As Trump steamrolls ahead, Democrats see a growing ‘heartbeat’ of resistance

Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a “Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here” event Saturday in Warren, Mich. Shakir said the crowds were “angry and frustrated” with Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s apparent grip on government spending, and “urging Democrats to stand up and do something.” “In my mind,” he said, “I have Bernie Sanders holding a stethoscope up to the Democratic Party and saying, ‘Hey, listen to this: the heartbeat of America.’” Shakir’s remarks reflected a growing sentiment among Democrats, progressive protesters and others outraged with the way President Trump has steamrolled over long-standing democratic norms since his return to office last month. “If you’re ready to show Donald Trump and Elon Musk that there are no kings in America, join a Tesla Takedown protest in your community this weekend.” Katie Fallow, deputy litigation director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia, said that in a moment like this it is “extremely important” for free speech protections to be defended and for critics of the president to “make their voices known” — “particularly given the number of moves that this administration has made in just the first 50 days or so to try to shut down criticism of the government or of Trump.” She cited the arrest of Khalil, the administration’s threat to revoke federal funding for universities that allow for protests on their campuses, and attacks the Trump administration has launched against big law firms that have worked for Trump’s political opponents or with prosecutors who have built cases against Trump in the past, as clear overreaches of power that must be confronted. For weeks, Democrats and other political observers have considered advice put forward in the New York Times by veteran Democratic operative James Carville, who suggested that Democrats should “roll over and play dead” while Republicans “crumble beneath their own weight” and “make the American people miss us.” Ahead of Trump’s joint address last week, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi advised Democrats to let Trump “stew in his own juice” rather than vocally oppose him. On Sunday, Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan — who delivered the Democratic rebuttal to Trump’s joint address — gave a sober analysis of where Democrats stand on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” She said that Democrats “have been on their heels since Trump won the election,” are “still finding our footing” and need to land on a better strategy to respond to Trump as he continues “flooding the zone” with controversial and chaos-inducing policy measures.