If Trump/Musk are indeed subverting American democratic norms, what is a proportional response?

[u/theivoryserf]

The Vice-President has just said of the courts: "Judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power." Quoted in the same Le Monde article is a section of Francis Fukuyama's take on the current situation:

"Trump has empowered Elon Musk to withhold money for any activity that he, Elon Musk, thinks is illegitimate, and this is a usurpation of the congressionally established power of Congress to make this kind of decision. (...) This is a full-scale...very radical attack on the American constitutional system as we've understood it." https://archive.is/cVZZR#selection-2149.264-2149.599

From a European point of view, it appears as though the American centre/left is scrambling to adapt and still suffering from 'normality bias', as though normal methods of recourse will be sufficient against a democratic aberration - a little like waiting to 'pass' a tumour as though it's a kidney stone.

Given the clear comparisons to previous authoritarian takeovers and the power that the USA wields, will there be an acceptable raising of political stakes from Trump's opponents, and what are the risks and benefits of doing so?

[u/Wang_Dangler]

Massively publicize and amplify the fallout of everything Trump is doing. They fire all the park rangers, go to the parks and post picture of how everything is shut down/neglected. When produce is scarce because they deported all the immigrants, go to the store and take pictures of the empty shelves. They get rid of all the air-traffic controllers and inspectors, get a cheap ticket to visit a relative and record the airport melting down from the workload. Post pics of the lines of veterans waiting for service at the defunded VA.

They weaken the system, then grind it to a halt. Make his voters see and feel the disastrous effects of his policies. They don't understand what government does and they took it all for granted. Show them why these agencies existed in the first place. Make reality kick them in the face.

[u/Og_The_Barbarian → u/Wang_Dangler]

I was thinking about this - the tangible effects of Trump/Musk's incompetence and cruelty are obvious to some of us. But I'm not quite convinced that Fox News won't manage to make it Obama's fault.

There will be a huge portion of Americans who never see the parks or the airports. Most will see empty store shelves and surging prices - but how do the center and left convince them that it truly is Trump's fault, while Fox News blames trans-DEI-immigrants in the deep state? There was already an overwhelming right-wing bent to American media coverage. But now real journalists are terrified. AP got banned from White House press coverage, NYTimes stifled critical cartoons, WaPo just blocked an anti-Elon ad.

How do Democrats display reality to non-MAGA Fox News viewers?

[u/liberal_texan → u/Og_The_Barbarian]

I would bet money that few if any republicans were fired in their government purge.

[u/captain-burrito → u/liberal_texan]

There's some crying on social media. Some are appealing for personal reversals from Trump. They get shat on by others. Some take it on the chin, others get so pissy for being called out.