I was happy to be invited by Mary L Trump for a Substack Live today. I greatly admire Mary, both for her work and the fine and thoughtful person that she is. She has been such an important voice, helping many of us make sense of these deeply challenging and painful times triggered by her uncle, Donald, and his sycophantic enablers.

We first talked about the necessity of local media and independent media to make sense of things, particularly as so many legacy media organizations with billionaire owners have failed us.

And even as we explored myriad ways these first weeks of 2026 have been stunningly dark, I suggested there are reasons to be optimistic as European leaders and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney and the good people of Minneapolis—to name three—all have recognized the extreme danger and mistake of trying to appease Trump or assume his fascist regime will become more tolerable or cooperative.

As I see it, change depends on comprehending, confronting and naming reality as a necessary precondition for a powerful opposition that can successfully fight back. Trump’s grotesque display of contempt in Davos, Switzerland—combined with the daily and expanding abuses of his lawless ICE operation in Minneapolis and beyond—may represent a pivotal moment where people here and abroad have figured out they can no longer keep acting the same way and expect a different outcome.

That includes the necessity of building solidarity, recognizing collective power and finding hope in community. Exhibit A are the mass protests today in Minnesota: “ICE Out! Statewide Shutdown!” organized by labor and faith leaders.

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