The Resistance, After Musk and Trump
Trump/Musk will create the kind of jujitsu that can form the basis of resistance to Trumpism (perhaps a shadow government).
While I will always believe that misogyny and racism were the key components behind Trump getting elected, there is no doubt that ignorance played, and continues to play, a gigantic part in the Trump, now Musk/Trump phenomenon.
One of the biggest problems with American democracy is that most of the public is ignorant of how politics and government work. Only 32% of Americans can name all 3 branches of government (one in four can't name any). This has created a nation of people with little political knowledge, lack of ability to evaluate what they do know objectively, and susceptibility to internet and silo propaganda. This applied to Trump voters, young and old.
Social media presenting opinions as facts exacerbates the problem. More than eight in ten U.S. adults (86%) say they get news from a smartphone, computer, or tablet. Then there's Fox News (FNC). Following the November 5th election, FNC's audience rose 24%. The network now holds 73% of the cable news share as CNN (down 39%) and MSNBC (down 52%) have seen their audiences collapse to record lows.
The Trump/Musk actions will create the kind of jujitsu that can form the basis of resistance to Trump and his oligarch partners.
North Carolina Democratic Rep. Wiley Nickel proposed creating a Democratic ‘shadow cabinet’ to oppose the incoming Trump administration’s policies. What he proposed is comparable to countries around the world, notably Britain, which have normalized opposition governments that routinely critique and oppose, with their ideas and policies, the majority in control of their respective governments.
This is an excellent idea. The media, mainstream and social, would have to cover the opposition's "shadow cabinet." Voters would be able to compare the opposition's (Democratic) policies to the Trump Administration's.
However, I fear the Democrats are not organized enough to take this revolutionary step, capable of neutralizing the radical nature of Trump, his Republican Congress, and Elon Musk. The Democrats are too comfortable in doing the traditional postmortem analyzing what they "did wrong", and continuing to just focus on their taking control of the House of Representatives in 2027. There is no reason they can't do both. Simultaneously.
We are in a Civil War, over democracy and diversity, and have just lost a significant battle.
Despite Trump’s multiple offenses (criminal, political, and social), more than half the electorate restored him as POTUS. This was more than just a MAGA cult victory. At this point, it is pointless to continue to deride him or criticize Kamala Harris. She ran as good a campaign as possible.
Combating this cannot be left to the media or, unfortunately to the Democratic Party. The former is because its format (business plan) is to present both sides of an issue regardless of facts or lies. As I have already said, the Democratic Party has proven itself to be too traditional, unable to adapt to a social media world in an era of lies and propaganda.
This kind of campaign, best represented by celebrities or influencers, should be done online. It should in real-time refute the forthcoming lies and propaganda from Trump and the Republicans with the truth. Truth is not relative. For example, rounding up Latinos for mass depurations would be: cruel, cause chaos and economic disruption, and be un-American. This kind of campaign if done correctly, would earn "free media". TV, radio, print, and online platforms will pick it up and re-broadcast its content.
This kind of "Campaign to Save Democracy" would attract Hollywood's creativity and celebrity spokespersons, a bevy of savvy political consultants to devise content, and funders capable of paying for it. The fact that the Democrats will not do this is frightening given the threat that the Trump virus presents.
While it was unthinkable that we would find ourselves in this position, it is here. In the "time of Trump," it's fallen to us citizens to take up the banner and carry out this kind of campaign. There are millions of us facile at using social media. Once started this kind of approach to Trumpism, would "go viral" forming an opposition coalition capable of thwarting the Trump agenda. Thinking that the media or the Democrats can do this is naive. It's up to us!