By David Sole
The resistance to the outrages, corruption and crimes of Trump, his agents and the billionaire capitalist class he represents is growing, perhaps more slowly than many would like and inevitably trailing behind the rapid pace of Trump’s attacks. But it is growing.
What to expect from the judiciary
Over the fourteen months since Trump’s second inauguration judges around the country at many levels have confronted many of the illegal and immoral practices of the regime. But the judiciary moves rather slowly and, with the U.S. Supreme Court firmly in the hands of ultra-rightwing judges, one cannot expect the judiciary to stop the drift toward fascism. In many cases the Trump regime is simply ignoring court orders.
What to expect from the military
Pinning one’s hopes in the U.S. military to be a brake on the ultra-right forces would be a grave error. The officer corps is fully loyal to the capitalist system and its imperialist mission of world domination. The blockade of Venezuela followed by the kidnapping of that country’s president and first lady on January 3, 2026, was carried out without a murmur of complaint by the Pentagon.
Socialist Cuba is now surrounded by a genocidal U.S. naval blockade, denying oil. Earlier this month Trump and the Pentagon launched an unprovoked war with Iran – a war crime, including mass murder of civilians, destruction of civilian infrastructure and targeted assassination of that nation’s leaders.
The U.S. puppet regime in occupied Palestine (“Israel”), in addition to participating in the war against Iran has also attacked Lebanon with bombing, targeted assassinations and a ground invasion. Of course, “Israel” cannot take any action without the go-ahead from Washington. The U.S. has and continues to supply their proxy with tens of billions in military and economic assistance. Both the U.S. and “Israel” also bear complete responsibility for the genocide (which continues today) against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank.
It was widely reported at the start of the U.S. aggression against Iran that “US troops were told war on Iran was ‘all part of God’s divine plan.’” One non-commissioned officer filed a complaint on behalf of 14 of his colleagues that they were instructed to tell their soldiers that “President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.”
Hundreds of other similar complaints were filed with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF). The MRFF said “complainants ‘report the unrestricted euphoria of their commanders’ who perceive a ‘biblically-sanctioned’ war that is clearly the undeniable sign of the expeditious approach of the fundamentalist Christian ‘End Times.’”
It remains to be seen whether the rank-and-file soldiers will go along with the unrestrained attacks against people abroad and at home. In the Vietnam War, large numbers of troops revolted and refused to kill and be killed for imperialism. Our resistance movement must increase its political education and agitation inside the military.
Strengths and weaknesses of our mass movement
The mass anti-Trump resistance grows with each passing day. Protests are erupting in every town, city and suburb including huge numbers of people who have never demonstrated before alongside seasoned activists.
Issues may be local, such as protests against ICE attacks and against plans to set up ICE concentration camps. Other mobilizations are being nationally coordinated, such as the massive turnouts for “No Kings Day” which allows the movement to get a gauge of our strength.
At this time there is no unified, national organization to the resistance. It is likely that some formation will come together as the “whip of reaction” continues to bear down on our backs. No doubt there will be a growing push by the Democratic Party for the protest movement to be funneled into the 2026 and later 2028 elections. It would be a great mistake for us to abandon the streets.
It must be said over and again that real social change in the United States was won in the streets and workplaces and that progressive legislation only followed mass struggle. It should also be stressed that the top leadership of the Democratic Party is firmly in the hands of the capitalist billionaire class who are no friends to our poor and working people’s movement.
However, the people of this nation are deeply imbued with electoral politics. It remains to be seen whether radical campaigns will emerge inside the Democratic Party or even in third party efforts. In either case, our strength is and will continue to be in the streets.
The role of the labor movement
One area that has been slow to respond to the Trump attacks has been the union movement. While unions represent only a small percentage of the workers in the country, they have funds, meeting halls, paid staff and publications that can, if used for the general good, play a central role. And workers have the ultimate power to shut down the country.
The resistance movement in Minneapolis against the invasion by over 3,000 heavily armed ICE and Dept. of Homeland Security agents gave rise to months of rallies, marches and confrontations in that city. The murder of Rene Good by an ICE agent on January 7 gave rise to a giant protest on January 23, 2026 which had some characteristics of a one-day general strike.
The Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation AFL-CIO issued a January 16 press release endorsing “a powerful unified statewide action on January 23: Day of Truth and Freedom. The Minnesota labor movement is united against the violent ICE occupation of our beloved cities that has directly impacted union members, our workplaces and our families.” The unions played a crucial role in helping turn out an estimated 100,000 people in bitter cold weather.
In response, on February 12 Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Holman, announced that the immigration enforcement operation dubbed Operation Metro Surge was coming to an end.
The example of Minneapolis’ union activism has inspired greater labor participation around the country. One measure of this is the growing interest among unions in taking part in local May Day protests. In Detroit the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO voted to take on organizing May Day in southeast Michigan – the first time in anyone’s memory.
Unions are also opposing Trump’s unprovoked war against Iran. AFSCME Local 1, representing Wisconsin state employees, adopted a strong resolution condemning the war and calling for “the reinvestment of funds currently committed to war into civil society for the improvement of health, education, and other social goods.”
The growing labor-community unity that stays in the streets and builds in the workplaces is the only reliable way forward to defeat that largescale attacks on our lives and living standards. In fighting Trump and his cohorts, the people of the United States will also learn that our enemy is the entire system of monopoly capitalism that runs and gets rich from a system driven by the mindless pursuit of profits. A system of directing the enormous wealth created by tens of millions of workers into fulfilling human needs, not for war and environmental destruction, a socialist system, will prove to be necessary to our survival.
