Trump is a wannabe dictator, and the entire Republican party is standing behind him, supporting him. Our checks-and-balances have been attacked, individual freedoms are being revoked, the Fed is enacting violence against citizens, journalists, and immigrants, military troops have been deployed on American streets, court orders have been violated, women & black & queer folks have been removed from public life, freedom of speech has been attacked, and more. (updated October 21, 2025)
All who are able need to resist, at least in some small way. For some, this may be keeping up with the news and having conversations about what's happening, especially with your apolitical or conservative friends. For others, it could be organizing protests, or something in between.
You must resist sustainably - do not burn yourself out. Do not try to do everything. Play to your strengths, to your interests. And embrace non-violence. Remember to rest, care for yourself, your community, and your loved ones.
This requries political action, mutual aid, and regular people just doing the right thing at their jobs - Teachers refusing to suppress history, cops refusing to conduct unconstitutional or unjust arrests, lawyers refusing to start sham prosecutions, troops refusing to turn against citizens, ICE agents resigning, government workers blowing the whistle, coprorations refusing to capitulate, National Guard refusing to show up.
What To Do
Organize - Individual action is great, but if you're up for it, work with a group of friends or coworkers. Get with you local political parties. Build some plan of action together and work on it together. All you need to start a group is to ask people to be involved, invite them over, have a meeting, talk about what you can do, then follow through and repeat.
Spread Flyers - Download the Protest Is Not Enough flyer, print it, and spread it in your community to raise awareness and drive people toward action. (Or make your own flyer)
Cops, ICE, National Guard, Military - Where do you draw your line? The power of the president is enacted through your actions, when you follow his command. Don't comply. Resign. You signed up to risk your life for our freedoms. Don't fall in line with a dictator to protect your livelihood. Talk to your colleagues about this too. (If you know cops, soldiers, or ICE, talk to them about this.)
Worker Strikes - Workers have the power to bring America to a halt. It is the only real power regular people have in the face of tyranny. Talk to your coworkers and your friends and your union leadership about striking. Close your grocery store for one day. Close your factory for one day. Close your school for one day. Protest and demand impeachment. Tell the local news what you're doing so that your act, however small, may inspire broader action. (also see Mutual Aid below)
Protest - Make a sign saying "TRUMP IS A DICTATOR", "TRUMP IS A NAZI", "WeResistNow.org", or something else, and stand on a busy street corner in your city. Do it alone, do it with friends, or get with a local political organization to take part. You never know who you'll inspire. You can follow your Republican legislators and peacefully protest at their events and gatherings they attend. Be relentless.
Advocate with Local Republicans - Go to local Republican events. Go to your County Board meetings. Speak with local republican figures and organizers and volunteers about your concerns with the federal government. Come prepared with facts and personal stories. Ask them to speak to their Republican colleagues and state and federal leaders about these issues. Speak publicly at government meetings about these issues. You can also write letters and make phone calls to your state and federal representatives, both Republican and Democrat.
Advocate with Local Government Bodies - When the Fed tries to ban the teaching of LGBTQIA+ history, it is up to local School Boards to decide whether they comply or not. When ICE wants to deport migrants in your community, it is up to City Councils to decide if the local police cooperate or not. When the Fed attacks health services, it is up to local Boards of Health to decide what services to provide or cut. City councils may be able to coordinate with wealthy donors, food banks, churches, and other organizations to provide food when Food Stamps are cut. Your fire stations may be able to provide free first aid and basic medical services.
Mutual Aid - Help to support your community. Grow food and give away excess. Provide housing to loved ones in need. If you're a medical professional, give care to your neighbors, and educate people on preventative care, or start a fitness/health group. If you're a teacher, offer after-hours classes to teach black and queer history, or other banned topics. Put a little free-library box in your yard and stuff it with books that have been banned. If you're wealthy, contribute to local charity. Babysit for those who need help or are taking political action. Cook meals for neighbors and friends who's federal benefits have been cut. Organize with your local church to provide meals to the poor in your community or to help striking workers.
Unions - If you're in a union, talk to the leadership about organizing your workplace, regardless what industry you're in. Create a pro-democracy working group. Collect news stories and share them with workers. Establish collective goals, have a union meeting about them, and ask union members to vote on them. Write a collective letter to representatives, calling for anti-fascist action, and union members must vote on it. Such requests may call for specific policy changes within your industry or outside of it, impeachment of fascists, or something else. Pressure the company you work for to support your collective goals. Inform local media of your collective actions, including letters and protests. You can start this work without a union, though it may be more difficult.
Advocate with friends and family - Do none of the other actions here apply to you, or are you just not personally able to engage in these ways? Talk to your friends and family. Share this site or a list of ideas with them. If you know anyone in critical roles - government workers, cops, military, prosecutors, teachers - talk to them about the looming dictatorship and how to be anti-fascist. It is important to establish "Where is your line?" What line will they not cross? What federal act would show them that fascism is here? What would be enough for them to act, to resist, to risk losing their job, to risk going to jail? Draw your line, and encourage your loved ones to do the same. Write it down. Then when it is crossed, follow through.
T-Shirts - Buy resistance tshirts from sites like teepublic and wear them. If you have a local T-Shirt printer, that's even better, though you may have to proide your own designs in that case. They can be simple, just a few words in block letters. You can have large batches printed and get friends and colleagues to buy shirts too.
Yard Signs - Similar to the T-Shirts suggestion, get resistance yard signs from a site like cafepress. (I have not used cafepress, it just came up in search.) You could try bumper stickers too.
Disabled folks - Not everybody will have the ability or capacity to resist. Some disabilities may still allow you to engage, but others may not. Be kind to yourself and your loved ones and respect that not all are able to engage meaningfully.
Got any other ideas? Do it. Go out, try something. You might succeed, you might fail, but either way you will learn. Activist work is messy. Standing up for what's right is messy. Organizing is messy. But Fascism is a threat to everything that is good, so do the messy work, risk failure, and just keep trying.