Sisters and Brothers,<\/p>\n
Crazy times. Dangerous times.<\/p>\n
Under Trump, things are moving very fast.<\/p>\n
We have an unstable megalomaniac who wants more and more power into his own hands. We can\u2019t let that happen.<\/p>\n
His attacks against the media, universities, law firms, Congress, and the courts are creating fear throughout the country and moving us, step-by-step, toward authoritarianism. In an unprecedented way, he is now using ICE agents to break down doors and the U.S. military to patrol cities.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not just the dangerous movement toward authoritarianism. On behalf of his oligarchic friends, Trump is waging a vicious assault on the working families of this country.<\/p>\n
While the billionaires become much richer, his attack on the American healthcare system, which is already deeply broken, could lead to its total collapse. If Trump gets his way, 15 million low-income and working-class Americans will lose their healthcare, and premiums will double for over 20 million people on the Affordable Care Act exchange. As a result, tens of thousands will die unnecessarily each year. And all this happens so that the top 1% can get $1 trillion in tax breaks.<\/p>\n
His continued absurd claim, on behalf of the fossil fuel industry, that climate change is a \u201choax,\u201d will dangerously slow down our ability to transform our economy into sustainable energy and address this existential threat to our planet.<\/p>\n
His financial support for his multi-billionaire friends in Big Tech, who are aggressively pushing AI and robotics, will mean the loss of millions of good-paying jobs and extraordinary threats to our privacy.<\/p>\n
Trump may be crazy and a pathological liar, but he is not stupid. He is a very good tactician and knows exactly what he\u2019s doing. His goal, by \u201cflooding the zone\u201d and moving forward simultaneously in a hundred different areas, is to convince the American people that he is invincible and can\u2019t be stopped. He has the power. You don\u2019t. He has unlimited amounts of money. You don\u2019t. His friends control the media. You don\u2019t. Give up. There\u2019s nothing you can do to stop him and his fellow oligarchs.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s actually a pretty good plan. Fortunately, however, it\u2019s not working.<\/p>\n
More and more Americans are seeing through Trump and are turning away from him. While he still has a strong core of right-wing support, polling shows that he is less popular today than at any time in his second administration.<\/p>\n
Please don\u2019t forget. It\u2019s not just that over 320,000 Americans in 21 states came out to our Fighting Oligarchy rallies. It\u2019s not just that next Saturday we expect to see huge No Kings demonstrations all across this country in opposition to Trumpism.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just that Democrats in Congress are finally getting a backbone and opposing these horrific health care cuts.<\/p>\n
What we are also seeing is progressive Democrats and independents taking on the Democratic establishment as they run for the US Senate and U.S. House in Michigan, Maine, Nebraska, Texas congressional districts throughout the country and Zohran Mamdani in New York City.<\/p>\n
What we are seeing is Republican share of vote is slipping in special election after special election in races up-and-down the ballot this year. Republicans see it too, that is what they are trying to re-draw House maps in the middle of the decade in several states.<\/p>\n
What we are seeing, increasingly, is Republicans from Josh Hawley to Marjorie Taylor Greene speaking out against Donald Trump and the Republican Party abandoning the promises they made to the working people of this country during the last election.<\/p>\n
What we are seeing, according to a recent YouGov poll, is a majority of Americans disapprove of the way Republicans are handling the current government shutdown, and a plurality places most of the blame on Donald Trump and the Republican Party for the current state of affairs.<\/p>\n
What we are seeing from a recent Pew Research poll is that strong majorities of Americans believe he is abusing and improperly using the office of the president and moving our country in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n
So, is Donald Trump unbeatable?<\/p>\n
No. No, he is not.<\/p>\n
He is deeply unpopular.<\/p>\n
The bad news is, so is the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n
So where do we go from here — and what can you do yourself? Because in these difficult times, despair is not an option. We’ve got to fight back in every way we can.<\/p>\n
We have to get involved in the political process \u2014 run for office, connect with our local, state and federal legislators, donate to candidates who will fight for the working class of this country.<\/p>\n
We have to create new channels for communication and information sharing. We have to volunteer not just politically, but to build community locally.<\/p>\n
We have to support progressive candidates running for office and push establishment Democrats to find the courage to take on the billionaire class of this country.<\/p>\n
Whatever we can do is what we must do.<\/p>\n
Needless to say, I intend to do my part \u2014 both inside the beltway and traveling throughout the country \u2014 to stand up for the working class of this country. In the days, weeks, and months ahead, I hope you will join me in that struggle.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In solidarity,<\/p>\n
Bernie Sanders<\/p>\n