Being a political Progressive is hard work in Trump’s second presidency. The swing from Joe Biden’s debate meltdown, to the ascent of Kamala Harris as the uni-candidate for all who oppose Trump was both remarkable and jarring. Centrists, Moderates, and Leftists were thrown together in a game of political musical chairs, scrambling to find the best seat for the coming revolution. No way could Trump win a second term. “Just look at the guy, he’s deranged.” was a common paraphrased message with the very-online-crowd. Just a handful of experienced pundits saw that Trump would be a winner. Perhaps it was because 17 million people decided to stay home instead of voting Democrat as before? Has to be. Because, just look at the guy, he’s deranged!

Trump’s relentless dash back into ruling America like a penny stock scam boiler room has pulled the rug out from even the most stable political observers and commenters. Instead of focusing on improving people’s life experiences though the effective use of government, Trump has decided to rake the executive branch agencies (like a properly groomed European forest) into one large pile and set fire to it.

He declared war on America and has set out to convert the country into a nothing-State. Less safe airplanes, more pollution in the water, cheap gas, low taxes for the wealthy, and high tariffs for the average person. This sounds like a typical 1980s Republican platform that needed bi-partisan cajoling and bargaining to make real. Nope. It is a shock and awe attack on the country’s identity that he’s got in the bag using Executive Orders and a bought-and-paid-for Congress of MAGA cowards.

Just trying to focus on one important Progressive initiative, like single-payer healthcare, becomes absurd in the face of Trump’s planned cuts to Medicare, the restoration of high prescription drug prices, and restricting access to reproductive care. We’ve shown up to the fight with a teaspoon of medicine whereas the MAGA sycophants are packing soul-incinerating flamethrowers. There is no game afoot, there’s only time to defend your existence.

In the first month of Trump II here is an incomplete list of the changes to the American government:

I cannot express perfectly in writing how deranged those forty-something paradigm shifts are. Just one of them would have earth-shaking political consequences for a Democratic Party president. The imbalance in outrage is practically comical. Remember, there were massive global protests against Joe Biden’s unwavering support for Israel’s brutality in Gaza – yet nothing but stunned silence when Trump wants to “own Gaza” and forcefully resettle 2 million Palestinians, then redevelop the land into a “Mediterranean Riviera”. This is beyond bad fiction, it’s hysterical madness.

OK. Breathe.

A common thread weaving its way along all this destruction is a reference to “norms”. American governance requires gentlemanly acceptance of the norms of polite political society. Senators refer to their political rivals as “my esteemed friend from…” when speaking about another Senator on the floor of the Senate. The same goes for the House of Representatives. Polite norms are pervasive in American politics. Rather they were before Trump demolished them.

To be clear, I believe relying on “norms” is a silly way to govern the 350 million people of the world’s largest economy with the world’s largest military. Again, this is beyond bad fiction. But it is the system that at least works enough to keep the lights on for most people.

By trusting a political system with a made-up foundation that’s not clear, not standardized, and not equally applied, Americans find themselves aghast at how fast Trump was able to tear apart their society. Stories abound in the media of MAGA voters who were fired from their government job with no notice and no reason.

This is not a newsletter on why the US Constitution is ill-suited as the underpinning law for America in 2025. (Spoiler: It isn’t.) However, the reliance on hundreds of years of polite cooperation between wealthy men has laid bare the occasion for this latest-worst American transformation. I think there is a dark humor in all of this chaos. How could “we” let this happen? How couldn’t “we” see that Trump would be a destroyer and not a uniter? Wasn’t he serious about being a dictator for “only” one day? A laugh riot.

Social scientists will be studying this period of history, America and beyond, for decades to come. What finally brought people to so confidently vote against their self interests as to cheer on a madman’s gleeful destruction of their lives and livelihoods? Was it MAGA or QAnon? Is it poverty? Racism? Lack of education, healthcare, and opportunity? All of it? I don’t have the answer. Social media people and creators like myself aren’t equipped to provide meaningful reasons for the breakdown. We can only react and guess and predict.

Trump’s transformative wrecking ball also has America’s global allies gasping. Trump aims for Greenland’s minerals and sovereignty. He’s steps from military actions in Mexico under the pretense of fighting drug cartels. Panama is on notice their stewardship of the canal is unwanted and will end. The language in the US-Taiwan treaty about not seeking to become a separate nation was removed. China immediately claimed it was a provocative measure designed to destabilize the status quo. They’re right, it was.

The same transformative shifts are happening globally not only domestically, maybe more. Ending foreign aid opens the door to Russian and Chinese money that buys easy influence. American soft power (traditionally not such a great thing admittedly) kept the proverbial barbarians on the other side of the gate. Foreign aid has always been a self-serving game, but an essential one nonetheless.

Eliminating AIDS in African countries prevents AIDS in Ohio. Jointly studying diseases and viruses with China prevents outbreaks in Montana. Sadly, Americans have a lack of imagination or commonsense to support these initiatives. It’s anti-vax America First nationalists all the way down.

How do “we” stop the wholesale gutting of America’s identity globally? Democrats in Congress are barely up to the task. Progressives like AOC and Bernie are doing their usual best and making some good trouble. Jasmine Crockett has emerged as the hell-on-wheels Progressive interview for cable news. She’s setting the new standard for resist content.

But it is not enough. Blue outrage is just the powder plume from the political musket. It signals a fight is underway, but it’s not the dangerous part. MAGA controls the Congress and the Federal Judiciary. Sure, there are already hundreds of court cases seeking to reign in Trump – with some early successes even from historically Conservative judges. But all these cases are going to slowly drift up the judicial smokestack to the Supreme Court where Trump’s greatest allies do their best work. Nobody can say for sure if the courts will answer the call in favor of democracy.

People in the streets. Local activism. Threats to primary (both D and R) incumbents who fail to act to stop the collapse. Constant media presence. Even establishing a shadow cabinet similar to the practice in UK politics would be a great start. Ultimately, it will be the Trump voters who are getting shafted that will change the game. A great many of those people need to switch and vote Democrat in state elections and the federal mid-terms in 2026. Carrying signs is outstanding, but converting Trump voters who have lost their jobs is better.

Will America survive? I hope so. It is a big place with a lot going on. Politics ranks very low on many people’s priority list, but I am thinking this is the perfect wake-up call for people to act in their best interests, not against them. Maybe Trump’s madness will force those people he’s ruining to dethrone him. Perhaps the Trump transformation will really be an American transformation away from right-wing politics once the damage is done and people start to rebuild their lives.

“We” hope so.

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