This post originally appeared in Home & Away, Richard Haass’ newsletter. Subscribe here.
What can those who disagree with Donald Trump and his administration’s actions do about it? There has to be a better response than emulating the ostrich and burying your head in the sand in the hope it will blow over. Nor is indiscriminate opposition the answer, as certain Trump initiatives arguably deserve support and, in any event, should be judged on their merits.
What follows, then, are some of my guidelines and proposals. The first batch is short-term and addresses how to contend with the flood of initiatives emanating directly or indirectly from this White House. The second set of suggestions is for the medium- and long-term, centered around ideas and policies that would help make the opposition more competitive in 2026, 2028, and beyond. Indeed, implicit in this is the conviction that the traditional Democratic Party coalition cannot reclaim the majority unless it revises what it stands for and broadens its appeal to non-MAGA Republicans, independents, and even some who consider themselves Trump supporters, such as those who swung from Biden in 2020 to Trump in 2024.
Full disclosure: I started out as a Democrat, but soon became a registered Republican, which I remained for more than four decades. I worked in the Reagan and both Bush administrations. But several years back I changed to “no party affiliation” as the Republican Party had largely ceased to be a conservative party. I could not rejoin the Democratic Party, as, with few exceptions, it had become a collection of special interests mostly rooted in identity politics. I write this in the hope that one or both parties adopts some of these ideas or that enough citizens will rally around them so that candidates in one or both parties pay attention.
I expect that just about every reader will disagree with some of what is written here, agree with other parts, and have items to add. Good. The sooner the conversation and the debate begin, the better. But Democrats and their leaders should harbor no illusions. It is about message, not organization or funding, much less messaging, or even the messenger.
For Now
Resist the temptation to oppose what Trump is doing just because he is the one doing it. Some initiatives— rooting out actual waste and fraud in the government, phasing out a penny that costs more to make than it’s worth, making girls’ and women’s sports safe and competitive for girls and women, rolling back questionable aspects of DEI, enacting return-to-office policies, and tightening immigration laws and their enforcement — are worthy of support in whole or in part.
Criticize what deserves criticism. On my increasingly long shortlist would be:
- Pardoning those who assaulted law enforcement officers on January 6
- Firing inspectors general and career prosecutors
- Shutting down USAID
- Calling to end birthright citizenship
- Freezing funds already authorized and appropriated by Congress
- Withdrawing security details from former senior officials, many of whom face credible threats
- Nominating several individuals manifestly unfit for the critical roles that they have been selected (and now confirmed) to undertake
- Levying tariffs against friends and allies
- Dropping legitimate charges against New York City’s mayor for political reasons
- Threatening to take over Panama and Greenland
- Suggesting Canada become a state
- Threatening to displace Palestinians from Gaza and take over the area
Follow up any criticisms with alternatives. If you don’t like Trump’s Gaza initiative, and there is good reason not to, then spell out what you are prepared to support and why that proposal would be a superior alternative. Make the case for foreign assistance and an improved USAID. Suggest how the NIH and other recipients of federal funds could be streamlined and made more efficient as you illustrate how Trump’s proposed cuts could devastate critical ongoing research into cures for deadly diseases. Criticisms will carry more weight if they are perceived as considered rather than reflexive and if they do more than suggest what is wrong.
Continue to emphasize the essential role of the courts and judicial review in America’s democracy. Critics should make clear they are prepared to continue accepting Supreme Court rulings even when they disagree with the decision — and expect the administration to as well.
Harp on the reality that our principal rival, China, is the beneficiary of much of the new administration’s actions. This applies to foreign assistance cutoffs that create vacuums for Beijing to fill, tariffs that will lead countries to reduce their trade with us and increase it with China, and calls for a sphere of influence in the Western Hemisphere that could lead China to demand, or even assert, one in East Asia. Meanwhile, cuts at national security agencies like the CIA and FBI will leave us more vulnerable to China and other foreign adversaries.
The Democratic Party needs to reposition and rebrand itself.
Emphasize that many of the cuts to USAID and the NIH will increase the prevalence of diseases and cost lives both domestically and internationally. This message ought to appeal to religious groups that otherwise support this president.
Have some faith in markets as a check on Trump’s impulses. There is a high likelihood that the net effect of the new administration’s moves — tightening the border, cutting taxes, imposing tariffs — will add to inflation. Voters are already taking notice of higher prices and will become more vocal and harder to ignore as costs rise.
Let the Republicans, who control the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives, take the lead on raising the debt ceiling. They are for now the party of government and ought to be expected to act like it or be held accountable. Exact a price if Congressional Republicans come to Democrats for help because of infighting. While Democrats are a minority in both chambers, House Republicans can afford to lose only two votes before they must reach across the aisle.
Don’t cede the populist mantle to Donald Trump. The administration tends to define populism in terms of going after the so-called deep state, i.e., the government. But, as President Joe Biden stressed in his farewell address, there is another definition of populism, one that goes after wealthy, entitled, technology-tied oligarchs. Make it a refrain. Polls show voters are already souring on Elon Musk and his outsized role in the administration.
Take this reformed message (as Pete Buttigieg has done) beyond MSNBC and CNN to Fox News and podcasts with a broad audience. Democratic lawmakers should hold televised mock hearings with officials forced out of their jobs who can describe the circumstances surrounding their firings and the consequences for the country. Stage a daily press conference (much like then New York Governor Andrew Cuomo did during the pandemic) that levels criticism at the Trump administration and the Republican-led Congress when it is warranted — and offers support when it is earned.
For the Medium and Longer Terms
The Democratic Party needs to reposition and rebrand itself. It paid a large price (arguably justifiably so) for the widespread perception that it favored or tolerated open borders, unconditional student loans, wokeness, overstimulating the economy coming out of Covid, and, above all, the silence around the clearly diminished President Biden.
So, what to do? Here are 10 ideas:
- Stand for a level playing field for all Americans. Call for an end to legacy admissions at schools, colleges, and universities. Favor fair limits on what can be passed on tax-free from one generation to the next. Move to ban the buying and selling of individual stocks by members of Congress, the executive branch, and the judiciary. Support efforts to make quality pre-K healthcare and education more widely available. Make it easier for Americans to vote in exchange for accepting reasonable requirements that prove eligibility.
- Similarly, embrace equal opportunity, not outcomes. This means a Democratic Party committed to excellence in public education, which throughout our modern history has provided the means for many to have a chance at the American dream. This will require, among other things, greater competition at the K-12 level, including ending limits on the number of charter schools. This will also require rethinking teacher education and taking on the teachers’ unions. As is almost always the case, what is needed is not more spending but smarter and better spending.
- Push for civics to become a required course in high schools and colleges — say by July 4, 2026, the country’s 250th anniversary. We wouldn’t — or at least shouldn’t — think of graduating someone from high school or college unable to read, or write, or think critically. Preparing young people to be informed, involved citizens in our democracy (along with instruction on how to navigate the current information and misinformation ecosystem) should be a priority.
- Create more public service opportunities and incentivize Americans to take them. This could be at the national, state, or local level. In addition to paying those who volunteer for service, colleges could offer preferred admissions for those who serve for one or two years after high school. Employers could state their readiness to hire those who performed such service just as they do veterans. Student loan forgiveness could be tied to participation.
- Favor a constitutional amendment reining in presidential pardons, possibly barring them for family members, or individuals convicted of seditious conspiracy, or violent offenses against law enforcement members.
- Support being tough on crime. Favor increased funding for police and police training. Promote commonsense reforms that promote safety and enhance quality of life. (It would be nice to be able to enter a convenience store where everything isn’t locked up.) Couple these efforts with more facilities and support for the homeless and mentally ill.
- Get real on climate change. Accept energy coexistence. Fossil fuels will be a necessary part of the energy mix for years to come and not all fossil fuels are equal when it comes to climate change. Oppose and work to phase out coal but end bans, such as those that exist in New York, on responsible fracking. Support greater investment in alternative energy sources, including wind, solar, nuclear, and geothermal, along with programs to bolster the resilience of communities at risk to increasingly severe natural disasters.
- Back comprehensive immigration reform. This would entail ending illegal entry to the extent possible, redesigning the asylum program, providing a conditional path to citizenship for those already here who came legally, and increasing legal immigration opportunities for those with needed skills and education related to critical domestic industries.
- Demonstrate a willingness to work with Republicans — possibly through the creation of a bipartisan commission — to put the deficit and debt on a sustainable trajectory.
- Make the case for a foreign policy in which the United States continues to play a leadership role in the world, one that differentiates between friends and foes and provides sufficient resources to maintain robust defense, intelligence, foreign assistance, and diplomatic capabilities. Explain why such an approach to the world benefits the country and the American people — and why isolationism, unilateralism, and imperialism will leave the country and the world worse off.
Richard Haass is the President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations and served as director of policy planning under President George W. Bush. He is also the author of The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens and the New York Times bestselling The World: A Brief Introduction.
