Refusing to Be Complicit (redux)

In his first week, the newly inaugurated president proved (once again) that he rejects our laws, values and principles. It's a mistake for Democrats to try and work with him.

Trump’s world of darkness, exiting Air Force One. (Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

It’s been hard to take off a few days—or even a few hours—since Donald Trump stepped foot again in our White House. But I would be wrong to urge you to take time off to manage the madness and distress of this dark chapter, then burn out myself. This week is spring break at New York University where I teach journalism students, so I’m taking a few days away and trying to not get swept up by each new desecration.

In the meantime, I want to share with you this essay from January 27, just one week into the accelerating destruction by a man who acts more like an arsonist than a president. With the mounting examples of cowardice since then—of people and organizations bowing down—it’s important to reassert the need to oppose this cruel and dangerous regime.

I stand by what I said two months ago: We must refuse to be complicit. The more you give in to Trump, the more he will take. And, I wrote, “going along with even some of Trump’s policies in order to minimize the damage represents collaborating with a man bent on the destruction of American democracy and aiding his effort.”

This has become increasingly clear. So is the need to fight back, as I concluded here, “against the dark tide of oligarchy and authoritarian corruption and criminality—or we will sink like a stone.”

This takes courage—and it will take us sticking together, supporting each other, protecting each other, and recognizing our collective power to withstand Donald Trump’s fascist agenda.

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Refusing to Be Complicit

Anyone who’s spent time with an abusive narcissist understands the dilemma: If you just go along to get along, you’ll never escape their grip. And if you confront them, they will do anything they can to make your life a living hell—until you get away or they leave forever.

America is trapped right now in this ugly nexus, thanks to millions of Americans who identified with Donald Trump’s anger and hatreds or didn’t comprehend the dangerous choice they were making.

But we have a chance to overcome this dark chapter with a clear, fearless opposition. That will require elected officials refusing to work with him and abandoning the idea that collaboration is the only way they can mitigate the damage he will cause or accomplish something themselves. The more they give him, the more he will take. The more they communicate that they accept his dominance and respect his power, the more he will exploit their vulnerability, particularly because he sadistically relishes harming and demeaning others.

We saw that dynamic play out yesterday when the president of Colombia initially rejected two military planes carrying deported migrants, demanding that the U.S. create a protocol that treats these people with dignity before they would be repatriated. It was a moment when a significant trading partner and ally reminded all of us what we are fighting for.

“A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves,” Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said. “That is why I returned the U.S. military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants.” Petro went on to say that his country would receive these citizens only if they are transported “in civilian planes, without being treated like criminals.”

The bellicose, over-the-top response from Trump? He would immediately put a 25 percent tariff on Colombia and issue a travel ban revoking the visas of Colombian government officials as well as their allies. “These measures are just the beginning,” Trump threatened in a Truth Social post.

Could Trump have picked up a telephone and had a simple conversation? Of course, he could have and should have. It’s not like there wasn’t an easy solution. Colombia received 475 flights with migrants deported from the U.S. between 2020 and 2024, according to the Associated Press, including 124 in 2024.

But the abusive Trump preferred to bully this strategically important ally, which buys billions of dollars in U.S. exports, including corn which is important to U.S. farming states. Reluctant to escalate the unnecessary dispute, Petro’s government subsequently announced that the country would make available their own presidential planes to pick up the migrants and provide them “dignified conditions.”

Classic Trump case: Escalate a minor dispute that could have been resolved calmly and simply. Exploit the “crisis” he created to pound his chest and pretend that it demonstrates how powerful he is. “I have directed my Administration to take…urgent and decisive retaliatory measures,” Trump posted.

This extreme reaction concerned less than 200 migrants, but late last night Petro reversed course to avoid a trade war by allowing even military aircraft. And the false Trump response, delivered by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt: “Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again.”

Donald Trump doesn’t care about or respect laws. He doesn’t care about or believe in American democratic values and principles like equality, diversity and justice. He rejects free speech and despises the peaceful assembly of those who disagree with him. He is bored by the details of policy and governance, belittles the value of expertise, only wants attention and spectacle, and is determined to surround himself with sycophants who will bow down to him. He doesn’t care about or comprehend the pain he causes other human beings. He is more than ready to use political violence to get what he wants.

He will never make an effort to unify the nation. He will never rely on inspiration, only stoke fear, seek to intimidate and threaten violence. He will never work to gain the trust of the majority.

Is this an American president? Are we obliged—are elected Democrats obliged—to treat such a man with respect? This is the person who pardoned over 1,500 convicted felons who attacked the U.S. Capitol; just this weekend he invited the remorseless Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes—freshly released from prison and his 18-year sentence for seditious conspiracy—to appear behind him in a Nevada rally.

Should Democrats find ways to work with Trump or oppose him at every turn? Is there any reason to believe he will do anything to make lives better rather than commit acts to glorify himself and enrich himself and his billionaire cronies by stealing from the wealth created by hard-working Americans?

As I see it, going along with even some of Trump’s policies in order to minimize the damage represents collaborating with a man bent on the destruction of American democracy and aiding his effort. I understand the decision of 13 Senate Democrats (many from border states) to sign a letter to Majority Leader John Thune, offering to work with him “in good faith” to craft border security and immigration legislation. But do they really think Trump will ever work with them in good faith, especially as he’s focused on mass deportation, building a wall (again) and demonizing refugees and Democrats?

As the transgressions and degradations and the acts of corruption and criminality mount—and, yes, they already have been at an alarming pace meant to shock the unsuspecting—we should demand that Democratic leaders and anyone who is committed to overcoming this dark chapter in our history refuse to work with this regime.

That will become even more important as he is surrounded by dangerously reckless cabinet secretaries and others in leadership positions motivated to carry out his agenda, satisfy his hunger for vengeance and dismantle the very government programs and agencies they have sworn to serve. Soon the deeply unfit Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will likely be joined by the retribution-minded Kash Patel at the FBI, the Putin-supporting Tulsi Gabbard as the Director of National Intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “running” Health and Human Services.

But Trump isn’t waiting for their arrival. Late Friday night, seeking to consolidate his power and get rid of independent watchdogs, the White House fired 18 independent inspectors general working in nearly every cabinet-level agency. This purge makes it easier for Trump to install loyalists who will be less likely to question fraud, abuse or other ethical lapses.

“It’s a very common thing to do,” Trump lied. In fact, federal law requires a 30-day notice and a substantive rationale before any such removals can happen. This is one case where even Republicans questioned Trump’s trampling of federal law, although a Trump spokesperson denied they did anything wrong.

“I don’t know them,” Trump lied. In fact, some of these government watchdogs were appointed by Trump himself in his first term.

The list of violations will keep accumulating. Soon the evidence will mount of immigrant roundups that extend far beyond criminals. Each of us will have a role to play in speaking out, pushing back and doing what we can to protect the most vulnerable among us. This is a time when silence clearly equates with complicity.

Recall the wise words of Elie Wiesel, survivor of the Holocaust, Nobel laureate and great humanist author: “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.”

So where can we look for inspiration? Over the weekend, I finally had the chance to see A Complete Unknown, the excellent film about Bob Dylan. It’s not only a remarkable portrait of the artist as a young man, emerging onto a global stage, but also a recounting of how significant Dylan was in helping catalyze change in America in the 1960s. It made me think about how badly we need new voices now that can help capture the public’s consciousness and drive positive change.

Permit me to finish here with some lyrics from one of Dylan’s most famous songs that led observers to call him—to Dylan’s displeasure—”the voice of a generation.”

Come gather 'round people

Wherever you roam

And admit that the waters

Around you have grown

And accept it that soon

You'll be drenched to the bone

If your time to you is worth savin'

And you better start swimmin'

Or you'll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin'

Yes, these words were written long ago, in 1963, but they surely speak to our own era. These are times to recognize the waters have grown (literally and figuratively). We need to swim—to fight against the dark tide of oligarchy and authoritarian corruption and criminality—or we will sink like a stone.

We have to prove that we will not be drowned, not just to be resilient in the face of hostile forces, but capable of confronting and overcoming them.

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