The Opposition to Trump Has Never Been This Deflated

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Around this time eight years ago, a whole lot of time went into cobbling together what would come to be known as The Resistance. As the country—and the world, really—started to come to understand the incoming Trump administration’s plans, an unlikely cooperative of folks—feminists, scientists, immigration activists, traditional Republicans—found common ground in their shared sense of dread. On the first full day of Donald Trump’s presidency, the amalgam responded with a national day of protest that, to that point, had no peer.

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Now, facing a second wave of Trumpism, that collective urgency seems rather muted. Pink hats are not the must-have accessory this season. Community organizing remains potent but hardly trendy. The intersectionality that brought together those most worried about how Trump might undermine women’s rights, enact a potential Muslim ban, or decimate America’s global standing has never looked so thin. The news on Monday that Special Counsel Jack Smith was dropping both of his federal cases against Trump merited little more than a shrug.

Trump’s detractors aren’t planning to meet his second inauguration on Jan. 20 with silence, but the overall response might be duller this time. The Women’s March is going to rally supporters on Jan. 18 in Washington. The Rev. Al Sharpton is planning his own rally to compete with Trump’s Inauguration. Yet it’s tough to imagine any counter-programming making as big a splash—or much of a dent against what feels to many like an unavoidable Trumpian tide.

There is, in a sense, a thud of pervasive inevitability around Trump’s return among those who were previously most vocal in trying to stop him. The lack of enthusiasm has been one of the most under-appreciated aspects of the most recent campaign. As TIME’s Charlotte Alter dubbed it back in March—March!—this was The Dread Election. President Joe Biden’s midsummer meltdown and hasty halt of his re-nomination did little to remedy that, although the surge in interest in Kamala Harris’ elevation gave Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans reason to hope. Still, by the time Election Day got here, there was a collective eagerness just to know how it would end.

Trump, as we all know, prevailed—improving his standing across most demographics in a squeaker of a win in the popular vote closer than almost anything seen since the 19th Century. Democratic machinations are ongoing as the party elites and rank-and-file members alike puzzle the path forward, and the rest of us are just watching. The incoming Republican regime will be in charge for the next four years, with narrow control of Congress for at least the first two of those.

The listless resignation among Trump’s detractors is not just your imagination, either. Polling released by Pew at the end of last week finds a majority of the country is, by and large, ready for Trump 2.0. About half of Americans—53%—say they approve of the President-elect’s plans, with a smaller 46% opposing them, according to Pew polling. While just 41% of Americans think Trump can bring the nation together and 45% say they trust him on abortion policy, he compensates by posting 59% ratings on the economy and 53% on immigration. A paltry 42% of Americans think of him as honest, 37% see him as even-tempered, and 34% see him as a role model.

Put plainly: Americans don’t necessarily like Trump, but they’re going to give him the benefit of the doubt, at least for now, when it comes to the hard-power duties of the presidency. A full 68% of Americans told Pew they were not surprised by Trump’s win, including 58% of Democrats.

The numbers also show a softening of ill-will toward him. After his 2016 victory, just 36% of Americans said they had warm feelings toward him. That number slipped to 34% after his 2020 loss. These days, that’s up to a warmer 43%, according to the Pew modeling.

Separately, a Morning Consult poll found roughly one-third (32%) of voters using “exhausted” to precisely describe their mood after Trump’s win. Among women—the engine behind most recent protests against Trump—that number hits 38%. Among Democrats, the number tops 54%.

All of which explains why the fire behind The Resistance is a little less searing right now, even as Trump promises to push his agenda more aggressively than he did the first time around. While groups like Democracy Forward, Public Citizen, and Indivisible still are working to stand in the breach, fatigue is real. Good-government groups like the Partnership For Public Service are trying to hold onto norms and standards, but it can at times feel folly given Trump’s incoming roster of  transgressive talents. 

Admittedly, this post-election period is a beige moment in politics. The worst threats of the election season were dodged; protests in the streets never materialized, violent disputes over ballots did not happen, denialism gave way to facts. In this transitional period, it’s tough to spark and then sustain the urgency of eight years ago—especially given the country has seen how Trump obliterates norms, follows through on campaign threats, and breaks his opposition without many regards for consequences. Among those millions of Americans bracing for all that to unfold, most are just too tired to summon the outrage again.

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