Surviving a Second Trump Presidency

By Amanda Khong and Caitlyn

In his first 35 days of office, Donald Trump signed over 100 executive orders attacking DEI, education, and immigration, amongst many other things. If you have been following along, we’re sure you are experiencing a wide range of emotions, from confusion to anxiety and fear. We will not minimize the severity of what we are witnessing, nor the real consequences we all may experience. But it’s also critical to know that as quickly as Trump is signing executive orders, he is being met with pushback at every turn. It is more important than ever that we keep ourselves informed, involved, and connected, and that together, we can not only survive the next four years and beyond, but be ready to fight back in any way we can.

Information is Power

One of the most important things we can do right now is to stay informed and educated. Knowledge is one of our most important tools to combat fascism, and we stay knowledgeable by not only keeping up to date on the news but by being vigilant about synthesizing the news for ourselves. Read the news from a variety of sources, and question and fact-check everything you read. It’s highly unlikely that you will agree with every single sentence of every news article, and that’s good. You shouldn’t! Consider how the things you read fit into your worldview. Battle test news sources against your praxis. Embrace disagreeing with the things that you read. Let the articles battle test your praxis right back. Challenging news articles as you read them will help you become strong in your resolve.

Additionally, be wary of news sources that leave you feeling stressed, anxious, or confused, and never let a single source of news be your sole source of news. Lean into news sources that leave you feeling confident about knowing what is going on. In the age of social media, it’s so easy to scroll infinitely, hoping to get your next set of news delivered with a kick of anxiety-laced dopamine. It’s so much harder to be of service to others when we’re panicking, and while there is a lot to worry about, it’s imperative that we’re able to be there for one another as much as possible.

Here are some news sources and organizations to subscribe to to get you started:

ProPublica
DemocracyNOW
Truthout
PBS
World Health Organization (no, the USA does not need to be a part of the WHO to get this!)
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Many of these organizations, like the WHO, have newsletters that you can sign up for to receive information directly. In the coming years, it’s going to be increasingly important to read as much as we can. Of course, that means books, but it also means articles, newsletters, legislation, essays, interviews, and memoirs. We see how easily TikTok can be taken away from us even with the current extension. Never panic, but practice getting the news from a wide variety of sources. And most importantly, practice deepening and strengthening your resolve so that you know exactly when and why to harass your representatives.

Pro tip from the Readin’ Community Team: You can also sign up for newsletters from the Library of Congress to get updates on what bills are being introduced into Congress. Then with the 5Calls App, you can call all of your representatives with the tap of your finger.

Resist Disconnecting

In addition to staying informed, it’s also very important that we stay plugged in in whatever ways we’re able to, whether that be online or in real life. You may want to bury your head in the sand because of anxiety or fear, but disconnecting can be harmful not only to yourself but to all of us. In fact, it’s what fascists want. Now more than ever we need all hands on deck. There are, and will continue to be, many “fires” to put out, but also remember that you are not alone.

You don’t need to focus on every fire. Instead, identify an issue that you are passionate about and become an expert. Talk about it with your friends and family so that they remain informed. Find a local organization in your area that is fighting for those issues and get involved in whatever ways you can. No action is too small, and our collective efforts will make all of the difference. If you are able to give monetarily then do so, there are so many places to donate: bail funds, trustworthy journalism, and mutual aid. If you donate to mutual aid efforts in your local area, you can even stretch the impact of your dollar farther than large national nonprofits. Mutual aid groups usually give 100% of donations back to your very own community. Some organizations will let you set up small, monthly donations for as little as $5 that can be essential in their continuing to provide services and do good.

If you haven’t, you can check out last month’s Mutual Aid 101 for more about what mutual aid is and how you can get involved, especially as a book lover.

For some of us, having tangible things that we can do is helpful for easing anxiety around the unknown, so here are some other things that you can start doing right away:

Learn (or further develop) a new skill, like gardening or sewing, that you can share with others.
Make a list of things you may want to pack in your own “go bag” if ever necessary.
Practice making cheap meals at home, or learn how to make certain food from scratch. TikTok has a thriving bread-making community that makes it easy to get started!
Dedicate time to spend with family and friends and stay connected to your small and large community.
Establish daily/weekly/monthly self-care rituals so you can remain in this fight for the long run!

Take Care of Each Other

Most importantly, we have to take care of each other. As Gwendolyn Brooks said in her poem Paul Robeson, “We are each other’s business: we are each other’s magnitude and bond”. We are witnessing an attack on the most vulnerable among us: Black and brown people, undocumented people, disabled people, LGBTQ+ people, and anyone who is not a white cis man. Resist language, ideas, and policies that tell you to demonize anyone different from you.

Have a plan for what you will do if you see a neighbor being mistreated. Here are some guides to get you started:

Printable Know Your Rights Red Cards
The ACLU has extensive Know Your Rights Guides, including

In addition to educating yourself and others about our rights, there are also tangible things you can do to begin building a culture of keeping each other safe. As you go about your daily life, start considering the skills you have or the skills you’d like to learn that you could share with others. You can learn how to cook delicious budget-friendly or bulk meals, learn to mend clothes, start a bulk buying group with your neighbors, learn how to use basic tools, or start a garden (even just hydroponics in your kitchen).

As we move into a world where climate disaster gets more frequent and unpredictable, one where we’re going back on our climate promises, think about what disasters are most likely to happen in your area. It may never come to your doorstep, but it’s always better to have a plan. Begin getting to know your neighbors so you know who might need extra assistance evacuating, keep an updated list of what you would pack in your “go bag,” and check in on your insurance coverage.

None of us know the details of what will be thrown at us in the coming years, but the plan has always been and will always be the same. We devote our time to the deep internal work that it takes to be in this fight for the long term and we commit ourselves to live our politics every day. We take care of one another, we advocate for knowledge, and we fight for ways to free each other from being reliant on a crumbling system.

Book Recommendations

It’s going to get worse before it can get better, but we have to believe it will get better and do the work to get there. When things get scary it’s really easy to feel like you need to be in action so you can’t slow down to learn, but never forget that reading is active. Knowledge and education is a tool we use to free ourselves. There will always be time to slow down and read because reading is, and always has been, central to our liberation.

Here are a few books to get you started from the Community Team at Readin’: