There were glimmers of hope as the national election results came in Tuesday night, such as the advance of reproductive freedom in five states and historic elections of transgender and Black women. Overall, however, the elections delivered a stunning victory to the nationalist and authoritarian MAGA movement, including the Christian Right.
It would be premature to offer a full assessment, but some features focus our attention:
As the 47th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump is prepared to order and immediately enforce a sweeping agenda prioritizing White minority rule, patriarchy, and retribution. We take seriously his declared intent to conduct mass deportations, concentrate power in the executive office, and pursue perceived internal enemies.
It is in no way reassuring that the path to a second Trump administration cut through ballot boxes rather than a siege of the Capitol—neither is it unprecedented. Rather, this is the playbook for the current global surge of autocracy and illiberal democracies. As PRA noted in 2022, the scheme turns on several strategic components:
- State capture by an authoritarian coalition;
- erosion of democratic institutions; and
- formation and mobilization of a loyal mass constituency—a new nation to sanctify a new kind of state.
We understand the stakes are astonishingly higher than four or eight years ago. As we write, it appears probable that all branches of the federal government will be held by MAGA allies. They are empowered and readying to implement Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” the authoritarian blueprint for the incoming administration. January 6 insurrectionists may well be pardoned and set loose to act with impunity.
We face a powerful alliance of authoritarian forces in—and flanking—government that requires us to be open to different strategies suited to these conditions. It’s a moment, for instance, to consider the strategic possibilities of non-violent mass non-cooperation. The next administration’s broadening multiracial, cross-class approval and appeal is not a mirage. We will need to call in people from every sector of society to resist and ultimately defeat fascism and authoritarianism.
Every victory against oppression in the U.S. and anywhere else—abolition, civil rights, labor rights, human rights, and gender justice—came from people rejecting isolation, refusing despair, and organizing to block supremacy and domination and build a more liberatory future. The defeat of slavery ushered in the multiracial democracy of Reconstruction. The defeat of Jim Crow ended the White monopoly on electoral politics and legal White supremacy. The defeat of MAGA authoritarianism will make possible a new, transformative era in U.S. society and politics.
This is our organizing heritage and our collective responsibility to current and future generations.
Over the last many months PRA has worked with a range of racial, social, and economic justice movements on scenario planning and preparedness for this potential outcome. We are now in motion with organizing, advocacy, legal, media, and other partners to inform resistance strategies and align the largest possible coalition around effective anti-authoritarian and pro-democracy action.
Join us. Over the coming weeks we will offer a variety of resources and programs to our communities, including briefings and guides to keep our protest movements safe;, continued analysis on the emerging moment; and opportunities to strategize and organize within our movement ecosystem. See below and subscribe here for developing event announcements and timely analysis. Here is how you can support our work at this critical time.
Please take care of yourself and each other.