Trump at 100: A Call for Project 2050

Man, this sucks.

Judges arrested. Students kidnapped. Grocery prices are still outrageous. Over 110,000 federal workers fired. America’s exhausted, and Trump’s chaos machine is back in overdrive—louder, darker, and more dangerous than ever. Click your phone and it’s everywhere.

So what the hell do we do about it?

We strategize.

The resistance is excellent at analyzing, organizing, demanding justice and speaking truth to power. We are excellent at responding to the moment for actions and crises. But now more than ever we must become exceptional at strategizing for the future.

To get from authoritarianism to liberation, we need to take a breath, step back, reflect, and get clear on what we need today, where we are going tomorrow, and how we will get there. That's strategy. We must continue to grind and fight daily because people need to eat. Kids need to get to school and the most vulnerable need shelter. That's what makes this season so difficult. People have been in desperate dire needs of despair for decades and now the attacks are more relentless with seemingly no end in sight. We have to simultaneously be still enough to imagine and plan for a future vision of America rooted in humanity for all, while responding to the daily needs of ourselves and our neighbors. This is our call to action. That takes strategy. Otherwise, we will go through cycles of short essential wins, while also feeling stuck, demoralized, and defeated.

The thought of this can be overwhelming. That's why we need everybody.

Long term strategy gives us moments to pause and reflect; to intentionally engage our joy, culture and humanity. In the daily fight, we must look this pain squarely in the eye and feel everything – the fear in our chest, the rage in our gut, and the weight on our backs and shoulders. We were forced to look when George Floyd was lynched; we were forced to watch and listen to the people during the Ferguson uprising after Michael Brown was murdered. Both events caused global uprisings and gave the United States House of Representatives Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman. Leaning into our pain can be our path to the people power we need to win in this moment — while building the pathway to our collective future.

The truth is: Trump didn’t create this mess. He’s just the devil of the moment. Billionaires started buying our democracy years ago while both parties rolled out the red carpet. Project 2025 is a strategy long in the making aligned to the Heritage Foundation, ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) and others. The resistance needs our Project 2050. Our elected officials—Democrats and Republicans—sold out the American people. The American people, not the oligarchs, must take our country back, and steer it into the future.

We absolutely must relentlessly resist, attack, and fight back to build the country we all deserve. A country that works for every single person in it. Our ancestors fought and died for an America that has been taken away from us. Voting rights, reproductive rights, and affirmative action are being stripped away or gone. The constitution is being ignored. The people must rise up, respond to the moment, and strategize for the future.

That is exactly what we are seeing right now.

What’s giving us life right now is gathering. Living rooms are coming alive again. People are talking, imagining, planning, building and strategizing.
The weather is warm, people are hitting the streets, and coming together in community. The Hands Off marches were just the beginning. Every weekend people are somewhere doing something to demand their voices be heard and to hold this administration accountable. There will be thousands more actions as we will not stop until we have justice, and the power is returned to the people.

From the living room to the streets. That is how we will build a new America. But strategy must bridge the gap.

The strongest act of resistance is people connecting with each other. We have been with others across the political spectrum over the last several weeks. People are resolute – this shit will not stand. Now is the time to breath, connect, strategize, and act. Every act matters. We don't need all the answers, we just need to get started. Call an old friend. Meet a neighbor. Start a circle. Join an org. Make a contribution. Invite someone over. This is the people’s movement – of, by, and for. Most elected officials aren't ready to lead this unfortunately – so we the people must vote their asses out of office.

From the living room to the streets, let the power of our collective voices rise to manifest a new America. And let's use strategy to get us there. Peace!