Don’t Let Trump’s Chaos Divide Us!

Protestors at the Washington, DC, Peoples' March on January 18, 2025. Image by Wikimedia user Frypie.

Donald Trump will be inaugurated as president of the United States for the second time on January 20, 2025. In the last few months, since he won the presidential election, his promises and off-handed threats are confusing and unsettling. Annex Canada and Greenland? Seize the Panama Canal?

Trump’s rants have also been scary. He has promised to “drill, baby, drill!” for more oil as wildfires burn down thousands of homes across LA. He says he will incarcerate and deport millions of people, along with their families, who are hard-working and taxpaying members of our communities. His top appointed officials are prepared to give huge tax cuts to the rich while slashing budgets for public services like education and healthcare.

Elon Musk, the wealthiest person in the world, is being given an advisory position within Trump’s administration and has already caused chaos through his public threats to slash governmental budgets. Trump’s Vice President, JD Vance, invited Daniel Penny to join him in Trump’s suite at the Army–Navy football game. Penny is the ex-marine who strangled and killed Jordan Neely, a Black houseless performer on a NYC subway and was acquitted. Vance sent a clear message to everyone – Penny is a hero and Neely’s life did not matter. This is the future they defend.

Once Trump is inaugurated, it is hard to tell what he will actually be able to do. But we know for certain that we can’t just watch and wait to see what promises or threats he will act on.

The agenda is clear. Trump’s goal is to increase the profiteering of corporations, especially his supporters,  now a long list of the most wealthy, powerful companies like Meta, OpenAI, Google, and Amazon. Many of the creators of the “Project 2025” blueprint from conservative and far-right think tanks are being appointed to important positions. Trump’s billionaire cabinet is the richest in history – not including Musk, they have a total net worth of at least $11.8 billion. Do they represent regular, working people like they claim?

This administration will continue to deepen the divisions in the population as they enrich themselves through tax breaks and eliminating regulations on the environment and workplace health and safety. Trump and his corporate backers attack immigrants and other countries to sow nationalism and to try to convince us to blame our neighbors for the worsening conditions to come. They don’t want us to realize that they are the real perpetrators of mass violence and theft.

Many people voted for Trump because they believed he would improve the economic situation. His false promises are going to be a painful slap in the face for those who believe in him. Trump is not the cause of the problems that we face. He represents the same system that Biden, Harris and the other politicians represent.

The difference is that the chaos he generates can lead some people to believe that he is attacking the source of the problems. Trump is a master of the politics of distraction. The wild, off-handed comments he shouts about whatever comes into his mind, fueling racism and attacking immigrants, LGBTQ people, or marginalized groups, are a cover for the real agenda.

The only economic interests Trump really defends are those of the rich. To do that, it will mean that we, everyday people, will pay the price. We’ll face a higher cost of living, major cuts to basic services that we need to survive, and attacks on rights that people fought to win in the past.

We can’t afford to sit and wait while family, friends, coworkers face deportation, or the threat of deportation. We can’t accept losing access to healthcare, education, housing, and the right to breathe clean air or drink safe water. We can’t watch while our future is destroyed.

We can act now, even in small ways, to prepare for the struggles ahead. Talking to our neighbors, co-workers, family, and being willing to trust each other and act together may feel useless, but this is the basis of all successful fights. The more of us ready to act, the more confident we become. Only together can we find the ways to resist and put an end to the attacks and chaos that is coming our way. We know for sure that the billionaires or their representatives won’t change things for us, so we only have ourselves to rely on.

Download .pdf

HIT US UP ON SOCIAL MEDIA