Following is the current situation in the U.S. as described by William Falk, Editor-at-large of The Week magazine.
You are Donald J. Trump, and you believe you can get away with anything. You have a cult following and a partisan propaganda apparatus that Republicans fear, and you are not bound by any law or the Constitution. No prosecutor, judge, or political opponent can stop you—not for long. You have a mountain of evidence for this belief. Escaping consequences is our life story.
In your first run for president, you were seen bragging on a video that as a “star” you could sexually assault women at will. (More than two-dozen women said you did just that.) When Russian dictator Vladimir Putin directed his intelligence services to help you win the 2016 election, two extensive investigations found, you eagerly welcomed this foreign interference and tried to cover it up. But Republicans and Fox News dutifully adopted your claim that your alliance with Putin was a “hoax.” Later, you were impeached twice—but Senate Republicans ignored overwhelming evidence of your guilt. In 2020, you told the American people not to fear Covid and that “it is going to disappear.” Instead, hospitals overflowed with millions of gravely ill people, and 400,000 died on your watch. When you lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden by 7 million votes, you urged an unruly crowd to march on the Capitol and “fight like hell” to reverse the election. You were later indicted over the violent riot that followed. But judges allied with you made these and other charges go away, and the Supreme Court even ruled you could not be prosecuted for “official acts.”
Now you’re back in charge, surrounded by sycophants and unqualified hacks, and you’re hell-bent on vengeance and domination. You actually believe you can annex Greenland and Canada, bully law firms and universities into compliance, destroy free trade with tariffs, punish free speech, ally the U.S. with Russia, and rule like the strongmen you admire, such as Putin and Viktor Orban. And why not? Until a substantial majority of Americans stand up and say, “Enough,” you, the great Donald J. Trump, can get away with anything.
And yes, this description ends with the solution. It has long been apparent that we cannot depend on Congress, which is controlled by Republicans who have enabled and supported the current situation. It is also becoming increasingly apparent that we cannot rely solely on federal courts. Therefore, if this is to be a government by the people, the people must stand up and force that reality.
After a slow start, the people began protesting. We need that to continue – and to grow. A “substantial majority” of us must be engaged in this effort.
Many organizations work individually and collaborate to produce opportunities for concerned citizens to express their outrage. For example, the Hands Off protests on April 5, 2025, involving hundreds of thousands of protesters at over 1,400 locations across all 50 states, were led by a nationwide coalition of organizations, including civil rights organizations, veterans, women’s rights groups, and labor unions.
Into this mix is a movement, The Resistance Lab, led by Pramila Jayapal, a Congresswoman from Washington. The Resistance Lab is a series of training courses developed specifically for our current national situation. They look at “how non-violent movements around the world have responded to leaders who seize power in authoritarian ways and the most effective tools and tactics to utilize in these moments.” The goal of The Resistance Lab is to “help people understand how democracies fall and the most effective resistance movements that have challenged authoritarians and dictators; to turn anger, fear, and frustration into action in the short-term while also preparing for a coordinated resistance movement for the longer term; and to build community across the country that can help grow [the] movement.”
A virtual Resistance Lab training was held on April 13, and another will occur on May 4. Participants can sign up at The Resistance Lab—Pramila for Congress.
We need all hands on deck. We, the people, must say “enough” and demonstrate it.
