Most democratic minded people expected an assault, organized by Trump and his closest advisors, on the federal government and democratic rights — immigrant rights in the first place. What stuns, and increasingly outrages them, is the fast pace and broad sweep of this assault.  

It is fair to say it has many of the markings of a coup d’etat. After all, its aim is to impose without public consent or legislative debate a new political-authoritarian order. In the face of this assault, albeit one with no historical precedent, the strategic task of democracy’s defenders is to assemble an expansive coalition that stretches from Never Trumpers to Angela Davis and everything in between, not least the Democratic Party, for the purpose of blocking this coup. 

In these circumstances, the role of the broad, nonsectarian left is to assist this process, practically and ideologically. It probably needs no saying that it will take creativity, initiative, modesty, sweated labor, and breadth of approach on its part. Building one’s political silo is one thing; exclusively hanging out in that silo is a no no! The future of the broad, nonsectarian left as a consequential force in US politics will turn on its ability to meet this challenge. 

Wasn’t that the case in the 1930s and 1960s? 

America has always, even on its better days, had an illiberal strain, as brilliantly elucidated in the recent book by Stephen Hahn: Illiberal America: A History. But the present assault, orchestrated by Trump and MAGA, on the political and social foundations of the U.S. goes beyond “illiberal.” It has many of the markings of a neofascist regime. Some may think otherwise, and they may well be right. In any case, most would agree that the present administration is aggressively white supremacist, hyper nationalist, xenophobic to the extreme, christian fundamentalist, and authoritarian in its pedigree. It seems hardly debatable that Trump and the MAGA movement fall outside of the “bourgeois democratic” boundaries of U.S. politics.

Moreover, this political juggernaut, led by an unstable, demagogic strongman, will retreat, in the first place, only under the sustained pressure of diverse and coordinated actions of a broadly based coalition of actors and organizations — including the Democratic Party.

Currently, such a front is in its early stage of formation, evidenced by the many actions in far flung parts of the country, not least the nation’s capital. It will only grow in size, depth, and understanding.

A working class approach that doesn’t include at its core the necessity and urgency of strategic alliances of the working class with other sectors of the popular movement (people of color, women, Immigrants, and other opponents of the Trump regime) is no class approach at all. It may seem like one, feel like one, read like one, but it isn’t one. It’s no more than “revolutionary rhetoric” that soothe one’s revolutionary disposition, but fails to understand the dialectics of class politics at the level of theory and practice.

Or, to come at it differently, working class mobilization pure and simple will not only fail to activate key allies of the working class, but also the working class itself. It’s a recipe at the end of the day for failure, for defeat.

Trumpism easily falls outside of the “bourgeois democratic” boundaries that governed U.S. politics for the past century and more. It is a reaction not only to the decline and crisis of the neoliberal order and the contradictions of the U.S. constructed global order, but also to the expansion of democracy since the 60s and the pressures to further expand it going forward. Led by an unstable, demagogic strongman sitting in the White House, Trump demonstrates every day by his words and actions his contempt (and MAGA’s) for existing democratic institutions and rights paired with an unconcealed ambition to construct an authoritarian, anti-democratic, revanchist, billionaire friendly order to replace it.

Will he be successful? It’s too early to tell. To no small degree, it will depend on what a diverse coalition of class and social forces do to resist this authoritarian takeover now in progress. With no time to spare, each of us has to become an author of our collective future.

The coalition opposing Trump’s power grab is still in formation and finding its legs. That isn’t surprising, given the novelty and nature of the challenge. In these circumstances, the overarching task is to rapidly scale up its actions and organizational capacity commensurate to the existential danger that Trump and MAGA present. While in every great movement there is a spontaneous element, one would make a mistake to turn that element of mass politics into a substitute for political organization and coordination. The latter is necessary to turn a spontaneous surge into a powerful mass movement with the capacity to win.