We Have the Power To Defeat Trump: Here's How
We Are the Saviors: Reclaiming Our Power from the Elite
American democracy currently faces a choice between fascism and freedom, a confrontation political historian Heather Cox Richardson describes as the end of a 40-year era.
Richardson, a renowned professor of history at Boston College who specializes in the American Civil War and Reconstruction, recently joined host Nicolle Wallace on The Best People Podcast for a discussion on recent events.
Richardson’s immense credibility comes from her expertise in connecting historical trends to contemporary politics, notably through her influential Substack newsletter, Letters from an American, which boasts over 2.6 million subscribers.
In this wide-ranging conversation about the health of the nation, Richardson and Wallace agreed on a critical point: citizens, not political leaders, hold the ultimate power to defeat Donald Trump and the movement toward oligarchy.
Richardson argues that the path to victory involves recognizing this power, overcoming psychological warfare, and deliberately creating a new political vision for the country.
The answer to fascism is for Americans to collectively say, “Hell no” to being ruled by a handful of rich men who think they are better than the rest of us.
Defeating the Strategy of Isolation
The most dangerous strategy employed by authoritarian movements is the attempt to convince citizens they are isolated and powerless. Nicolle Wallace confessed that she, too, had to reorient herself to accept the idea that “no one’s coming to save us,” recognizing that citizens are, in fact, “the saviors”.
Richardson warned that the radical right deliberately targets this sense of power.
When studying the radical right’s efforts to rework school curricula in places like Florida and Oklahoma, Richardson found that the one element entirely erased was human agency - the idea that everyday people could change their world.
This erasure of agency is incredibly dangerous for American democracy. Richardson believes her role as a historian is to remind people that they have control over their lives to the degree that they are willing to use that power, which is the necessary first step to resisting leadership interested only in staying in power.
The Potency of Collective Action
The power of collective action is already shattering the myth of MAGA’s unstoppable dominance. Richardson pointed out that the recent election results showed the American people ran the tables, with evidence that some MAGA voters crossed the aisle because the movement was not serving them.
This phenomenon proves that the MAGA coalition is dynamic, not static, and vulnerable to internal shifts when people realize they have been betrayed.
Victories against institutional forces also prove citizen power is monumental. Wallace and Richardson noted that when late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was yanked off the air, citizens used their power in hours and days to effect change immediately.
This rapid turnaround demonstrated that there was, in fact, something the American people could do against the second Trump administration.
Furthermore, the lack of agency destroyed old communities like churches and civic halls, but new communities, such as the No Kings movement, are forming to protect democracy and resist isolation.
🔥 Join thousands of supporters. Your subscription fuels unflinching truth and keeps every word free for all. No paywalls. Ever. 🔥
Creating the Next Visionary Leader
Once agency is activated, the next crucial step is creating a collective political vision.
Richardson stated the relationship between ordinary citizens on the ground and elected leadership has always been complex in America, dating back to the Framers who wrote the Constitution as a machine that lacked a clear popular interface.
Vision emerges when ordinary people articulate their collective frustrations - such as the frustration with ICE raids or the inability to afford to buy a house. These articulations become a story that politicians, often those new to power, reflect back to citizens.
This process of citizen demand leading to leadership is essential. Richardson emphasized that “everybody thinks Abraham Lincoln sort of jumped out of the head of Zeus,” but in 1855, he was an undistinguished corporate lawyer.
We created Abraham Lincoln she explained; he listened to the public’s unhappiness and, in 1859, articulated a new vision for the country. The current period is the “creation part” for the next set of pro-democracy leaders.
Embracing the Process and Rejecting the Lie
To sustain the fight, the public must overcome the cultural desire to have things fixed now. Democracy is fundamentally about process, which is enormously frustrating. Donald Trump successfully capitalized on this frustration by promising, “I can fix this tomorrow”.
Richardson warned that this desire for a quick fix carries the great danger that political instability could cause people to surrender agency and turn to a real strongman to bring order back.
The antidote to this instant-fix mentality is reframing success to find the joy of work and creation. The philosophy must be that “the joy is not in the having, the joy is in the doing” (the journey), which helps citizens endure the hard slog of democratic work.
This refocus on process and effort requires rejecting the lionization of people like Elon Musk due to their wealth, viewing their vast fortunes as a problem, not something to honor.
By committing to process, building community, and demanding vision, the American people can fully realize their power and defeat the forces attempting to establish oligarchy.
Concrete Steps for the Democratic Reclamation
To defeat the movement toward oligarchy, Americans must engage in specific, sustained actions based on the principles of agency and democratic process.
The work is a “hard slog,” not a quick fix, and requires both strategic patience and unrelenting commitment using the following points.
Adopt the democratic principle that success is about process - not the quick fixes promised by demagogues like Donald Trump. This means learning to “trust to time” and accepting that the “joy is not in the having, the joy is in the doing”.
Actively build power by joining new communities and grassroots organizing efforts, such as the No Kings movement, especially in places “not visible to a lot of, uh, especially mainstream media”.
Articulate a clear collective vision by voicing frustrations with specific issues like the inability to afford a house or current ICE policy, thereby creating the political narrative that future leaders must reflect.
Seek and internalize complex, factual information—integrating the principles of history and economics into your understanding—to combat deliberate misinformation.
Act as on-the-ground reporters by filming events like ICE raids. Wallace asserted that every person who holds up a camera is redefining who disseminates facts, ensuring immediate accountability.
Strategically study the opposition (like the manosphere) with curiosity to understand their deep-seated motivations (often rooted in a desire for community or transparency), recognizing that you must respect the opponent to defeat the opponent.
End the cultural lionization of people like Elon Musk and reject the hoarding of wealth, stating clearly that having gazillions of dollars is a problem, not something society should honor.
The ultimate power belongs to those who show up, who stay informed, and who refuse to surrender their agency.
The fight for democracy is a long one, but history proves that when the American people speak collectively, the trajectory of the nation changes.
⚡Join the resistance. Subscribe for more fearless commentary. Your support keeps this space open and ad-free for everyone.⚡
This was a great read! And I'm hoping this is just the beginning of the realization that if people want a government of, by and for the people, THEY HAVE TO PARTICIPATE by doing more than just voting in an election every four years. Get on it. And stay on it!