, fears of retributions after Trump takes office are not unwarranted — as he has vowed revenge on his enemies, especially the media, on numerous occasions.
More generally, as The Guardian wrote a few days before the election:
“A lot has changed since 2016 – including the increasingly conservative bent of the US supreme court after three Trump appointees. If Trump is elected in November, the laws that protect news organizations might crumble or be weakened.” “Donald Trump poses a clear threat to journalists, to news organizations and to press freedom in the US and around the world.”
The Brookings Institute similarly asked:
“Donald Trump has threatened to shut down broadcasters, but can he?”
The answer: Possibly, yes. “A president of the United States already has powers beyond coercing the FCC. These powers could be exercised not only against broadcasters, but also against those who operate the internet.”
So some prudence is justified. The question is how much and in what way. What we are now seeing is too much and in the wrong way. ***
Not surprisingly, capitulation extends beyond the media. Eight years ago, Democratic governors were more than willing to do battle with Trump. Now, not so much. As Politico wrote:
“Dems’ new Trump resistance strategy is ‘Playing nice.’ As Democratic governors game out how to deal with a second Trump administration, one thing is clear: It’s not 2016 anymore. Governors face a more politically sophisticated version of Donald Trump, and are calculating that they need to choose their battles more carefully — and find ways to cooperate — after their anti-Trump strategy led to a nationwide shellacking.”
In the months ahead, I expect the list of left-wing capitulators to continue to grow.
In other words, if you are someone who remains determined to fight the Trump agenda, you may find yourself increasingly isolated as the people and organizations you’ve counted on as allies succumb to the fear of and pressure from the Trump White House.
In case you are still unclear as to what this all means: This is the beginning of how democracies end.
A starting point
Yes, it can be disheartening to watch these capitulations and realize that a huge swath of this country not only seems unconcerned about Trump’s promised retributions…they are positively enthusiastic at the prospect. But let’s not forget that, while Trump won the election, more than half of the country (75 million people!) did not vote for Trump (with the latest count, Trump’s vote total is now less than 50%!). There are a whole lot of people out there who are on our side — who oppose Trump and understand the danger he represents. This is a starting point to counter any sense of isolation and to instead join the resistance.
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* Update December 5: The situation at The Los Angele Times is far worse than I realized at the time this column was first posted. Harry Litman lays it all out here, making it clear that he “doesn’t want to continue to work for a paper that is appeasing Trump and facilitating his assault on democratic rule for craven reasons.”
** Update December 6: The situation on Morning Joe has gotten worse since this column was first posted. David Frum describes how he was “excused” from the show (and will likely never appear on MSNBC again) for a rather mild critical comment he made about Pete Hegseth and Fox News. Shortly afterward, co-host Mika Brzezinski read an apology for his remarks. Frum continues: “It is a very ominous thing if our leading forums for discussion of public affairs are already feeling the chill of intimidation and responding with efforts to appease.”
More generally, Marc Elias has echoed the sentiments expressed here, writing: “”What has surprised me, depressed me and ultimately angered me are the voices that have gone silent. So many who were so loud in warning about the dangers of Trump now speak only in whispers if at all. The critics who were bold and brash when they thought Harris would win are now tamed and seeking accommodation. Media figures who claimed to be the bastion of protection for our democracy now make pilgrimages to temper Trump’s anger.”
*** Update December 16: Yet another bowling pin falls. This time ABC News capitulates…making a $15 million settlement in a court case that Trump brought against the network and where ABC would have likely prevailed. It involves statements made by George Stephanopoulos during an interview with Senator Nancy Mace — regarding a court’s finding in the E. Jean Carroll lawsuit that “Donald Trump has been found liable for defaming the victim of rape by a jury.” Trump claimed he was defamed. It’s a win for Trump that he does not deserve…and allows him to avoid what would have been an embarrassing deposition. If Trump were not President-elect, the settlement would almost certainly never have happened. To read all the gory details, check out this column by Harry Litman.