Trump’s second term is worse. So why do I feel better?

Despite the horrors we experienced under Trump's first presidency from his cruel Muslim bans, to his insulting rhetoric about African nations, to his deadly mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump was elected president once again. This time, however, Trump has arrived in the presidency well prepared and supported by some of the richest and most powerful individuals including Elon Musk, as well as most members of the Republican Party, who are essentially giving him carte blanche for his mass destruction of federal government and undermining of democratic processes. 

In his first few weeks, he has already wreaked chaos with a slew of vicious executive orders, a slate of Cabinet appointees who share his distrust and disdain for government, and the shuttering and decimating of federal agencies which provide lifeline funding to millions of Americans for vital support services including medical care, housing, and education.

Strangely, it is precisely for this reason that I feel better.

Before I became a full-time writer twelve years ago, I worked in social change and racial justice for close to fifteen years. During Obama's second term, I served as the marketing and communications director at a racial justice organization working to humanize undocumented immigrants, draw attention to the indiscriminate killing of Black men and boys, and ultimately, to underscore the fact that despite electing our first Black president, we were not, in fact, a post-racial society. I viewed my role as bringing as many people into the fight for greater equity and racial justice by helping them realize that irrespective of their background or experiences, we are all better if we collectively fight for equity. When I became a full-time writer, I continued to address social issues, now using my words rather than an organizational position, to illuminate and create greater awareness and action.  

So when Trump ran for president and won against Hillary Clinton in 2016, I wrote pieces exploring the denialism on the left that contributed to ignoring the danger he posed and latent issues in Hillary's campaign and candidacy that continue to plague the Democratic Party. Given the shock of white liberals and mainstream Democratic voters, I couldn't shake the feeling that I hadn’t done enough to get more people to understand the danger Trump and white nationalists posed to all of us. 

To make matters worse, I watched as many in mainstream media struggled with how to report on Trump and his administration, making excuses for his hateful rhetoric and policies, refusing to call his lies, lies, and him a liar. While liberals publicly mocked Trump for his bombastic statements, they believed it to be empty rhetoric, with little bearing on their lives. Amidst this pervasive denialism, I felt utterly unseen, unheard, and alone in my rage and frustration.

Now, a month into Trump’s second presidency, despite the undeniable and widespread damage he has wrought across every sector — or rather, because of this — I feel more assured and less isolated than in 2016. The fact that Trump’s corrosive, corrupted vision is touching every aspect of life, from scientific research to public education, from equity on race to inclusivity on gender, from worker rights to consumer protections, has sparked the dawning collective realization about not just the perils he and his ilk pose, but the necessity that we collectively respond and resist, and support and stand up for each other, including for those whose lives and identities are different from our own. 

For the first time, I see my family, friends, neighbors, and individuals from every walk of life, doctors, teachers, writers, scientists, members of the police and armed forces expressing their concern and getting involved in pushing back against his oppressive rhetoric and policies. Finally, the resistance is not being waged only by the small, under-resourced, and overtaxed yet committed group of activists who have been sounding the alarm and fighting the fight in lonely trenches for years. 

Just a few weeks after Trump's election, I had a preview of the cruelty that was to come. Conservative maelstrom Libs of TikTok conducted a social media campaign against a basic gender affirming curriculum that had been in place for five years in my child's public elementary school. Within hours, the campaign unleashed hate-filled public rants and private threats against school administrators and teachers. In an effort to keep students and teachers safe, the school was forced to beef up security and cancel important school activities and services.

We had only moved here a little over a year ago, searching for a town commutable to New York City yet that had a small-town vibe and an inclusive public school system. I joined fellow concerned and committed parents, teachers, students, administrators, and other members of the community in coming together in speaking up, pushing back, and showing our support for those most vulnerable amongst us and championing diversity, equity, and inclusion, - the very principles under siege by Trump’s administration. This experience, while alarming, made me feel less alone, and relieved to belong to a community where we understand no one is free unless everyone is free. 

America has long espoused values like equality, fairness, and justice, without fully upholding them for all its citizens. Because of this, Trump has been able to disrupt and expose that they are merely skin-deep. The bad news is that every part of our society will be impacted by his destructive dystopian vision that wants America’s bounty to be reserved for the privileged few. The good news is this moment presents an urgent, insistent call for us to come together, forming novel and unlikely partnerships and solidarities, modeling a society of mutual aid, collaboration, and regard. A society where our values are felt in the bedrock of our bones.