WASHINGTON—The Century Foundation and Nate Schenkkan, Freedom House’s former director of research, announced the development of a new democracy index, United States Democracy Meter, which finds that the U.S. government under Trump in 2025 “slid well into authoritarianism.” While other established indices have previously found the United States to be gradually declining over the past twenty years, no measure has yet tracked the historic collapse of U.S. democracy on the scale we’ve seen in the last 12 months.
Based on in-depth analyses of the health of state institutions, non-state sectors, individual rights and elections, Century’s Democracy Meter scored the U.S. at a 57 out of 100 this year, down from 79 in 2024—an astonishing 28 percent drop in just one year, a decline so large that it’s typically only seen when countries have coups, our researchers say. To put this in context, our analysis suggests U.S. democracy is at greater risk than at any time since Watergate, and it may even be approaching its pre-Civil Rights Movement lowpoint.
“It’s no secret to anyone watching the world around them that America is suffering from a surge in authoritarianism,” said Nate Schenkkan, the report’s lead author. “But seeing it all laid out—especially against the backdrop of what’s happened in 2026 so far—is staggering and should force everyone to think about how seriously we take preserving and restoring our democracy.”
“Our democracy is not self-executing. Failing to vigorously defend and improve it only sows the ground for authoritarian movements and actors,”said Thanassis Cambanis, Director of Century International and coauthor of the report. “While it’s clear that authoritarianism has taken hold in America, we are not without recourse through elections and mass mobilization.”
The report reveals that the core problem for the United States is the expansion of the executive branch’s powers, aided by a Republican-controlled Congress’s acquiescence and abetted by a highly ideologically aligned Supreme Court. More than half of America’s overall drop in score was in the evaluation of the category “state institutions,” which covers the executive branch, Congress, the judiciary, and grand corruption. This category fell from 22/30 points to 10/30.
The only category that did not have a decline was elections, with the score holding at 12/15 both years, as the lack of federal authority over election administration has so far prevented the Trump administration from changing the rules of the game. Elections can still be a means of contesting and changing power.
“American democracy is at greater risk than at any time since Watergate, and it may even be approaching its pre-Civil Rights Movement lowpoint.
“The U.S. government has become authoritarian in its intentions and its practices, even if it cannot always achieve its authoritarian goals.”
Alarming but Not Irreversible
“The swift decline of U.S. democracy this year is alarming. It is the result of choices by the right wing of American politics, which is committed to transforming the state from the inside out, and complacency, particularly from elite institutions, about the risk of authoritarianism. Importantly, however, the right wing has not yet succeeded in consolidating an authoritarian system. The United States’ size and diversity, tradition of independent civil society, its wealth, and its decentralized electoral system all make it difficult to keep power.
“The typical post-World War II democracies to which the United States is most often compared—Canada, Japan, and those in Europe—have not had these sorts of democratic declines. Other less healthy democracies have experienced similar collapses, but only after coups, attempted coups, or major shocks. The democratic decline in the United States over the last year is remarkable in modern history.
“The first priority for action is to defend the areas that are still robust, and will be needed for democracy to make a comeback. Media, civil society, and the protection of individual rights are essential to halting and then reversing democratic decline. For the opposition to have a chance of winning power, the electoral system needs to be sustained. These institutions need to be protected through legal campaigns, but also through protests, donations, and individual choices.
“The second priority—possible to pursue if there is a change in political power—must be to remedy the gaping structural weaknesses in the U.S. system. The executive’s ability to enact such rapid and extralegal changes in such a short time has been conditional, first and foremost, on the Supreme Court’s highly partisan tilt and the Republican Congress’s abdication of its role. Neither branch has acted to check the executive, and have mostly supported it running roughshod over the law and the constitutional order. When even federal judges are no longer extending to the government the “presumption of regularity,” and are expressing frustration that the Supreme Court operates without clear reasoning, the system is broken.
“Democracy is not self-implementing. Without decisive action to address these issues, it will remain vulnerable to concerted efforts to undermine it. The first responsibility is to defend democracy, and the second one is to rebuild it.”
See the report: https://tcf.org/content/report/centurys-new-democracy-meter-shows-america-took-an-authoritarian-turn-in-2025/
This fact sheet was provided by Reproductive Freedom for All(formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America) which for 55 years has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for everybody. Reproductive Freedom for All is powered by its more than 4 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, standing up to protect the rights of the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion:
2025 affirmed critical truths that will be at the forefront of our fight in 2026—voters continue to reject abortion bans and support reproductive freedom champions at the ballot box; anti-abortion actors are escalating, not retreating, despite their proven unpopularity; and the human cost of abortion bans is mounting while the full damage is still untold.
Here are the topics that shaped 2025—and how we’re expecting them to play out in 2026:
1: GOP Attacks on Medication Abortion as Proxy for a National Ban
Trump and his allies spent this year mounting coordinated attacks on mifepristone, making clear that restricting medication abortion is the most immediate path to a national abortion ban. By targeting mifepristone through courts, federal agencies, and obscure laws, anti-abortion extremists are attempting to override state protections, medical consensus, and public opinion—and we expect them to double down in 2026. But the reality remains: Medication abortion is safe, effective, and widely used. While abortion bans have devastated access in many states, care persists thanks to telehealth and shield laws, and medication abortion is on the rise.
Key Moments in 2025:
● This year marked 25 years since the FDA approved mifepristone, which has been rigorously studied and used by more than 7.5 million people.
● Renewed litigation as states like Florida, Texas, and Missouri aim to further restrict mifepristone.
● Movement in Missouri v. FDA—GOP-led states’ attempt to revive a dismissed challenge and restrict mifepristone access. This comes after federal district Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk (in Texas) transferred the case to the Eastern District of Missouri, which is conveniently stacked with Trump-appointed, anti-abortion judges.
● Continued reliance on junk science as anti-abortion groups ramp up their outlandish, unscientific claims to stigmatize and surveil medication abortion.
● Quiet groundwork by the Trump administration to misuse the Comstock Act to ban the mailing of mifepristone.
2: “Leave It Up to the States”: Shield Laws vs. Criminalizing Abortion Care
2025 revealed a direct and growing clash between states protecting abortion care and states attempting to criminalize care within and beyond their borders. Shield laws protected patients and providers from extraterritorial legal actions by states that have banned abortion. This prompted aggressive backlash from anti-abortion extremists who have made it crystal clear that they never actually intended to leave abortion access up to individual states.
Key Moments in 2025:
● Sixteen Republican attorneys general urged Congress to override state shield laws.
● Texas enacted HB 7, yet another bounty-hunter abortion ban that encourages private individuals to sue manufacturers, distributors, and providers of medication abortion to receive a minimum of $100,000 in damages.
● States like Texas and Louisiana attempted to bypass other states’ shield laws, while California, New York, Vermont and other blue states strengthened and expanded protections for abortion providers and patients.
● New data from the Society of Family Planning showed an increase in telehealth-provided medication abortion care in the first half of 2025, including from legal shield-state providers.
What We’re Watching in 2026:
● Escalating interstate legal conflicts and congressional efforts to preempt shield laws as the GOP continues to pursue a national abortion ban.
● Copy-cat legislation as anti-abortion lawmakers in state legislatures across the country seek to replicate Texas’s HB 7, the new bounty-hunter ban targeting manufacturers, distributors, and providers of medication abortion. Some states will go even further and attempt to target people who help others access medication abortion care.
3: The GOP-Manufactured Health Care Crisis
Republicans used 2025 to advance a broader assault on health care access—gutting coverage, defunding providers, and driving up costs to push care even further out of reach. As we head into 2026, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits are set to expire, threatening coverage for more than 22 million people, and more health care clinics and rural hospitals across the country are at risk of closing.
Key Moments in 2025:
● In July, Trump and his allies in Congress passed a deeply unpopular budget bill that defunds Planned Parenthood, decimates Medicaid, and ultimately strips health coverage from 15 million people.
● In September, Congressional Republicans shut down the federal government for 43 days—the longest in history. While ignoring calls for a bipartisan spending bill to mitigate their manufactured health care crisis, they did find plenty of time to keep attacking abortion.
● Anti-abortion Republicans slashed funding for Title X, the nation’s only federal funding program dedicated to family planning.
What We’re Watching in 2026:
● An expected January vote on House Democrats’ clean three-year extension of the ACA enhanced premium tax credits. As the ACA fight continues, expect Republicans to keep pushing anti-abortion misinformation to distract from skyrocketing health care costs and their refusal to extend the tax credits.
● The Supreme Court potentially taking up Planned Parenthood Federation of America v. Kennedy—yet another case that threatens Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood and other providers that offer abortion care.
● Intensifying scrutiny of increased public funding for anti-abortion centers, especially as legitimate medical providers lose critical resources.
4: So-Called “Personhood” and Expanding Attacks Beyond Abortion
Republicans accelerated efforts to codify harmful “personhood” ideology—granting legal rights to zygotes, embryos, or fetuses—confirming what reproductive freedom advocates have long warned: Anti-abortion extremists were never going to stop at abortion. “Personhood” ideology lays the groundwork to restrict in vitro fertilization (IVF), contraception, stem cell research, and pregnancy management. Trump and his allies want these threats to fly under the radar because they know just how extreme and unpopular they are. While these laws are often framed as technical changes or isolated incidents, the policies are part of an insidious strategy to launder these unpopular and unworkable ideas, assert even more control over our bodies, and redefine reproductive health care out of existence.
Key Moments in 2025:
● Trump signed an executive order that targeted trans people and defined life as beginning at conception, inserting “personhood” ideology into official administrative policy.
● The self-proclaimed “father of IVF,” Trump confirmed he does not plan to require health insurers to provide coverage for IVF—after campaigning on making these services free.
● House Speaker Mike Johnson quietly worked to successfully remove IVF coverage for active duty military members from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
● Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo vetoed SB 217, which would have expanded access to fertility care by lowering costs and protecting access amid GOP efforts to ban IVF.
● The South Carolina Legislature seriously considered SB 323, a total abortion ban that would have treated abortion as homicide and set the foundation to restrict birth control, IVF, and emergency contraception.
● The Trump administration destroyed $10 million worth of contraceptives, justifying it by falsely categorizing birth control as an “abortifacient.”
What We’re Watching in 2026:
● Renewed domestic gag rule threats (Trump already revived the global gag rule from his first term) that extend anti-abortion ideology into broader domestic health systems.
● The federal government’s continued attacks on birth control, including threats to falsely conflate IUDs and other forms of contraception as abortion care.
● Expanded criminalization efforts as states use laws based on “personhood” ideology to prosecute miscarriage and other pregnancy outcomes.
● Anti-abortion groups’ increased reliance on junk science to vilify IVF and providers who offer a full range of fertility care as part of their broader efforts to sow distrust in legitimate medical institutions and providers while pushing people toward the anti-abortion centers they fund.
5. Rigging the System from the Courts to the Ballot Box
Knowing 8 in 10 Americans support the legal right to abortion care, anti-abortion extremists have doubled down on consolidating power—stacking courts, rewriting rules, and manipulating democratic systems—to impose an unpopular agenda voters repeatedly reject. This strategy targets reproductive freedom alongside voting rights and democracy itself, even as voters continue to push back and are poised to do so again in 2026.
Key Moments in 2025:
● Abortion was a galvanizing issue that drove turnout and victories from coast to coast during the 2025 elections.
● After retaking office, Trump moved quickly to completely overhaul the federal government—stacking every level and branch with extremists ready to advance Project 2025’s priorities.
● The Trump administration also confirmed dozens of judicial nominees to the federal bench—including 13 that have extreme anti-abortion records. These confirmations have set the stage for judges to rubber-stamp Trump’s anti-abortion agenda in the courts.
● Californians overwhelmingly passed Prop 50 to push back against Trump’s redistricting in Texas and other attacks on democracy.
● In response to successful state abortion ballot measures, including in his home state of Missouri, Sen. Josh Hawley and his wife, Erin Hawley—an attorney and key figure in overturning Roe v. Wade—launched a dark money group to promote anti-abortion ballot measures across the country. The move reportedly sparked backlash even within the White House, underscoring just how politically toxic these efforts are.
● Anti-abortion lawmakers in Missouri passed legislation that puts a constitutional amendment on the ballot that, if approved by voters, would remove the abortion protections Missouri voters approved last year. Anti-abortion extremists in Arizona tried to do the same thing, but after advocacy led by Reproductive Freedom for All, this bill was defeated.
What We’re Watching in 2026:
● The 2026 midterms as a referendum on abortion bans and government overreach.
● Nevada’s Question 6, which aims to protect abortion rights in the state constitution, returning to the ballot for final voter approval after a decisive victory in 2024.
● Massive spending by anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which pledged millions to buy the Georgia and Michigan Senate seats.
● High-stakes redistricting and voting rights cases, including Louisiana v. Callaisbefore the Supreme Court, with major implications for representation and democracy.
6: Maternal Mortality and the Human Cost of Abortion Bans
The consequences of abortion bans became even more visible in 2025 as investigative reporting documented more heartbreaking and preventable deaths of pregnant people denied care. Maternal mortality rates are on the rise in states with abortion bans, yet those same states are making it harder to investigate by obfuscating and suppressing data.
Key Moments in 2025:
● Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old Black mother and nurse from Atlanta, was kept on life support for more than 90 days—against her family’s wishes, and long after being declared brain dead—because of Georgia’s extreme abortion ban and so-called fetal personhood ideology.
● Tierra Walker, a 37-year-old Black mother from San Antonio, died from preeclampsia after being denied an abortion during a high-risk pregnancy—despite repeatedly asking for care—under Texas’ extreme abortion ban.
● After Georgia dismissed all members of its Maternal Mortality Commission last year, the state is now keeping the new members secret.
● The Trump administration rescinded the 2022 Biden-era guidance that affirmed federal law protects emergency abortion care—putting lives at risk and creating confusion for providers who still have a legal obligation to provide this care.
What we’re watching in 2026:
● Continued erosion of emergency care protections.
● Ongoing suppression of maternal mortality data by anti-abortion extremists.
● More dangerous miscarriage and pregnancy outcomes in ban states, where emergency interventions and complications are rising.
The storylines that unfolded in 2025 have set the stage for 2026, and the stakes are clear: An extremist minority is escalating authoritarian efforts through every level of power—and our rights and freedoms are at risk. This next year will test whether democracy and science prevail over coordinated and escalating attacks, with control of Congress and the future of reproductive freedom on the line.
Shortly after penning an op-ed in the Times Union explaining how New York State Governor Kathy Hochul came to support medical aid in dying, she announced an agreement with the Legislature to make medical aid in dying available to terminally ill New Yorkers with less than six months to live after amending the legislation with safeguards and guardrails to prevent abuse or coercion. This comes after careful reflection and deliberation with the bill’s sponsors, advocacy organizations, and most importantly, everyday New Yorkers who shared personal experiences with the Governor, who is a devout Catholic. The bill, with the agreed-upon amendments, will be passed and signed in January, and the law will go into effect six months later.
Announcing the agreement, Governor Hochul stated,
“Such as life and so is death — two forces in life that are inevitable. And so I was moved by their courage and I wanted to help them put an end to a decades long journey and say, ‘You can rest now. Your loved one has been honored in a way that is profound. And to the extent that you’re still wounded, suffering, questioning yourself, may you rest in peace yourself in this life, may you not have that trauma and that angst any longer.’ That’s what I wish for all my friends here….
“That there could be coercion, duress, and pressure put on people. And I was concerned about that and I said, “How can we get out from under that?” That everyone will know that someone who makes that decision did it of free will, not under pressure. And so, those are some of the constraints I put around this….
“So we have our safeguards, you can read them all, but this is one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever made as Governor. So I spent a lot of time on this, talked to a lot of people, but I want these people behind me to know, it was their stories that touched my heart the most. Because who am I to deny you or your loved one what they’re begging for at the end of their life?
“I couldn’t do that any longer, and that is why I’m here to announce that we have reached an agreement, and I thank the legislators for listening to me and my concerns and to reconfirm that New York will always continue to be a bastion of freedom to worship, to speak your mind, freedom of choice. It’s time we finally extend those freedoms to the terminally ill and their families.”
Two and a half centuries ago, our founding fathers established a vision of a country based on limited government and broad individual rights that together protect rights of speech, worship, privacy and bodily autonomy. Proudly, New York has long led the fights championing the rights of individuals, from civil rights to labor rights, LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, and reproductive rights. In the true spirit of this country, government has a responsibility to protect, not interfere, with an individual’s deeply personal decisions.
This is the context in which I have considered the Medical Aid in Dying Act, a bill to allow suffering terminally ill individuals with less than six months left to live the right to medical aid to speed up the inevitable.
During this journey I listened to New Yorkers who are in the throes of pain and suffering. I heard from their children, who are watching a parent endure a slow, devastating decline. I heard stories of a parent or spouse pleading for an end to the suffering and how difficult it was to reply, “We can’t in New York.”
This was heartbreaking, and it hit close to home. I watched my own mom die from ALS. I watched that vicious disease steal away the strong woman who raised me as it took her ability to walk, to eat, to speak and, ultimately, to live. I am all too familiar with the pain of seeing someone you love suffer and feeling powerless to stop it.
At the same time, there are individuals of many faiths who believe that deliberately shortening one’s life violates the sanctity of life. I understand and respect those views. But as I have spoken with people tormented by pain, I have come to see this as a matter of individual choice that does not have to be about shortening life but rather about shortening dying. And I do not believe that in every instance condemning someone to excruciating pain and suffering preserves the dignity and sanctity of life.
I reflected on this during a Catholic funeral Mass for a family friend where the priest spoke of the welcome home to eternal life. I was taught that God is merciful and compassionate, and so must we be. This includes permitting a merciful option to those facing the unimaginable and searching for comfort in their final months in this life.
So after careful deliberation, I decided to support legalizing medical aid in dying in very specific circumstances and with significant protections included in the law to ensure it is not misused or broadly applied.
The bill passed by the Legislature already allowed individual doctors and religiously affiliated health facilities to decline to offer medical aid in dying. In my view, those protections were essential but not sufficient. I proposed additional guardrails that also protect family members, caregivers and doctors, and I am pleased that the bill’s sponsors and legislative leaders agreed to include them in the bill I will ultimately sign once the Legislature returns to Albany and approves the amended language.
These guardrails address the concerns of some who fear that vulnerable populations, including those with disabilities or the elderly, will be pressured into a decision they would not have made on their own. Confirmation from a medical doctor that the individual truly had less than six months to live, and from a psychologist or psychiatrist that the patient is capable of making the decision and not under duress, will now be required.
There will be a mandatory five-day waiting period to provide the patient the chance to change their mind, and both a written and recorded oral request to confirm free will is present, with anyone who may benefit financially disqualified from being a witness or interpreter.
Outpatient facilities associated with religious hospitals may elect not to offer medical aid in dying, and the effective date of the bill has been extended to ensure time for regulations and training.
Finally, this is a right afforded to New Yorkers only.
These are fundamental protections to ensure vulnerable people aren’t pressured, misled or left without alternatives.
The Medical Aid in Dying Act will afford terminally ill New Yorkers the right to spend their final days not under sterile hospital lights but with sunlight streaming through their bedroom window. The right to spend their final days not hearing the droning hum of hospital machines but instead the laughter of their grandkids echoing in the next room. The right to tell their family they love them and be able to hear those precious words in return.
I am grateful to the advocates, families and legislative supporters, especially bill sponsors Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Amy Paulin, who worked hard to make this happen in a thoughtful and responsible way. And I hope those who are disappointed by this outcome know this was a difficult decision for me personally. It was not made lightly. It was guided by a genuine and deeply held belief that government must respect the rights and will of the people it serves. I hope that those who oppose this legislation will be able to look with compassion on those who may make a choice they would not make for themselves. And isn’t that, at heart, what the choice and freedom our young nation promised its people 250 years ago is all about?
New York City, one of several anchor protests among some 2700 “No Kings” protests and rallies nationwide, drew an estimated 350,000, stretching three miles down 7th Avenue. In all, some 7 million participated in what is considered the largest peacetime protest against a sitting president in history.
They represented the diversity of everyday New Yorkers and carried signs declaring they are taking back the inalienable rights of Americans. Signs mocked Trump, the Trump Administration and MAGA Republicans who tried to brand the protesters as “un-American,”, “unpatriotic” and “antifa” (“Aunt Tifa says No Kings”) with a broad coalition standing perhaps for different interests (science, public education, women’s rights, immigrant rights, due process and law and order, climate and the environment) but all with the same message: they are proudly anti-Fascist, just like 1776 and 1941 and want to reclaim democracy, inalienable rights, the rule of law, “We the People” and “Justice for All.”
They were reacting to armed military in the streets and descending from Blackhawk helicopters in the night; individuals snatched up by masked men wielding assault weapons without warrants but based on what they looked like, wore or where they lived or worked; children as young as six handcuffed and taken or left alone on the street; protesters gassed and violently assaulted for exercising their freedoms. They were reacting to billions of dollars and tens of thousands of federal workers slashed from healthcare, public education, research, environment and infrastructure to give billionaires tax credits and fund the emerging police/military state. They were reacting to malicious prosecutions of political opponents, charges against fund-raising groups of financing terrorism, labeling Democrats, liberals and progressives as “terrorists.” They were standing up to protect their “inalienable rights” of free speech, free press, to protest and assemble, and most significantly, the right to vote. They were standing up for “We the People” and “justice for all” just as the founding documents promised.
What was striking is that these were ordinary, everyday people. Families with their young children, young, middle-aged and old, every race and ethnicity.
There was good cheer, good humor, clever signs and costumes! Many reflected the desire for America to return to a place of kindness, compassion, empathy (“Make America America Again”) and the marchers manifested that with their own kindness, civility, compassion for each other.
Meanwhile (as MSNBC reported), it was “business as usual” for Trump – going to his Mar-a-Lago estate (where he illegally stored stolen classified documents), fundraising and playing golf, as he reveled in the hardship, suffering of others by keeping the government shut down and uses it as an opportunity to attack Democrats and kill “Democrat programs” – you know, things like healthcare, public education, clean energy, violence prevention, counter-terrorism, cancer research, climate change mitigation and disaster aid.
Trump is also cutting billions of dollars in previously allocated funding for infrastructure projects in Blue states and cities (including the $18 billion Hudson Gateway Tunnel) and on Friday, cancelled $11 billion more projects in New York City, Baltimore, San Francisco and Boston, prompting many in the Blue “donor” states (which send more tax dollars to Washington than they get back in federal funding) to start talking about withholding federal tax money, since Trump is weaponizing Democrats’ tax money against them. (His attempt to withhold funding for counter-terrorism in NYC was stalled by a court but Trump feels he has an ace in the hole with his Imperial Supremes.)
There was also a sense of urgency to take back rule of law, due process, and democracy before they are lost altogether. People worry that Trump is already rigging the midterms and will only build on what he tried to do on January 6, 2021 to keep power (why else is he building a $250 million ballroom at the White House, paving over the Rose Garden, building arches in Washington DC, and spending $1 billion to retrofit the Qatari Air Force 1?). But there is also the urgency of now because so much of the damage has already been done – to our world standing, to our economic power, to peoples’ livelihoods and lives, to our leadership in technology and innovation as the US faces the kind of brain drain that Germany experienced with the rise of Nazism.
As if to prove the point, Trump put an exclamation mark on it by his latest demonstration of pardoning criminals who support him and prosecuting and persecuting anyone who opposes him, criticizes him, or dares to prosecute his criminality and abuse of power. He had just freed the fraudster George Santos (forgiving the $350,000 in restitution Santos owed his victims) and bombed yet another vessel in Caribbean waters, continuing to extra-judicially assassinate people he claims are “narco-terrorists” without evidence, yet sent back two survivors to their home countries (so not really drug traffickers?), and gleefully declares that fishermen are now too afraid to put their boats in the water. And as his tariffs bankrupt American soybean farmers and his Big Beautiful cuts to healthcare cause health insurance premiums to double and triple, causing millions to lose their healthcare altogether, he is doling out $40 billion to Argentina to prop up its corrupt president, spending $172 million on private luxury jets for Kristi Noem, and millions to gild the White House and hold a vanity military parade.
Americans are worried that Trump’s militarization of the streets is aimed at provoking violent response to give him the excuse he craves to invoke the Insurrection Act and unleash martial law to intimidate people from going to the polls in the midterms so that Republicans keep control of the House and Senate. Actor and activist Robert DeNiro, a major supporter of the No Kings protest, said on MSNBC these massive No Kings protests, showing solidarity and community, are meant to make people feel comfortable, empowered and determined to exercise their right to vote.
The question remains what Trump’s enablers, the Congressional Republicans, see. Do they even care about voters or do they have confidence the elections are sufficiently rigged? They clearly don’t care about their constituents who are suffering because of their complicity in Trump’s unconstitutional abuse of power, from his illegal tariffs that are tanking the economy and inflating prices, to sending military to fire upon Americans in their communities, to firing federal workers, to cancelling billions of dollars of their own Congressionally appropriated funding to Democratic states, cities and universities, to his rampant, corrupt pay-to-play deal making, to the malicious, vindictive prosecution of his enemies, obstruction of justice and evisceration of due process and the rule of law.
We know what the dictator wannabe Trump sees. He proudly posted images of himself and Vance wearing crowns and Jeffries and Schumer wearing sombreros (which should show Latinos who elected him in 2024 how he disrespects them), and when the New York Times asked for his comment, White House spokesman Abigail Jackson responded in an email, “Who cares.”
That’s the statement of someone who doesn’t care about votes, or elections, or courts because he believes he is all-powerful. It’s the “Whadya gonna do ‘bout it” principle of governance. As he told Christians in the 2024 campaign just vote for him once more and “you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not gonna have to vote” and warmly embraced Chief Justice Roberts at the State of the Union, telling him “I won’t forget.”
Trump’s authoritarianism should come as no surprise, though. In the 2024 campaign, Trump said he wanted to tear up the Constitution and be a dictator on Day 1.
Trump and the MAGA Republicans have demonstrated that their interest is ruling, not governing and they seem quite comfortable in believing they will be able to suppress the vote and control elections (and the vote count) enough to maintain control (gerrymandering to eliminate Democratic districts, instituting stringent ID requirements, tampering with mail-in voting, making polling places less accessible, and now, the major electronic voting machine company, Dominion, has been taken over by a Republican operative, so like all their accusations, “They are rigging the election” is a confession.)
Nationwide, organizers (some 200 groups led by Indivisible, Moveon, 50501) estimated a 7 million (topping the 5 million of the June event) in 2700 cities, towns and villages across all 50 states, making it the largest peacetime protest in history. Rallies were also held in other countries.
“Today, millions of Americans stood together to reject authoritarianism and remind the world that our democracy belongs to the people, not to one man’s ambition,” Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg, co-founders of Indivisible, which helped organize the event, said in a statement.
Notably, the New York Police Department reported zero arrests.
Each year for the past 20, there has been a respite, an oasis of hope, positivity, possibility and promise: the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). The invention of the Clinton Foundation, CGI devised a platform and mechanisms to actually solve the most intractable problems confronting the world, that politicians love to talk about but are too hamstrung to.
Each year there were challenges to overcome, but this year, there was an unusual pall over the gathering as the reality of backsliding on all the progress that has been made in health care, clean air and water (which 3 billion people lack), democracy, free press, conflict resolution, education, poverty, women’s rights and empowerment, gender rights, climate change, global migration. In many ways, there were the same topics of 20 years ago, but instead of focusing on the crisis in democracy, free press, disease and health care in developing countries across oceans, there was equal focus on the USA.
In the past, there have been American administrations which did not further the aims of a more just, equitable future in which each could fulfill their potential, but never in the past was an administration using the might and wealth its predecessors built to actively undermine and reverse the progress of 150 years.
They are up against huge forces – the US with just 5% of the world’s population, has amassed 35% of global wealth and generates 14% of the carbon emissions (down from 20% thanks to Obama and Biden) that so endanger public health, food and water supply, and created the disasters that forced millions to flee their homes, creating the migrant crisis that has destabilized liberal democratic governments.
The conference convened just a day after Donald Trump, who has made good on his fantasy to tear up the Constitution and become a “dictator on day 1”, who effectively made illegal DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion – foundational principles of CGI) and who clawed back billions in foreign aid and humanitarian aid, and withdrawn from agencies including the World Health Organization, addressed the United Nations (a “failed” organization). Trump told the General Assembly that climate change was a “hoax” and a “green scam” and that as nations, they should do what the US has done: evict migrants and shut their borders to refugees in order to preserve their “heritage” and nationhood or else, “your countries are going to hell.”
In the final CGI panel discussion, “We’re Next,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), recalled where he was on the day he heard (was not informed by Trump) that the USA, its largest donor, was withdrawing and taking with it its funding, immediately – not in six months to give the WHO time to reorganize. He noted that where he was when he heard was in Sana’a, capital of Yemen, when Israel bombed it, killing someone close to him and wounding others. It triggered memory as a child of war in his native country of Ethiopia –“the smell, image, even the sound” – when close relatives were killed, and reignited the PTSD.
“In 2020, with the first US withdrawal, the first round of cuts came, and war in my country and Covid. it was difficult situation. but if there is one thing that But I try to see what is beyond my control and focus on what I can do. It encourages me encourages me to do more as an individual.” And so he will figure out a way for the World Health Organization to continue to function.
Another child of war, President Vjosa Osmani of Kosovo told President Bill Clinton, that it is peace and democracy that brings economic prosperity and progress (not tariffs and authoritarianism). “When you never take your freedom, your freedoms for granted, when you focus on the rule of law, democracy, human rights, then economic empowerment and prosperity comes. What you stand for in the most difficult times matters.”
But in inimitable fashion, the Clintons set a tone of positivity and everyone set out with renewed resolve, determination and resilience to figure “workarounds” to the unprecedented challenge.
CGI, offered panels themed “A Critical Moment for Humanitarian Response,” “Protecting Progress, Prevention and Management of Infections and NonCommunicable Diseases,” “A New Blueprint for Global Health,” “New Approaches to Climate Finance,” “Bold Solutions for Effective Philanthropy,” “Protecting Truth and Information in a Fractured World,” “Putting People First,” all asking the question, “What’s Next,” and, finally, “We’re Next.” It went back to an earlier framework to focus on “working groups” – small groups focused around a particular issue to bring together NGOs, business entities, philanthropists, activists and experts who could form partnerships to fulfill innovative commitments.
Matt Damon, the acclaimed actor, relayed how Clinton Global Initiative 17 years ago helped him realize his goal of bringing safe water and sanitation to the millions upon millions of people who lacked such basic necessities. CGI introduced him to Gary White, an engineer, who also had no idea how to achieve that goal, and together they formed Water.org.
“It was like a first date – nervousness, awkwardness. But we realized that together could do a lot more than on own and really scale.” The first year’s CGI commitment was to build systems to serve 100,000. “Innovation-led, partners would follow. We got bigger and the numbers ran up. We hoped to reach 1 million a year. Today, we reach 1 million every six weeks.
“Our current commitment is already underway. In 2022, we pledged to help 100 million in Africa, Asia, and Latin America gain access to water, sanitation. We have already reached more than 30 million people who no longer have to take long walk for water.
“For Gary and me, CGI was the start. We thank President Clinton for introducing us, inspiring us to think better and doing all he can to help us reach those goals. There is more distance to go, with more than 2 billion people who lack access to safe water; 3 billion to sanitation.”
It was an invitation for others to join the partnership, or form their own, which is the essence of CGI.
We saw it in real time when Hawaii Governor Josh Green, on the “Investing in Community Resilience” panel with Jennifer Pryce, CEO of Calvert Impact Capital, learned about new ways to multiply the benefit of Hawaii’s newly imposed climate fee on visitors through community development bond instruments such as issued by Calvert Impact. Hawaii hopes to use the fee (about $3 on a $400/night hotel stay) to bond out $2 billion which will go to sustainability, environmental protection, prevention, resiliency (helps with insurance costs), and to sustain tourism, replenish coral reefs and beaches.
4,200 Commitments, 500 Million People, 180 Countries, 10,000 Partners
This year President Bill Clinton, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Foundation Vice Chair Dr. Chelsea Clinton concluded the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2025 Annual Meeting with the launch of 106 new Commitments to Action.
Since President Clinton founded CGI in 2005, the convening has asked attendees to come with Commitments to Action — specific, measurable partnerships and projects that address an urgent global challenge (there are regular reports issued).
Over the last 20 years, members of the CGI community across business, philanthropy, and government – more than 10,000 organizations and individuals – have partnered to launch more than 4,200 commitments that have improved the lives of more than 500 million people in over 180 countries. As a result of these partnerships:
Nearly 78 million people have improved access to financial services or capital.
More than $1.6 billion has been invested or loaned to small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Nearly 2.7 billion metric tons of CO2 were cut or abated.
More than 402 million acres of forest have been protected or restored.
Nearly 4 million clean jobs have been created.
More than 130 million people can more easily access maternal and child health and survival programs.
Nearly 38 million people can more easily access safe drinking water and sanitation.
More than 36 million people have received treatment for neglected tropical diseases.
More than $362 million in research and development funds has been spent on new vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics.
A bold opening address by President Clinton, condemning political violence, defending free speech, the free press and democracy, and how to bring the divided country together.
The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), along with Unitaid, Wits RHI, and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, announced a groundbreaking agreement on HIV prevention to dramatically open access to lenacapavir, a revolutionary medicine that effectively prevents HIV transmission with two injections a year. Under the CHAI-negotiated deal, this will be affordable and available for just $40 per year in 120 low- and middle-income countries by 2027.
Secretary Clinton marked the 30th anniversary of her remarks at the UN World Conference on Women, and announced a new Commitment to Action – a landmark report by the Women’s Initiative at Columbia SIPA’s Institute of Global Politics (IGP) and GWL Voices: Beijing+30: A Roadmap for Women’s Rights for the Next Thirty Years. The report outlines policy priorities critical to advancing the full and equal participation of women and girls in the twenty-first century, including in the areas of democracy and human rights, technology, economic participation, and conflict and climate.
Dr. Chelsea Clinton spoke with Audrey Tang, the cyber Ambassador of Taiwan, about overcoming polarization, how the public views democracy, and the importance of media literacy.
The Clinton Presidential Center, along with the City of Little Rock and ENFRA, announced a partnership to build the Clinton Sustainable Energy District (CSED) to offset carbon emissions and reduce utility costs through a new district energy system and a 5-megawatt solar array.
This year’s CGI Annual Meeting was reimagined to promote collaboration through Working Groups – facilitated, action-focused sessions where leaders will collaborate with mission-aligned organizations to drive real solutions in the areas that matter most and are under the greatest threat. Secretary Clinton announced progress from these Working Groups that CGI will build action on in the coming years and months:
Out of the Innovative Finance Working Group, Kiva Microfunds will launch a new social enterprise fund of at least $10 million in 2026, in partnership with corporate foundations.
The Health Working Group focused on using AI to overcome systemic gaps in chronic care; one project that came out of this group will expand maternal telehealth in Zimbabwe.
In the Education Working Group, the Clinton Foundation’s Too Small to Fail initiative and UNIDOS US led a conversation about expanding access to early learning. The group is exploring a pilot program in three U.S. cities in 2026 to provide immigrant families with early education resources.
The Human Rights and Democracy Working Group focused on issues including accelerating women’s democratic participation and defending LGBTQ+ rights, and developed ideas from civic education programs for at-risk youth in Northern Ireland to anti-authoritarian initiatives worldwide.
Members of the Climate Working Group dug into the tough realities of climate change and mapped out bold plans, including creating a water fund to unlock economic opportunities for millions; building climate adaptation hubs across the tropical belt, starting at COP30 in November; and opening new markets to support regenerative farmers.
The Economy Working Group focused on challenges like the care economy and access to capital. Out of that discussion came a commitment to launch a Global Network for National Service that will strengthen, expand, and scale national service programs around the world.
The Truth and Information Working Group discussed ways to cut through misinformation and focus on building community. In the next year, a top priority will be advocating for state and local leaders to enact responsible regulations on tech platforms and give users more ownership over their data.
The Humanitarian Response Working Group emphasized the need for innovation, preparedness, and localized responses to humanitarian crises around the world; with action items including a shared information system among responding NGOs, new funding opportunities, and innovative research-based tools.
President Bill Clinton, Secretary Hillary Clinton and Dr. Chelsea Clinton award the Clinton Global Citizen Award to entrepreneur and philanthropist B. Thomas Golisano for his transformative philanthropic work, including contributing $900 million to disability services, education, animal welfare, healthcare and numerous other community focused non-profits. Golisano was also an early supporter of the Clinton Global Initiative.
President Clinton also awarded the Clinton Global Citizen Award to entrepreneur and philanthropist B. Thomas Golisano for his transformative philanthropic work. As Founder of Paychex, a human resources software and service provider for small to medium sized businesses, Golisano has invested in endeavors that advance entrepreneurship and drive the success of numerous businesses and start-ups; he has also made more than $900 million in philanthropic contributions to disability services, education, animal welfare, healthcare — including four children’s hospitals that bear his name; Rochester, Syracuse, Ft. Myers and Buffalo — and numerous other community focused non-profits. Past recipients of the Clinton Global Citizen Award include President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, Nadia Murad, and Dr. Muhammad Yunus.
Find information on all 106Commitments to Action announced at CGI 2025 at clintonglobal.org.
Protesters took to New York City streets on Saturday, September 20, to call for climate, social, and economic justice, and specifically, making billionaires and polluters pay up.
The “Make Billionaires Pay” march united climate activists, migrant rights defenders and women’s rights advocates in their demands for climate and social justice. Climate movement researchers say the coalition reflects a growing shift toward intersectional, grassroots mobilization as climate action stalls at the federal level. It is led by 350.org, Climate Defenders, Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), Target Majority NYC and Women’s March.
“I hope we can scare Trump and his billionaire allies,” said Renata Pumarol, deputy director of Climate Defenders, a multi-racial and multi-generational climate organizing hub. “We need to show them that we are organized, and that there are more of us than them.”
“The billionaire fascists are setting our world on fire,” Target Majority NYC stated. “They’re dismantling democracy, attacking immigrants, and fueling war. They profit off genocide and climate collapse. This moment demands mass mobilization. As world leaders gather in New York City for the UN General Assembly and Climate Week, it’s time to show them that we are revolting against Trump and the billionaire class. We’re calling on people across the US to join the nonviolent resistance by hosting a march in your community or joining the anchor march in NYC.”
“Everything feels out of control. ICE raids tearing families apart. Genocide streamed live on our screens,” Womens March declared.” Free speech and our freedoms under direct attack from the Trump regime. And billionaires are pouring gasoline on every fire while families can’t make rent. They want us scattered. Silent. Afraid. Today, we gather in power. As the United Nations meets and Climate Week begins, we take the streets of New York City- lound, undeniable, impossible to ignore.”
“Make Billionaires Pay”
They gathered during Climate Week, as the United Nations General Assembly gets underway.
They marched as the Trump administration is actively rescinding the historic climate actions of the Biden Administration to transition to a clean, renewable energy economy, cancelling regulations to protect the air and water from pollution, cancelling tax credits for electric vehicles, actively shutting down the offshore windfarms that were already well under construction, his EPA Administrator, Long Islander Lee Zeldin who unsuccessfully ran for New York Governor, rescinding the Endangerment Finding that empowers the federal government to regulate carbon emissions contributing to climate change.
“As soon as the second Trump administration took office in January 2025, he unleashed an immediate and unprecedented attack on our environment and public health,” writes the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “This includes a rollback of crucial environmental safeguards, the repeal of bedrock environmental and health laws, the delay of critical protections for endangered species, and attacks on well-established science and scientists.” (https://www.nrdc.org/resources/white-house-watch-tracking-attacks-our-environment-health)
The actions are not only hurting public health, exposing communities to more severe and deadly climate disasters, but affordability, as well. Ending the development and transition to clean, renewable energy makes American households dependent on ever-rising prices for fossil fuels.
“Clean energy has lowered Americans’ bills, created hundreds of thousands of jobs, and helped fight climate change. But it’s bad for the fossil fuel industry’s bottom line, and Trump seems willing to stop at nothing to slow it down – including breaking the law his own party just passed,” the Climate Action Campaign (CAC) writes. “We need to build as much clean energy as we can to help avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Thanks to Trump and his fossil fuel cronies, Americans are getting more pollution, higher bills, and more deadly extreme weather instead of the healthy, safe, and prosperous future we deserve.” (https://www.actonclimate.com/post/cacs-alt-on-trumps-latest-attack-on-wind-and-solar/)
It’s hard to keep track of all the aggressively, in-your face anti-climate, anti-environment, anti-public health actions trump has unleashed – this list was compiled with the help of AI:
Withdrew from the Paris Agreement again.
Prioritizes fossil fuel production while actively attacking clean renewable energy development: Trump’s “America First Energy Plan” prioritizes fossil fuel development, including oil, coal, and natural gas, aiming for energy dominance through deregulation.
Reviving oil pipeline projects that communities rejected.
Opened protected areas for drilling: Trump administration finalized decisions to open Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and other federally protected lands and waters to drilling.
Declared a “national energy emergency” during his 2025 inauguration to justify further expansion of fossil fuel extraction and streamline the permitting process for new oil and gas projects.
Rolled back Clean Power Plan
Weakened vehicle emissions standards:
Targeted renewable energy: The second Trump administration has halted new offshore wind projects, even ones that were nearing completion, and limited tax credits for wind and solar projects as well as credits enabling homeowners to incorporate solar energy.
Reduced Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authority and budget, undermining its ability to enforce environmental regulations, while declaring it would not bother to regulate polluters.
Weakened the Clean Water Act: The administration repealed the 2015 Clean Water Rule, narrowing the scope of federal protection for wetlands and small streams and leaving more waterways vulnerable to pollution.
Scaled back national monuments: Trump dramatically reduced the size of several national monuments, including Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah, to open up land for resource extraction. In 2020, he opened the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument to commercial fishing. In the second term, he has gone back to reverse Biden’s re-designations.
Loosened methane regulations: The EPA weakened rules that limited methane emissions from oil and gas operations on public and tribal lands.
Targeted toxics and pollution standards: The administration rolled back standards for mercury and air toxics from power plants and loosened rules regulating coal ash disposal, and delayed or rescinded standards keeping “forever chemicals” out of drinking water.
Cut climate research funding including those at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and The National Weather Service, stopped satellite monitoring showing impacts of climate change, and cancelled reports that measure climate change.
Dismissed climate change: Trump and his administration frequently expressed skepticism about the scientific consensus on climate change and dismantled interagency groups designed to coordinate climate action and continues to call climate change a “hoax” and a “scam.”
Limited the “social cost of carbon”: An executive order disbanded the interagency working group that calculated the “social cost of carbon”—a metric used to quantify the economic damages from greenhouse gas emissions—and directed agencies to consider eliminating the calculation. Companies are discouraged from calculating the risk of climate change in their investments and public reporting.
Reduced public health protections: A 2018 analysis by Harvard researchers estimated that the environmental rollbacks could lead to thousands of extra deaths and millions of additional respiratory problems per decade due to increased pollution.
Meanwhile, a new study led by a Stony Brook University researcher projects that, due to climate change factors, there will be more wildfires in the coming decades, and their smoke could lead to tens of thousands of deaths by 2050.
Climate disasters have become more severe and more frequent and more costly even as Trump moves to shut down FEMA. The US spends $150 billion annually on climate-related disaster relief (as much as what Trump has allocated to militarize mass deportations), with recent years seeing even higher costs due to increased frequency of major events. The US experienced 27 billion-dollar disasters in 2024, totaling $182.7 billion – well above the 5-year average.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin has proposed rolling back carbon pollution standards for existing coal and new gas-fired power plants and dismantling standards that limit dangerous Mercury and Air Toxics (MATS) pollution from coal plants. These rollbacks would worsen air quality, hurt public health, and exacerbate the climate crisis.
“Climate pollution is worsening health and living conditions for so many of our families nationwide, which is why people across party lines strongly oppose their repeal,” stated Climate Action Campaign Director Margie Alt. “The EPA was created to protect people, not polluters. Eliminating these vital air pollution and climate protections will make our families sick, poison the air, and make extreme weather triggered by the climate crisis more deadly and destructive. The EPA should honor its mission to protect our health and environment, not advance an agenda that puts polluters first.”
Thousands of Americans are now dying each year from heat stroke, with global warming setting new records for temperature year after year.
“Clean energy has lowered Americans’ bills, created hundreds of thousands of jobs, and helped fight climate change. But it’s bad for the fossil fuel industry’s bottom line, and Trump seems willing to stop at nothing to slow it down – including breaking the law his own party just passed.
Even as his administration works aggressively to harm the environment, unleash climate change rather than mitigate against it resulting in public health emergencies ranging from epidemics, to heat stroke, to asthma, to heart disease, trump is working to dismantle public health altogether.
A kind of catch-all for protest in what has become a rolling series of protests, other issues being voiced included democracy, rule of law, immigrant rights, human rights, Palestinian rights, ending war and conflict.
It is depressing to hear the call for economic and social justice mimicking the speeches of the March on Washington 62 years ago during this year’s March on Wall Street, led by Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III – as if the last four years with Joe Biden’s Justice Agenda, indeed, the last 60 years, had never happened.
Some 318,000 Black women lost their jobs in just the last eight months, coinciding with Trump’s ascendancy to a second term in office and his executive orders effectively making Diversity, Inclusion & Equity illegal – or put another way, making discrimination legal and the official government policy. It is Jim Crow not just from the offices of redneck governors and their sheriff’s offices, but from the White House, which as several noted, was built by slaves, as was most of Wall Street.
The March on Wall Street was a response to Donald Trump’s unrelenting attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and brought together a major coalition of civil rights, clergy, and labor leaders. The importance of this demonstration has only grown as the federal government threatens more takeovers of Black-led cities after the unprecedented National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C.
“We march from the African Burial Ground to the heart of the Financial District to remind Donald Trump the power of Black Americans and their dollars,” Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network and organizer of the March on Wall Street stated.
“Donald Trump’s attacks on DEI were only the prelude, as he is now dangling threats to take over American cities led by Black mayors,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of NAN. “If we leave him unchecked on DEI, if we do not get out and march, if we do not speak up, he will completely erase the freedoms our parents and our grandparents fought, bled, and died for.
Hundreds were expected, but thousands showed up, many driving through the night from far away places like Tennessee, Michigan and Alabama – to register their opposition with their bodies, voices and signs.
The march began at Foley Square which was across from the African burial ground, the largest known resting place of enslaved and freed Africans. Foley Square also stands next to 26 Federal Plaza, where ICE agents have rampantly arrested migrants during appearances before immigration courts. It then proceeded the mile down to the bronze bull – or more accurately, the golden calf, a symbol of the corporate greed and obsession to amass economic power, now equivalent to political power, that has CEOs kowtowing to a convicted fraudster, whose policies, from the Big Bad Bill taking away healthcare and food from those who need it most in order to accomplish the biggest transfer of wealth in history from the middle class to the wealthiest, exacerbating the biggest wealth gap since the Gilded Age, to the tariff policy which is not only pushing up prices and making goods scarce, harming once again, working families the most, it is devolving alliances around the globe, weakening the dollar, to the evisceration of due process and Rule of Law with his cruel and unconstitutional mass deportation to his sending armed military into cities which happen to be majority Black and headed by Black mayors.
“We march from the African Burial Ground to the heart of the Financial District to remind Donald Trump the power of Black Americans and their dollars,” Sharpton stated.
Trump has compared himself to a department store manager and the USA as where the world comes to shop, when the opposite is true – it is Americans who buy the products that come from around the world, Americans who pay the tariffs which are an added, regressive tax, hurting the people most who can least afford it. Trump, the most ignorant as well as corrupt person to ever hold the office of president, also does not understand that consumers drive the US economy, accounting for 70% of GDP. What is more, it is the Black and Brown people who account for $6 trillion dollars – equivalent to the eighth largest country in the world, and if you add in the other groups targeted for non-personhood and “erasure” by Trump, LGBTQ and Asians, that $8 trillion domestic product would make it third largest after the USA and China. That purchasing power could be a weapon to win back the rights stripped away by an administration determined to put power in the hands of an elite (some might say “oligarchy”).
But erasure is what Trump wants – with his revisionist history, his forcing out of people, objects and ideas from museums, universities and schools – so-called “woke” culture – to be replaced with White Christo Fascist Nationalist cultural indoctrination. Even how he has fired the CDC Director for refusing to follow RFK Jr’s insane anti-vax instructions: the Trump White House said every person in government must follow Trump’s “vision” and “policy,” rather than follow facts or their oath to follow the law and protect the Constitution.
Law enforcement has not just been politicized and weaponized – everything from disbanding the civil rights office – but so has health care, education, indeed everything that people rely on to survive, let alone thrive.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion – “DEI” (which Trump shorthands as “woke”) is intended to make up for the centuries of slavery, then discrimination and injustice from access to public education, health care, housing and voting, to equal justice before the law – instead of paying outright reparations. What is the value today of 150 years of “40 acres and a mule” promised to freed slaves after the Civil War? It was CRT (critical race theory), taught in law schools (not public schools) that showed the pattern and the result of systemic discrimination.
But the campaign against DEI – as an excuse to remove Blacks, women, Black women, cut off funding for schools, universities, research, shut down the Civil Rights office within the DoJ and end consent decrees against police brutality and voter suppression, end lawsuits protecting women’s right to emergency health care – are of a piece to transfer wealth and power to a class, instead of working for an equal opportunity to succeed. Add to this Trump’s executive order rescinding cashless bail – under threat of losing millions of federal funding.
It’s of a piece to effectively cancel everything “public” or for the “common good” – from public health and access to health care, public schools, public parks, Pell grants, school lunch, wind farms, environmental protection, clean air and water, consumer protection and product safety.
Within hours after Trump was sworn into his second term, he signed an executive order demanding an end to DEI policies within the federal government. Those have since been followed by:
Revoking Executive Order 11246. Signed by President Johnson nearly 60 years ago, this action required federal contractors to take affirmative action to prevent discrimination and ensure equal employment opportunity for protected groups such as race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
Federal DEI Staff Actions. In tandem with revoking EO 11246, Trump put all federal employees working in DEI on paid leave almost immediately. To comply with Trump’s executive orders, several agencies including the Departments of Defense, Education, Justice, Health and Human Services, as well as NASA, eliminated their DEI and civil rights initiatives and guidance.
Launching the DOJ Against DEI. Trump has used the Department of Justice to wither away at DEI, especially with the Civil Rights Division. Within just the first four months of Trump’s second term, an estimated 70% of the Division’s attorneys had either left or submitted their resignation. That came amid a flurry of memos in February from Attorney General Pam Bondi, who signaled the DOJ would bring civil rights cases against companies that implemented DEI policies.
Banning DEI in AI. In July, Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to not procure large language models with DEI embedded into their programming.
Removing Diversity in Foreign Service. In March, Trump demanded the State Department to scrub the “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility” Core Precept on tenures and promotion, as well as similar actions on Foreign Service recruitment.
Canceling $783 Million in NIH Grants. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court narrowly approved the Trump administration’s canceling of hundreds of millions in National Institutes of Health grants linked to DEI (and yet, RFK Jr. has asserted there are racial differences in “antigens” and has basically advocated a form of eugenics).
Withholding Education Funding. This spring, the Trump administration threatened to cut off federal funding to schools and colleges with DEI programs. A federal judge earlier this month halted that effort, writing that “regulation of speech cannot be done casually.”
Pressuring the Private Sector to Drop DEI. Trump has lost a pressure campaign against Corporate America to follow suit and walk away from its billions of dollars in DEI commitments. That includes a highly scrutinized agreement with the law firm Paul Weiss to water down its DEI policies, while the FCC recently approved an $8 billion between Paramount and Skydance after the entities agreed to not implement any such programs.
Pushing GOP-friendly Redistrictings. Trump has backed the highly criticized redistricting efforts to skew Congressional seats in states like Texas to favor the GOP. Megadonors including Charles Munger Jr., who have supported conservative causes, has supported the fight against a converse effort in California that would see the GOP lose its foothold in the state.
In fact, policies which “lift all boats” are what made the United States the strongest economy in the world – 25% despite being only 5% of the population – the most innovative, the superpower. Think of all the talent and brainpower lost during centuries when women and Blacks were denied entry to education, professional licenses, fair housing, health care. The work of 150 years all undone in a matter of months by a wannabe dictator whose vision is not of a country where each has an equal opportunity to fulfill their full potential, but where the rich and well connected elite to exert power over the rest.
“It’s not illegal to invest in people, and never more necessary. Diversity , equity, inclusion are not illegal,” said Deputy Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is Shaylyn Cochran.
Janet Murguía, President and CEO of UnidosUS, said, “We are marching for economic justice. Civil rights is economic justice… We can’t give in to naysayers who falsely claim changing demographics are bad – Black/Latinos are nearly 50 percent and more than half of population of those under 18. We are the future workers, customers. Spending power is the 3rd largest GDP in the world. Imagine how much more we could contribute to the US economy if we had equal opportunity. By 2030, 40% of all new mortgages will be by Blacks, Latinos and Asians. We can make choices with our spending power. Call out the tariffs, cuts to health care, education, the costly mass deportation that has hurt business and the economy.”
“We will not be erased,” declared Melanie Campbell , president/CEO, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. “We will not go back. We built this country. We are America.”
Ben Crump, prominent attorney who has sought justice for victims of police brutality, declared, “Economic justice is civil rights… Financial freedom helps make all the other freedoms more than just a dream; economic justice makes all the other justices more than a dream; equal opportunity access to capital gives us a better chance at generational wealth.”
Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights, countering the lie that DEI is responsible for hiring unqualified people into jobs, declared, “We are the qualified ones, the future of country. We know how to lead, how to create businesses. When people think they can get ahead by putting us down, when they say they are coming for DEI and accessibility, they are coming for us because we are the qualified ones, we lead, we built this country and won’t let anyone take it away.”
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, declared,, “We are saying to the billionaire class, to Wall Street, you need to be fairer, fight for all of us, not just yourselves – worker tax cut, health care, better jobs with better pay. We need to strengthen, not abandon public education, affordable college, affordable health care, social security. These are not radical ideas, this is what labor fought for in the 1960s.”
Newark NJ Mayor Ras J. Baraka pointed out that DEI policies aimed at leveling a playing field that had been tilted for centuries against people of color and women, was a better, more reasonable solution than demanding reparations for centuries “of slavery, decades for burning down communities and stealing housing. Every mayor should be standing up against the biggest transfer of wealth his history.” People working full time can’t afford child care, health care, decent housing.”
“Economic justice is a civil right,” stated Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League. “In 2025, say no to tariffs that make food, household goods more expensive, for the Big Bad Bill that shifts money to billionaires from cuts to Medicaid and food stamps so we are less healthy and more hungry. Say no to smear campaigns on black women, DEI… DEI is a bridge – it’s about growth, jobs, justice. Stand up against White Nationalism. Stand for DEI.”
Everett Kelley, National President of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) who represents 820,000 employees, demanded Trump keep his “hands off our government” – the [illegal] mass firings and retaliation against employees who speak out. (My question: why aren’t people suing for defamation when they claim to fire thousands of people at a time for “poor performance” without evidence?)
Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, with 1.4 million members, declared “government workers perform essential services and unions made workplaces safe, the economy fairer, democracy stronger.”
The lawsuit asserts that President Donald Trump illegally exceeded his authority in trying to unilaterally roll back a regulation that protects the rights of civil servants. Trump is trying to make it easier to fire career civil servants in order to appoint loyalists to do his bidding.
AFSCME President Lee Saunders called the Trump administration’s attacks against federal employees “a shameless attempt to politicize the federal workforce by replacing thousands of dedicated, qualified civil servants with political cronies..Our union was born in the fight for a professional, non-partisan civil service, and our communities will pay the price if these anti-union extremists are allowed to undo decades of progress by stripping these workers of their freedoms. Together, we are fighting back.”
He told the demonstrators, “62 years since March on Washington the promise of America is unfulfilled for too many. We are still fighting. If anyone can make good on that check it’s the billionaires on Wall Street,” he said, but Wall Street is compliant in the Trump administration’s ruthless in attack on workers. “Don’t separate civil rights from economic rights.”
More than compliant or even complicit, in actions that evoke China’s brand of “capitalism,” Trump has used extortion – threats of tariffs, bans on trade – to force companies like and Intel to actually give up a percentage of ownership control (10% of Intel) or revenue (15% of Nvidia chip sales to China), and ordering companies to fire their CEOs.
Pointing to the $2 trillion in black purchasing power, the millions of jobs they fill and goods and services they produce, Jennifer Jones Austin, Vice Chair of the Board of the National Action Network (NAN), sent a message to Wall Street in terms they would understand: “Roll over with Trump and risk your profit and returns. Only when all thrive, will business and the nation thrive.”
Arndrea Waters King, who is the wife of Martin Luther King III, said, “This is not a drill – democracy is on fire…. Truth is twisted, lies lifted up, power not to the people but to pursestring; we see erosion of voting rights.” Then she added, “Democracy may be on fire but we the people are the water, rise like a mighty flood and put out the flames of injustice for good.”
Martin Luther King IIII said, “62 years ago, my father on the steps of Lincoln Memorial shared a vision. But in 1963, the check from Treasury for health care, education, came back as ‘insufficient funds.’ Keep moving forward and some day, will realize the dream of Martin Luther King Jr.”
Rev. Al Sharpton, said, “Wall Street, you benefit from Trump, but your benefit days are over…Trump, get ready for the fight of your life. We won’t let you end our democracy for your autocracy.”
It is a testament to the respect and appreciation for New York’s AAPI community that elected officials from federal, state down to the most local government turned out to the Flushing, Queens, Lunar New Year parade to celebrate the Year of the Snake. Among them: US Senator Chuck Schumer, Congresswoman Grace Meng, Governor Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, state legislators, borough presidents, NYC councilmembers.
They spoke of how immigrants and diversity have contributed to the community, the state’s and the nation’s prosperity, applauded the success of the Flushing, Queens Asian community, and stood up for immigrants. They also applauded the significant achievement, after 20 years of prodding, that New York State made the Lunar New Year a state holiday – something that now Congresswoman Grace Meng began.
The whole celebratory tone of the parade – and the state’s support for diversity – is in contrast with the measures by Trump and his Project 2025 handlers to eliminate DEI (diversity,m equity, inclusion) from federal programs; the Defense Department under the White Nationalist Hegseth, has dispensed with celebrations of acknowledgements of everything from Black History Month and MLK Day, to Pride, and Trump went so far as to blame the recent Washington DC airline crash – the first fatal air crash in 16 years – on DEI policies. Trump blames everything else on immigration.
Peter Tu, executive director of the Flushing Chinese Business Association which organizes the parade/event, declared, “We are New York. We are America. We are as American as everyone else” and later added, “I’m an American. I love this country.”
Governor Kathy Hochul praised the community’s resilience after the coronavirus pandemic. “You fought back. We celebrate you” and pointed to the victory of a state-wide holiday for the Lunar New Year, which has wider impact than among the AAPI community, but provides “an opportunity for everyone to learn about this diverse community. They can’t take that away.”
Attorney General Letitia James committed to fighting to protect birthright citizenship, as enshrined in the Constitution. “We will defend immigrants. The Attorney General is on your side.
Queens Boro President Donovan Richards, Jr. said, “We have a lot to protect: immigrant rights, civil rights, human rights, LGBTQ rights. We will uphold our values, our Queens values, even as we battle the white house. We are the most diverse county in the United States. We will defend that.”
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, the former Majority Leader and now Minority leader, pointed to how powerful the AAPI community is , and pointing to his red hat and red socks, he joked “I am red from head to toe.”
But turning serious, Schumer said, “I believe strongly in this community, your future, the ladders for your children – the SAT is a ladder up for those without much money who want a better life. … You are our future. Your values – hard work, education, family, children climbing up the ladder, respect for elders, safe streets.”
He noted that with help of Congresswoman Grace Meng, the Congress passed the Asian Anti-Hate Act. And though he is now the Minority Leader, “I still have clout” and met with President Xi of China, and the presidents of Taiwan and Korea. “We need to work together, to have a strong relationship, for peace.”
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz praised the NYPD for keeping the borough safe – safe for parades, safe for parents. This parade, she said, celebrates the people who came before, while assimilating into America.
John Liu, the first Asian elected to City Council, now a state senator, noted that the statewide designation of Lunar New Year holiday “is part of the progress our community is making.”
NYC Comptroller Brad Lander noted that New York City has the largest Asian, and the largest Chinese population outside China. The Asian community, along with the Jewish, Dominican, Black and all the different heritages, “make out city a great city, the best for immigrants. We must protect all. All New Yorkers deserve to live in safety.”
This is the year of the Snake – the 6th of the 12 animal signs in the lunar calendar. The snake symbolizes renal and change, and the qualities of wisdom, calmness, determination, adaptability, mystery and transformation.
The celebration of the Lunar New Year dates back thousands of years, founded in the agricultural cycle and marking the period of time when farmers could take a rest from their work in the fields to be with their families.
In her proclamation to the FCBA, Governor Hochul noted “New York State is home to many Asian American Pacific Islander communities and we join in commemorating their most significant holiday rooted in ancient history and tradition as we welcome the arrival of Lunar New Year 4723 and share in festivities and celebrations to mark this joyous occasion.
“Our AAPI communities contribute significantly to American society and we recognize it is important that their ancestral heritage is passed down to younger generations; in 2023, I proudly signed legislation that designates lunar New Year as an official school holiday across New York State, providing a meaningful opportunity for children in the AAPI community to participate in an event that is such an inherent part of their culture, and to share with others one of the most beautiful holidays celebrated worldwide.”
Here are more highlights from the 2025 Lunar New Year Parade in Flushing, Queens:
Earlier this month, the Biden-Harris Administration released the first-ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia and Anti-Arab Hate. Take that you pro-Palestinian progressives who thought “I’ll show them!” and voted a hate-mongering racist xenophobe into office, who will give Israel carte blanche to attack Gaza and take over the West Bank and abandon any thought of a two-state solution against the Biden Administration which was pressuring Israel to provide humanitarian aid and negotiate a ceasefire and to negotiate a two-state solution. And how clever are the American Jews who said, “I’ll show them!” and voted for Trump, who is installing into power every White Christo Nationalist Fascist, against Kamala Harris whose husband, Doug Emhoff, led the administration to create a task force dedicated to addressing anti-Semitism and steadfastly has protected Israel in the United Nations and international arena. This fact sheet is provided by the White House. — Karen Rubin, editor@news-photos-features.com
The Strategy contains more than 100 Executive Branch Actions and more than 100 Calls to Action to every sector of society to prevent and address such violent attacks and to ensure that Muslim and Arab Americans enjoy the liberties and opportunities that are the bedrock of our country.
“With this initiative, we are creating a path for progress, in partnership with all levels of government, civil society, and the private sector, both now and over the long term.”
The Strategy was developed through a whole-of-government collaboration with a broad range of civil society partners to describe and address the bias, discrimination, and threats Muslim and Arab Americans have long faced. Over the past year, this initiative has become even more important as threats against American Muslim and Arab communities have spiked. In October 2023, six-year old Wadee Alfayoumi, an American Muslim boy of Palestinian descent, was viciously killed in his home in Illinois and over the last year there have been other grievous attacks on Muslim and Arab Americans.
In December 2022, when President Biden established an interagency group to increase and better coordinate efforts to counter Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and related forms of bias and discrimination, work began on this Strategy. In 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration released the first-ever National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism and announced the development of the first-ever National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia and Anti-Arab Hate. This latest strategy has four priorities:
Increase awareness of hatred against Muslims and Arabs and broaden recognition of these communities’ heritages. Muslims and Arab Americans have helped build our country since its founding, but they have also routinely experienced hate, discrimination, and bias due to baseless stereotypes, fearmongering, and prejudice. While individuals have sometimes been targeted because they are thought to be Muslim, it is also crucial to recognize that Arabs are routinely targeted simply for being who they are. Through new data collection and innovative educational efforts, the Administration is increasing awareness of these forms of hate as well of the proud heritages of Muslim and Arab Americans.
Improve safety and security for Muslims and Arabs. Everyone deserves to live their lives without fear of violence, harassment, or discrimination. The Strategy addresses the targeting of Muslim and Arab communities, including through unprecedented investments in strengthening the security of nonprofits and increased efforts to ensure easier access to those funds; correction of discriminatory travel restrictions; and new tools to address transnational repression, doxing, swatting, and hoax threats. It also seeks to reduce trust deficits between government and community members such as by sharing successful practices of engaging Muslim and Arab Americans in the reporting of hate crimes. The Strategy recognizes our utmost duty to protect the nation from terrorist threats and attacks while safeguarding everyone’s civil rights and civil liberties.
Tackle discrimination against Muslims and Arabs and appropriately accommodate their religious practices. Muslim and Arab Americans have long faced discrimination in settings such as education, employment, public accommodations, land use, housing, health care, and access to financial services. More agencies are making it clear that discrimination against Muslim and Arab Americans in federally funded activities is illegal, and the Administration has instituted new practices to accommodate religion and produced a wide range of resources and trainings on nondiscrimination and religious freedom.
Continue to build cross-community solidarity and collective action to counter hate. Threats to one community must be treated as threats to all. Increasing cross-community collaboration continues to be a key part of Administration efforts to protect the safety of all Americans, including through new partnerships that build solidarity among communities of diverse faiths and beliefs.
“We urge our state, local, and international counterparts, as well as the nongovernmental sector, to pursue similar initiatives that seek to build greater unity by recognizing our common humanity, affirming our shared values and history, and embracing equal justice, liberty, and security for all.”
The fact sheet detailing the actions the Biden-Harris administration has taken to better the lives of Black communities, delivering historic results, was provided by the White House:
Over the past four years, President Biden and Vice President Harris have taken action to ensure the promise of America reaches every community—including Black communities. These actions have delivered historic results, enabling more Black Americans to access a quality education, obtain a good-paying job, start a business, and buy a home—driving significant gains in wealth. From growing economic and educational opportunities to improving health outcomes, from enhancing public trust and public safety to advancing equity, civil rights, and racial justice, the Biden-Harris Administration has demonstrated its deep commitment to ensuring equal opportunity for all and investing in the future of Black Americans.
Securing Economic Mobility, Educational Opportunity, and the American Dream for Black Communities
President Biden and Vice President Harris believe that the promise of America—the American Dream—is that everyone should have a fair shot at getting ahead. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, we have made progress:
Achieved the lowest Black unemployment rate on record and created 2.4 million jobs for Black workers as of August 2024
Lifted 400,000 Black children out of poverty by increased SNAP benefits through updating the Thrifty Food Plan, and continuing to call on Congress to restore the full expanded Child Tax Credit—which, during the COVID-19 pandemic, cut Black child poverty in half benefitting 600,000 and brought racial poverty disparities to a record low Grew Black American business ownership at the fastest rate in over three decades Tripled the number of SBA-backed loans to Black-owned businesses Awarded a record $10 billion in federal contracts to Black-owned small businesses in Fiscal Year 2023 Invested a record of more than $16 billion in Historically Black Colleges and Universities Secured a $900 increase to the maximum Pell Grant award—the largest increase in the past 10 years—and $23 million in first-ever funding to the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Program to increase the number of teachers of color and multilingual educators across the country Approved the cancellation of almost $170 billion in student loan debt for nearly 5 million borrowers, including a significant number of Black borrowers who are disproportionately burdened by student debt Took on racial bias in home appraisals and closed the Black-white home misevaluation gap by 40% Reduced mortgage insurance premiums for FHA loans, saving 76,000 Black households an average of $900/year Cut costs for high-speed internet to 5.5 million Black households with the Affordable Connectivity Program Distributed $2.2 billion in financial assistance to over 43,000 farmers who experienced discrimination
Led a historically equitable economic recovery—Black wealth, even after adjusting for inflation, is up 60% relative to pre-pandemic levels—the largest increase on record
Ending Health Disparities
President Biden and Vice President Harris are committed to keeping health care costs down for individuals and families and improving access to health care to address disparities in Black communities. To improve health outcomes for the Black community, the Biden-Harris Administration has:
Ensured more Black Americans have health care than ever before by lowering premium costs by an average of $800 for millions of Americans, increasing Black enrollment in Affordable Care Act coverage by 95%, or over 1.7 million people since 2020
Lowered monthly premiums for health insurance, capped the cost of insulin at $35 and all out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000 for people on Medicare, and announced new negotiated prices for the first ten prescription drugs for Medicare price negotiation—expected to save $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs in the first year of the program alone Made sickle cell disease the first focus of the new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services models, aimed to lower the high cost of drugs, promote accessibility to drug therapies, and improve patient care Expanded Medicaid postpartum coverage from 60 days to 12 months in 46 states and Washington, D.C., covering 700,000 more women in the year after childbirth Secured an additional $1.5 billion for Head Start
Delivered $1 billion to help meet the mental health needs of young people by preparing and hiring a projected 14,000 additional mental health professionals to serve America’s schools
Making Communities Safer and Strengthening America’s Commitment to Justice
The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to using every available federal lever to advance effective, accountable policing, build trust, and improve public safety so that the promise of equal justice under the law is a reality for all. To enhance equal justice and public safety for all communities, including the Black community, the President has:
Signed an Executive Order on police reform when Congressional Republicans would not pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act; restricted the use of force, banned chokeholds, restricted the use of no-knock warrants and created the first-ever national database of federal law enforcement misconduct
Created the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention U.S. Surgeon General named gun violence a public health crisis and issued a public health advisory on how to reduce violence. Signed into the law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), the most significant gun violence reduction legislation enacted in nearly 30 years, and taken more meaningful executive action than any other president to make our schools, churches, grocery stores, and communities safer Secured $400 million in funding dedicated specifically for community violence interventions that invests in evidence-informed strategies to prevent violence Cracked down on the source of illegal firearms by making it illegal to manufacture “ghost gun” kits, enacting the first-ever federal gun trafficking law, taking a “zero tolerance” approach to rogue gun dealers, and regulating the number one source of guns involved in gun trafficking investigations – unlicensed sellers. Pardoned thousands of Americans under federal and D.C. law for simple possession of marijuana
Helped bring violent crime to its lowest level in 50 years—lower than during any year of the previous administration
Restoring the Soul of Our Nation
President Biden believes that advancing equity, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity is the responsibility of the whole of our government and requires sustained leadership and partnership with all communities. To make the promise of America real for Black communities, the President has:
Signed two Executive Orders directing the federal government to address inequality
Protected Black history as American history Signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, the first new federal holiday since MLK DayDesignated Springfield 1908 Race Riot and Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monuments Signed the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act to classify lynching for the first time as a federal hate crime
Worked to protect the sacred right to vote through executive actions and continued calls for legislation
Appointed the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, more Black women to federal circuit courts than all previous presidents combined, and more Black judges in a single term than any other president
