Where Is the Resistance? Trump’s Second Term Protests Fizzle
Washington, D.C. – When Donald Trump was first elected President of the United States eight years ago, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in Washington, D.C. alone. Millions more protested nationwide. This weekend, ahead of his second inauguration, opponents called for a similar outpouring of dissent. But the response was tepid. A few thousand people protested in Washington.
More than three weeks after Trump took office and began dismantling the government and testing the limits of democracy once again, there has been no mass mobilization. Where is the resistance to the Republican and his radical plans? Is it nonexistent, or does it simply look different in 2025?
In the weeks following Trump’s electoral victory in November, the words "shock" and "paralysis" were frequently heard. Trump had decisively defeated his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris. The Republican won not only all seven swing states that had been predicted to be close, but he also became the first Republican since George W. Bush in 2004 to win a majority of the popular vote. In the United States, this is not decisive for victory due to the complex electoral system, but Trump claims it gives him a mandate to reshape the nation in his image.
However, Trump’s electoral victory was not a landslide, as he often claims. Trump received 49.8% of the popular vote, while Harris received 48.3%. The United States is therefore quite divided in its views on the future of the country. Nevertheless, the clear outcome may have somewhat dampened the spirits of Trump’s opponents. But now the Republican sits in the White House and is shaking the foundations of the rule of law. He has pardoned convicted Capitol rioters and other criminals, harassed government officials, targeted minorities, and defied Congress.
Despite this, Trump’s approval ratings remain solid, better than they were at the start of his first term. And there is still no sign of mass protests in the United States. So who is and who is not taking action?
According to the Washington Post, "In Trump’s second act, many activists, consumed by a sense of exhaustion and futility, are retreating from the raucous street protests that defined his first term." Congress has also been a frustrating endeavor for Democrats, who are in the minority in both chambers. So is that it?
Not exactly, because this time around the protest might simply look different. Lawsuits are piling up against Trump’s executive orders and Musk’s heavy-handed approach to government. While these challenges, motions, and hearings may not make for dramatic visuals, they are having an impact. A Boston court has just dismissed a motion by unions to halt Trump’s program for a mass pay-off of federal employees. However, several measures have been temporarily blocked by injunctions. Trump and his team are livid that judges are hitting the brakes and accuse them of overreach and judicial activism.
Of course, some of these lawsuits will go nowhere, and many are likely to wind their way through the court system and eventually to the U.S. Supreme Court. During his first term, Trump shifted the court majority far to the right. In recent years, the Supreme Court has frequently ruled in his favor, but not always.
The real question may be whether Trump will accept the decisions of the judiciary. A clear disregard for the judiciary would likely drive people back into the streets.
