So here we are again.
You may think that we have until January 20th until Trump, The Sequel kicks off in earnest, but I have news for you: today’s the day.
Why? Because today is the day when the effort to elect the next Speaker of the House begins, and if– and it’s a very big if– Mike Johnson has the votes he needs, the next Congress will be sworn in.
We are a short three days away from the 4th anniversary of the January 6th insurrection— the day when the electoral college votes electing Trump as president are supposed to be certified on the Hill (that is, if a new Speaker of the House is in fact elected and the new Congress installed).
Those of you who have followed me for the last eight years know that during Trump One, we had an expression on my daily broadcast ResistanceLive that became something of a joke: Fridays in Trumpland.
Fridays were always the days when the worst of things happened: when horrifying new policies were announced, when news that was sought to be buried got dumped around 6 pm ET, when it felt like the chaos broke loose from the lightest of reins holding it back, and all the crazy came to the fore. Fridays in Trumpland have always been nuts.
I expect it to be no different this time.
And so, with a mixed sense of horror and gallows humor, I present to you a new feature here on my Substack: Fridays in Trumpland.
For the duration of this next incarnation of Trumpism, I will be here every Friday with a roundup of the week’s events through the lens you’ve come to expect: law, activism, organizing, progressive strategy, and a solid dose of humor and sometime schadenfreude.
Every week, I’ll hack out the lay of the land with you, the week’s events, the political and personal implications of them, and what you can do in response to maintain your sanity, make a difference, and save lives.
I’ll be honest: it’s been a rough two months since the 2024 election. But if I know anything, I know this: hope is a practice (thank you Mariame Kaba) and community is everything.
We’ll get through this, together. We will help each other to survive, to make sense of it, to continue onward and to organize for what’s coming. We will create solace, and trust, and pockets of safety in the onslaught. We will have each other’s backs, and we will hold each other’s hands, and we will make sure the most vulnerable are welcomed, and the most targeted are held here in sanctuary.
We are the answer. Power in the hands of the people will always be the answer.
Welcome to Fridays in Trumpland.
Hold on tight.
~ECM
Elizabeth, I enjoy Fridays in Trumpland! I followed you when you were in NY and moved to California your infromation was always on target . Honestly ,I never dreamed we would be reliving this nightmare for a second time,but here we are . I look forward to your newsletters ,thanks for your work and passion! DB
Thank you ECM for codifying Fridays in Trumpland. I always enjoyed your Friday reports as part of your broadcast during Trump One. Now it is even more important for us to be aware of news dumps on Fridays so we can respond appropriately. Been following you for years and the weekly Substack will be wonderful gift for us all to stay informed since various Substck writers seem to be a source of "real news", facts and evidence today. Thank you again!