Insulting major world leaders, declaring the judicial system a threat to national security and lying about everything from voter fraud to his inauguration crowd size — the Trump presidency is only just beginning, but it has already been littered with disaster after disaster.
Every day brings new Trump actions that had been unheard of under every other president in U.S. history, all in the name of “Making America Great Again.”
The truth is, Trump’s presidency has already succeeded in making America great again, just not in the way he expected. Donald Trump came into office with a promise to revitalize the American right, trying to bring everyone from the Breitbart alt-right to moderate conservatives into control of the government. But so far he has succeeded more in uniting the opposition than he has in uniting his own base.
While Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell scramble to cover for every Trump screw up, the left is mobilizing. The Women’s March the day after the inauguration was one of the largest protests in American history. The American Civil Liberties Union raised six times as much money in the weekend following Trump’s travel ban executive order as they normally do in a year. Every time Trump mocks the “failing New York Times” their subscription numbers skyrocket. Trump’s actions so far have only led to a level of unity the left hasn’t seen since the Vietnam War.
The group that might be benefiting the most from Trump, though, is the one he refers to as failing the most, the main stream media. The New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR and even CNN are doing their best work in years.
When the Gen. Michael Flynn story began to break, each major newspaper was uncovering new parts of the story, one after another. Trump’s efforts to divide the mainstream media against each other has failed.
After Press Secretary Sean Spicer barred the New York Times, CNN, Politico and others from a press briefing, other members of the media, including the Associated Press, boycotted, and even Fox News stood up for the right of those organizations to be present.
The ACLU has also seen major support because of Trump’s actions. The ACLU is a nonprofit organization that represents clients whose civil liberties have been violated. After Trump’s executive order banning Syrian refugees from entering the United States was signed, the ACLU got to work challenging it in the courts.
A less serious, but still important group to benefit from President Trump is Saturday Night Live. The late-night television show has had its highest ratings in years after Trump’s repeated attacks.
It has become a weekly staple on the show to have skits featuring Alec Baldwin as the president. The show, despite being as funny as it is, has played an incredibly important role in the political process. Satire has always been a part of American politics, and when there is a president who is as obsessed with his media image as President Trump is, it is more important than ever.
On Feb. 21 Donald Trump tweeted about the crowds that were swarming the town halls of Republican Congress members. The activists were rallying in support of a myriad of topics, but one thing was certain — they were mad. The commander-in-chief responded to his angry constituents in a way only he could, via a tweet: “The so-called angry crowds in home districts of some Republicans are actually, in numerous cases, planned out by liberal activists. Sad!”
These protests were planned by liberal activists, and that’s the point. The left is using Trump as motivation, and it’s working. These “liberal activists” are using their First Amendment rights to peaceably assemble. These town hall protests are similar to how Tea Party activists organized protests against Obamacare in 2009.
Liberal groups like Indivisible are even publishing guides to help people most effectively lobby Congress.
Trump’s presidency has had many effects on the country in the few short months he has been in office. While many of these changes have been detrimental to the well-being and respect of the United States, they have also united the American left in a way that hasn’t been seen in decades. Donald Trump has not yet fulfilled his promise to “Make America Great Again” if anything he has succeeded in making resistance great again.
By: Zach Godwin
