Anti-Trump protests broke out shortly after the presidential results were in, but progressives need a more comprehensive and thoughtful approach to the next four years, says Sam Husseini.
By Sam Husseini
Two views seem to be dominant among progressives regarding Donald Trump: Either protest all he does (people have been holding “anti-Trump” rallies for the past week) or “give him a chance” (let’s see what he does, maybe it will be okay). But both the demonizers and those urging a passive approach are wrong.
The “Anti-Trump” approach is hollow. First, to protest a person is dubious. Too often, “progressives” have focused on the personal rather than the policies and actions. Remember “Anybody But Bush”? That’s not a particularly uplifting way of approaching things and doesn’t lead to genuinely positive outcomes. Also, Trump is someone who has said a lot of contradictory things.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in an MSNBC interview.
So, you can certainly talk about rights for immigrants or women’s rights or ensuring that anti-Muslim policies do not escalate. But to say “anti-Trump” or to ignore good things that Trump has said is hollow. And, yes, there are good things he’s said. For example, during the primaries, he denounced the “regime change” wars waged by George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton:
“We’ve spent $4 trillion trying to topple various people that frankly, if they were there and if we could’ve spent that $4 trillion in the United States to fix our roads, our bridges, and all of the other problems; our airports and all of the other problems we’ve had, we would’ve been a lot better off. I can tell you that right now.”
But it also doesn’t make sense to say “let’s see what he does.” To stand aside is to allow Trump to be cutting deals with House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who will doubtlessly work to take away what populist, anti-interventionist and pro-working-class instincts Trump might otherwise follow.
Bernie Sanders has in recent days struck a reasonable tone at times. In this interview and in a statement just after the…