Is It “President Musk” Now?

In recent days, we have seen a lot of bending the knee to Donald Trump by high-powered corporate leaders and the Super Rich.

And when you look at the billionaires being nominated to top government positions and the billionaires who poured big money into Trump’s campaign and now into his inauguration, we see the beginnings of an American oligarchy.

But that is not who this country is.

Millions of his supporters did not vote for Trump to see him turn the country over to billionaires or trade in our democracy for autocracy. And nearly 75 million citizens voted against Trump, who won by less than two percent.

Difficult days lie ahead.

It’s no surprise that many who oppose Trump’s politics, policies, past abuses of public office, and autocratic tendencies are feeling unsettled, unmoored, or resigned.

But this must be shaken off. The Resistance must quickly and strategically begin the work to protect our democracy, our Constitution, and the rule of law.

Trump will be at the height of his power and his public approval in the early days of his presidency.

But based on his history – in business and as President – it won’t take long for President Trump to start making major mistakes. It also won’t take long for his so-called “populism” to be exposed as mainly “populism” for the rich and powerful.

Trump, who hates to share the spotlight with anyone, may have created precisely that problem by being so attached to Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who some Members of Congress are now referring to as “President.”

Musk yesterday took the lead in killing the bipartisan House bill to fund the government. It was hours later that Trump followed Musk’s lead, leaving Musk with the main credit and in the spotlight for killing the bipartisan bill.

Those who resist the Trump Administration must be ready to strike when opportunities arise to stand up against dangerous and damaging efforts by Trump and his Administration.

We can expect that Trump will carry out his revenge and retribution campaign as he attempts to bully and intimidate his perceived opponents.

Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee for FBI director, has already published a list of 60 current and former Executive Branch officials that reads like Nixon’s “enemies list.” And Trump has called for jailing the members of House Jan. 6 Committee.

Meanwhile, Trump has long called the media “the enemy of the people” and this year brought personal lawsuits against ABC News, CBS News, and The Des Moines Register.

(ABC News, or most likely its owner the Disney Company, shamefully settled the Trump defamation lawsuit against them this week.)

Trump’s goal here appears to be to bully those who criticize him, including the media, into submission and silence.

As Trump tries to silence the media, it’s important to remember that the purpose of a free media is to speak truth to power and hold public servants, including Presidents, accountable – a role that our nation’s Founders considered so essential that they enshrined Freedom of the Press in our Constitution.

There will be numerous opportunities to stand up to Trump and his followers. Citizens and nonprofit groups will have an important role to play in these efforts.

State Governors and Attorneys General in blue and purple states can push back against Trump through litigation and state policy.

Citizens can pressure the narrow Republican majorities in Congress. House Republicans in the next Congress will have a razor-thin majority. In the Senate, Republicans will also have a slim majority.

These tight margins could provide important opportunities to stop Trump’s dangerous and destructive initiatives.

Democracy 21 will be ready to do our part to hold Trump and his Administration accountable, to speak truth to power, and to watchdog and challenge abuses of his Administration.

We’ll also continue to be a leader in the coalition working to prevent a constitutional convention, which would jeopardize the constitutional rights and protections provided to every American.

And we will keep up the fight for comprehensive democracy reforms because the work we do now will set us up to strike when opportunities arise again in Congress.

“Do not obey in advance,” Timothy Snyder warns in his book On Tyranny.

“Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given,” Snyder writes. “In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do. Anticipatory obedience is a political tragedy.”

There will be difficult challenges ahead. But there will be opportunities as well.

The fight for our democracy must and will go on.

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