At the beginning of President Trump’s first term, the promotion of “alternate facts” was met with derision, disbelief and mockery. It took responsible media years to understand this was not political humor, but a harbinger of a strategic plan to fundamentally change our form of government. Essential to that objective is to control the message, to alter reality to conform to ideology, in this case the pursuit of an authoritarian regime.

Almost in disbelief, the media resisted labeling the new propaganda just that — a package of thoughtfully conceived lies. Instead, the media danced around the reality, using terms like “inaccuracy,” “error,” “mistake,” or “oversight” to describe the outright lies that were being offered as facts. With the passage of time, however, it has become clear that this manipulation of truth, repeated over and over, has been demonstrably effective. It could not be so unless a majority of the American people were vulnerable to accepting this disinformation.

Soft targets, such as immigration, inflation and gender identity, all provided the fuel to ignite the resentment against our institutions, while seeking simplistic answers to our national malaise. Let us not excuse the Democrats for their role in this drama; they utterly failed to appreciate the degree of anger smoldering in the working class of this country.

We are suffering from another form of denial in this the second Trump term. As promised, he has elevated the degree of sophistication with which he is going about his nefarious agenda. Gone are any hints of guardrails in the persons of his chief of staff, defense secretary, the director of allergy and infectious diseases, or chairman of the joint chiefs, to name a few. Mr. Trump made no secret of his intentions, couching his plans in the rhetoric of anti-immigration, anti-inflation, and anti-woke objectives that appealed to a majority of Americans.

His uncanny understanding of the mood of our fellow citizens has paved the way for the alteration of our government as we have never seen before. Despite the conspicuous nature of this assault, much of the mainstream media continues to define it in an outworn framework. They lament the glorification of Jan. 6 domestic terrorists, or the destruction of our NATO alliances, or the alienation of our neighboring countries, or the blatant evisceration of Medicaid to finance tax cuts for the wealthiest among us. They do so in the mistaken belief that appeals to norms and historic behaviors will somehow expose the egregious deviation from them, and will help to right the ship.

Perhaps it might even persuade some of his fellow Republicans that his actions are a bridge too far. Sadly, this is nonsensical. It becomes more evident every day that they DON’T CARE. Theirs is a world of money and power at all costs; of winners and losers. The better we understand this, the more prepared we can become to organize strategic opposition to this reality. It is a cancer that, properly diagnosed, we might have a chance to remit, if not eradicate.

Let me be clear, this is not a castigation of the millions who voted for Trump. They have legitimate grievances, such as growing income inequality, which the Democrats have refused to effectively combat. That, and other seeds for this malignancy, offer fertile soil for a despot. We have seen it in other countries in the past, and we are not immune to its spread. Once armed with the reality of our circumstances, perhaps as I suggest below, we must devise counternarratives and programs to meet it.

We must reclaim outlets for truth and combat the lies that characterize right-wing media, while we advocate for programs that will change the lives of our workers. We must expose the hypocrisy behind the destruction of medical care so Musk and his ilk can buy bigger, fancier yachts. But, before that, perhaps we let Trump and his grifters self-destruct. On-again, off-again tariffs will only serve to unsettle business leaders. Inflation remains a concern, heightened by the prospect of the effects of tariffs on our consumer-driven society. Indiscriminate Musk layoffs, already a bone of contention with elected GOP pols, will affect thousands of families, and an anti-vax Health and Human Services secretary will hasten the spread of measles and other infectious diseases.

In some months, as this altered universe reveals its pernicious dimensions, it will be time to take the offensive. Financed by the deep pockets of some Democrats and independents, a national media blitz, perhaps featuring prominent, well-respected Americans (not politicians, with the exception of someone like Sen. Angus King), might announce a crusade for the American worker, offering a stark contrast to the Trump tax breaks for the wealthy.

The cause must embrace the needs of middle America, and while not compromising principles, must acknowledge the complex feelings about triggering issues, such as gender and athletics. Great
American leaders have refrained from getting so far out in front of the electorate that they would sacrifice their ultimate objective of enacting their agendas, choosing instead to artfully let events help to shape public sentiment.

So, let it be with Trump. He can be beaten; democracy can prevail over despotism. It begins with a recognition of the existential battle ahead.