Meditations in an Emergency

11/25/2025

Thomas Zimmer writes in his newsletter, “It seems undeniable now that Trump’s power has been eroding, his hold over his own movement is weaker than it has ever been since he became the standard-bearer of the political Right almost exactly a decade ago.  This time, he was not able to impose his will, even though he so aggressively tried. Instead, MAGA Republicans broke with him over Epstein, even going directly and publicly against him. Not only are prominent MAGA figures actively preparing for a post-Trump future: They seem to have decided that the best way to position themselves was to signal distance from Trump, rather than to rise through sycophancy and fealty. Something has shifted in the relationship between Trump and MAGA. As hesitant as I am to write this, I believe we are now entering the twilight of the Trump era.  But do not misread this moment: This is no revolt of the “moderates” on the Right that is bringing Trump down, no uprising of the decent. As Trump’s power to integrate the different factions of the MAGA coalition seems to be waning, all the energy in the struggle for control of the Right remains with the more extreme, most conspiratorial factions.”

I’ll say what he doesn’t: will there be enough support for those factions? The Republican Party has undermined itself by abandoning all fixed principles, embracing lies and contradictions, and championing anything the wildly corrupt and inconsistent Trump wanted. Trump somehow managed to make some disparate constituencies – billionaire elites, white supremacists and antisemites, deluded populists, most of rural America, the fossil fuel and tech oligarchies – into a coalition; not much else holds it together, and he’s falling apart before our eyes. The New York Times reports, “Tensions over antisemitism in the party, free speech and Israel have burst to the forefront of G.O.P. politics, and show signs of becoming a fierce point of contention in 2026 primary races and beyond.”

Something deep is shifting. As I mentioned, at #nokings, people reclaimed patriotism, the flag, the Constitution for progressives. The six representatives who spoke directly to the military and intelligence employees insisted that patriotism may pit them against the administration. The Guardian reports that there’s a new wave of white Christian Democrats running for office, reclaiming God and faith too (outside the Black communities in which progressive Christian candidates are more familiar). This country goes through waves of anti-elitism: in 2011, Occupy Wall Street arose from the reaction to the 2008 crash; Franklin Roosevelt won on a wave of anti-elitism. Now Trump is sundowning in more ways than one and something deep is shifting. I don’t know exactly what or where it will take us. This does not mean everything is fine or anything is guaranteed; setting eyes on the destination does not mean you’ll make it there.

No one knows where we go from here. A nation stable for centuries has been radically destabilized just in time for the 250th anniversary since John Adams coauthored that founding document of defiance of a king. The past is not a template for a viable future, and while the stability that ended on January 20, 2025, was better than this, it had severe flaws and injustices. Even if it didn’t, it will never be January 19, 2025 again. The end of Trump will either be the beginning of a national reconstruction/recovery project, or the point at which this country falls apart. How we go forward is improvisational, which is to say it’s up to us.

It always was.